News
New Parti Quebecois leader says third independence referendum not to be held before 2022
Jean-François Lisée wins party leadership election, sparks criticism from rivals after immigration stance
Lisée will be replacing Pierre Karl Péladeau, who has been PQ leader for just one year. Party members elected Lisée in the second round with 50.6% of votes, ahead of Alexandre Cloutier (31.7%), who according to polls was best placed to win the race, and Martine Ouellet (17.7%), the candidate most in favour of accelerating the pace towards a third referendum on independence from Canada.
Referendum postponed
The next legislative election in Quebec is scheduled for 2018. Lisée has stated that his party's aim should be to unseat the Liberals and install a "national, progressive, environmentalist, upright, effective" government that is "concerned to advance our identity and the secularism of our institutions."
If the PQ wins the 2018 election, Lisée has vowed not to allocate public funds to foster independence over the term. Lisée has said that a campaign should "disseminate the independence project" over the 2018-2022 term, but only if it is "fully financed by party members and citizens."
The immigration debate
Lisée's comments on immigration issues over his PQ leadership campaign sparked controversy, especially when in September he said that "perfect" migrants were those who Quebec companies recruit "in Paris, Brussels and Barcelona" since they " immediately integrate" into the Quebecois society. Francophone students from around the world, who Lisée seeks to "host, integrate and retain in their majority," also please the new PQ leader.
Lisée also hinted at banning the burqa in public places, and outlined a political agreement, a "cultural concordance", that becomes the "foundation of our Quebecois identity." The agreement, according to Lisée's manifesto, should rest on the French language, equality between men and women, secularism, social justice, and democracy.
Lisée's manifesto also called for lowering the number of immigrants arriving in Quebec each year -50,000 currently- to a new figure to be determined by the Auditor General of Quebec.
However, Lisée also agreed that "systemic racism" is found in Quebec. He vowed to combat it from government.
Quebec PM Philippe Couillard (Liberal Party) immediately reacted to Lisée's victory by linking the new PQ leader's stances on immigration to those of European far-right parties. Couillard said Lisée symbolizes a "besieged nationalism, a nationalism of fear."