A 14-member committee will travel the province to canvass Liberal members about how the party should redefine its political identity.
In the wake of the worst electoral defeat in its history and a byelection loss that saw its former leader’s riding go to Québec solidiaire, the Quebec Liberal Party will take to the road this summer in an effort to find itself.
A 14-member committee co-chaired by former journalist and senator André Pratte and Liberal MNA Madwa-Nika Cadet will travel the province to canvass Liberal members about how the party should redefine its political identity.
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Other committee members are former provincial Liberal cabinet ministers Pierre Arcand, Geoffrey Kelley, Lucie Charlebois and Jean D’Amours.
Antoine Dionne-Charest, the son of former Quebec premier and Liberal leader Jean Charest, will also participate in the exercise.
The committee’s road trip will last until September and its report will be expected in time for review during a party convention scheduled for the autumn.
The Quebec Liberals gleaned just 14 per cent of the vote in last October’s general election and its single-digit support among francophones has led some critics to dismiss it as the West Island Liberal Party, a reference to its remaining strongholds in the Montreal area.
The committee will seek to address the questions of what it means to be a Quebec Liberal in 2023, the party’s place in the province’s political landscape, what principles define 21st century liberalism and how those principles can be transformed into concrete policies that will appeal to Quebecers.
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