The economy and the poor state of public services remain priorities, but that doesn’t mean other issues should be ignored.
That said, issues related to language, religion, immigration and Quebecers’ fundamental rights will always be preoccupations in this province. No political party can ignore them. The purpose of the constitution we are proposing is to unite Quebecers of all languages and backgrounds around a set of common values and principles. Canada’s Constitution already allows for provincial constitutions; therefore, a Quebec constitution would not be a rival to the Canadian one.
A few members, francophones and anglophones, were opposed to the idea, and we held a thorough debate. The resolution was not “pushed through,” but democratically adopted by an overwhelming majority of the 700 Liberals present.
As Libman rightly points out, in Quebec, the balance between the collective rights of the French-language majority and individual and minority rights is not easy to find. Most of the province’s parties do not even attempt to discover that equilibrium. The Quebec Liberal Party seeks to find the right balance, because we are convinced that protecting French as our common language is possible without infringing on individual and minority rights. It appears to me that such an approach deserves praise rather than scorn.
The economy and the poor state of Quebec’s public services remain at the forefront of Liberals’ preoccupations. But that doesn’t mean other issues should be ignored. If we are to offer Quebecers a serious alternative to the current government in the 2026 election, we need to be active on all fronts. That is our goal. That is our plan.
André Pratte is the chair of the Quebec Liberal Party’s national policy committee.