There are Quebec battles to be waged inside Canada, explained Bernard Drainville in a speech that sounded like a caquist profession of faith when announcing his candidacy for the 2022 general election.
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Accompanied by François Legault, Bernard Drainville answered questions from the media a few days following the announcement of his return to politics, which had the effect of a real thunderclap.
“I return to politics for the love of Quebec (…). When I say that I have always loved Quebec, it is a way of saying that I have always been a nationalist”, he declared on Tuesday, before explaining that he rallies to the nationalism of the CAQ .
Screenshot TVA News
Quebecers “have no appetite” for independence, believes Bernard Drainville, who claims not to have “the taste for fighting this battle”. If the sovereignty of Quebec was at the heart of his motivations, he would have returned to politics under the banner of the Parti Québécois, he says.
For his part, Prime Minister François Legault “was delighted to have recruited a man of Bernard’s caliber”.
“We always got along well, we agree on several issues,” he said of his former political opponent.
“He is someone who is close to the world. I see that as genuine respect for Quebecers. Bernard likes to listen to Quebecers,” he added, praising the communication skills of his future candidate.
The father of the Charter of secularism of the Parti Québécois will try to be elected in Lévis in the next election. The constituency will be left vacant by the President of the National Assembly and CAQ member, François Paradis, who is not seeking a new mandate.
- Listen to Jean-François Lisée and Thomas Mulcair on Richard Martineau’s show every day via podcast or live at 8:00 a.m. via the QUB app and the website qub.ca :
Bernard Drainville, 59, resigned from his post as host at 98.5 FM last Thursday evening. He commented on political news on COGECO airwaves since his departure from politics in 2016. The former Radio-Canada journalist sat as PQ member for Marie-Victorin from 2007 to 2016. Minister responsible for Institutions democratic under the Marois government, from 2012 to 2014, he notably piloted the file of the controversial Charter of Quebec values, and had embarked on the race for the succession of Pauline Marois, in 2014, to finally join Pierre Karl Peladeau.
More details to come…
