To a hero’s welcome, re-elected premier François Legault triumphantly entered the first caucus meeting with his new expanded team at a hotel in Brossard, Que., south of Montreal.
He called this latest version of the CAQ one of the greatest teams in history, and apologized for being under the weather, saying he tested negative for COVID-19 three times
The re-elected premier spoke in general about his team’s priorities like education, health and the economy before journalists were asked to leave the room so the new government could meet in private.
As key National Assembly members entered the meeting, some of the talk was about mending fences after a divisive campaign.
“It’s important to build bridges with all the cultural communities, anglophones as well,” said Chutes-de-la-Chaudière MNA Martine Biron.
Rhetoric on immigration may have prevented the CAQ from making new inroads in Montreal, only managing to win two of 27 seats on the island. The topic seems to be an early priority for this government.
“We are welcoming, be very clear on that,” said Louis-Hebert MNA Geneviève Guilbault. “If we had more powers, if the federal government gave us more power to manage the immigration ourselves, it would be even better.”
In Ottawa however, Prime Minister Trudeau threw cold water on the idea, saying Quebec already has an enormous amount of power to manage immigration.
That’s not going to stop Quebec from continuing to ask.
“We don’t take no for an answer. We’re going to keep discussing with them,” said Champlain MNA Sonia Lebel.
With such an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, some wonder if the CAQ could become arrogant.
The government doesn’t think so.
“We’re not arrogant and we’ve always been careful about that,” said Guilbault. “You have to remain humble and connected to the population, and that’s the way we worked for the last four years.”
One of the premier’s next key tasks is to figure out who among the 90 MNAs deserves one of only about two dozen cabinet positions.