National Assembly needs a ‘rational voice,' new Canadian Party of Quebec leader says
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The National Assembly needs voices that aren't nationalist, the newly acclaimed leader of the Canadian Party of Quebec says.
The federalist, anglophone-rights-focused party unanimously acclaimed Joe Cianflone as its new leader Saturday at a convention in Pointe-Claire — and voted in resolutions supportive of splitting Quebec in two.
Cianflone officially replaces Colin Standish, who stepped down as leader in February.
Standish, once an Eastern Townships language activist, founded the Canadian Party of Quebec in 2022, aiming to defend minority rights following the adoption of the Coalition Avenir Québec's sweeping language reforms under Bill 96. The party fielded its first slate of candidates in that year's election, running in 20 constituencies and scraping together just under 1,300 votes provincewide.
Standish left Quebec after stepping down as leader, becoming a Crown prosecutor in Manitoba, with Cianflone announced as his replacement.
The National Assembly is made up of 'four nationalist parties,' Cianflone said, leaving no option for voters who don't identify with Quebec nationalism. 'We just need to have a more moderate and rational voice,' he said.
'We're all about Canadian exceptionalism,' he said. 'At the end of the day, this is not an ethnically or linguistically or religiously or racially defined country or province.'
Members of the nascent party adopted two resolutions Saturday concerning partitioning Quebec — as a response to the current government's repeated, pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause and as a potential countermeasure should a sovereignty referendum be successful.
Though a recent Léger poll showed only 33 per cent of Quebecers favour separation, Cianflone said he still considers separatism a real threat. Parti Québécois Leader Paul-St-Pierre-Plamondon, who is leading in the polls, has promised to hold a referendum should he win.
'Once they declare a referendum, we see the same thing we saw in the '90s,' Cianflone said. 'Misinformation, disinformation and ultimately a very emotive and difficult vote.'
Quebecers opposed to separation should have the option to stay in Canada, Cianflone said, which he said could mean the creation of a new province.
Like in 2022, the party doesn't plan to field a full slate of candidates in the next election, he said, and will only appear on the ballot in select ridings.
'Our job is not to try to come in to be the party in power. Our job is to add one voice to the National Assembly, if not a few, that will stop voting unanimously for every nonsense piece of legislation that's proposed.'
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