The war of words between the premier and the new leader of the Parti Quebecois (PQ) continued Wednesday.
Philippe Couillard compared Jean-Francois Lisée and the PQ to right-wing parties in Europe, saying Quebecers should fear his dangerous comments.
During his campaign, Lisée talked about banning the hijab in public and reducing the number of immigrants. Premier Couillard accused him of a litany of extreme-right positions.
“There’s a difference between opinions and unacceptable statements,” said the Premier.
On this last point, both Lisée and runner-up Alexandre Cloutier said they want to forget it happened.
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“They’ve changed the facade of their house, but it’s the same house,” said International Relations Minister Christine St-Pierre.
She added that the government is ready to work with Lisée, but he too must work to make sure Quebec remains open to the world.
The night of the election, Lisée said he would work to make the PQ a more diverse party.
“We have not worked hard enough to make contact and to bring them in our midst and make them change us from within,” said Lisée the night he won.
Lisée’s press secretary told Global News that the new leader will not speak to media until Friday, when he holds his first caucus in Quebec City.
The premier said he doesn’t apologise for any of his comments about Lisée and he will not let the new leader drag him down a “rabbit hole” of identity politics.
“I say ‘rabbit hole’ and ‘rabid hole’ at the same time, you know, the same thing, but I would say that I have not heard Mr. Lisée say anything substantial about the economy,” said Couillard.
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