When will the hospital’s construction be complete? When is the Highway 20 bypass going to be built? What are the chances of getting more pickleball courts?
These were some of the questions seniors had for Liberal leader Philippe Couillard as he watched pickleball in Vaudreuil, Que., during the last week of a long provincial election campaign.
Liberals say the hospital should be built by 2023 and the highway bypass is still under consideration for one of Canada’s fastest growing cities.
Couillard is running strong in the last week of the campaign, as political analysts say Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault, considered the front-runner going into the campaign, has stumbled.
“Legault made some mistakes in the debates and he decided to focus, maybe at the behest of his key base support, on the issue of immigration,” said Concordia politics professor Harold Chorney.
Yet, the votes Legault could be losing are not necessarily going to the Liberals, Chorney said, but to upstart Québec Solidaire.
Legault was in Gatineau on Sunday pledging support for tornado victims, while Jean-François Lisée was in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu promising $100 million for long-term care for people with mental health issues such as autism.
Asked to predict the outcome of the election, which is now a week away, Chorney said the Liberals might be able to form government in a close contest but as a minority coalition, possibly with Québec Solidaire. The election will take place on Oct. 1.