Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard says he will make modernizing Montreal’s metro a priority after meeting with the city’s mayor Wednesday. “I reassured the mayor that I will be very active on that file. And we discussed other topics such as homelessness,” Milliard said as he exited the closed-door meeting at Montreal City Hall. Along with Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Milliard also met with Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer. The pre-election campaign has been busy for Milliard’s opponents. On Monday, Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette announced a major energy agreement in Churchill Falls. The following day, Parti Québécois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon tried to steal back the spotlight by delaying plans for a third referendum until after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office. The Liberals currently sit in second place in the polls, just five points behind the PQ. Political commentator and former Liberal minister Tom Mulcair said Milliard is at risk of losing non-sovereigntist votes to a resurgent Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ). “So, in all of that, where is Charles Milliard? Where are the Liberals? Honestly, they’re nowhere. They’re not part of the conversation,” Mulcair said. “That divided vote could hand the keys to the National Assembly to St-Pierre Plamondon with barely 30 per cent of the vote. And that’s why people are taking a good, hard look at who they’re thinking of voting for.” Milliard believes this is still a two-horse race. “The CAQ or Équipe Christine Fréchette, which is, by the way, the same thing, is trying to create a three-way race. But from all the people that I’ve met in the past weeks and months, Quebecers are done with the CAQ.” But Salim Idrissi, a Liberal strategist, says Milliard needs to offer something more. “What precisely makes the situation dangerous for the Liberals is that being the automatic choice of No voters is no longer enough. How can we identify exactly the reason why a Quebecer would vote for Charles Milliard? And this needs to be addressed,” he said. The campaign is expected to officially begin sometime next week. But for the leaders vying to be Quebec’s next premier, it appears to already be in full swing.
