The leader of the Canadian opposition gets Quebec in the face of a crucial debate

OTTAWA, Sept. 9 (Reuters) – Quebec’s influential provincial leader said Thursday that a vote for the Canadian opposition Conservative Party would be a better option than one for Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the May 20 election. September, a boost for the relatively unknown challenger. of a crucial debate.

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole took over her right-wing party last year during the heyday of the COVID-19 pandemic and the privileged admit she has had trouble running for voters.

“To regain more power in Quebec seems to be easier with Mr. O’Toole than with Mr. Trudeau,” Quebec Prime Minister Francois Legault told reporters.

Quebec represents 78 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons and is crucial to any party seeking office. Legault spoke this morning after a debate in French that posed few problems for Trudeau, who speaks French fluently and has his constituency in Montreal.

Legault, who represents a Quebec nationalist party, said he was in favor of O’Toole as head of a government with a parliamentary minority – which depends on opposition support – rather than a majority government because neither party fully represents the province.

Unlike Trudeau, O’Toole has made it clear that he would not challenge a Quebec law, backed by Legault, that prohibits most public officials from wearing religious symbols.

Polls show O’Toole with a slight advantage amid voter dissatisfaction with Trudeau’s decision to call elections two years earlier. (Surveys 🙂

O’Toole, Trudeau and three other party leaders will take part in the only debate in English – spoken by two-thirds of Canada’s 38 million people – at 9pm Eastern Thursday (Friday at 1am). 00 GMT).

“This is perhaps the most important of the two hours of O’Toole’s political life … there are a lot of open minds, so things can change quickly anyway,” said a Conservative strategist who goes alone Apply for anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.

Trudeau, who has been in office for six years, attacked O’Toole during Wednesday’s French debate, accusing him of favoring restrictions on abortion and of wanting to loosen gun controls. Read more

Trudeau benefited from the great stumbling blocks of opponents during the debates of the 2015 and 2019 campaigns, which he won.

“This is really, really important for both of us,” said Trudeau and O’Toole, said Frank Graves, president of voting company Ekos Research. “They fuck it, they lose the election.”

Additional reports from Allison Lampert in Montreal; Edited by Robert Birsel and Dan Grebler

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