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CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Quebec Liberal leadership race: Karl Blackburn shares his ‘big ideas'
Rebuild the economy through business tax cuts and immigration, attract and retain international talent and fix the healthcare system by working collaboratively with healthcare workers. These are some of the 'big ideas' Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) leadership hopeful Karl Blackburn says he wants to focus on. The businessman and former head of the Quebec Employers Council (Conseil du patronat du Québec) sat down with CJAD 800 Radio host Elias Makos to make his case about wanting to lead the oldest political party in Quebec. Some answers have been edited for clarity. Elias Makos: It's our pleasure to welcome Karl Blackburn to CJAD. Mr. Blackburn, welcome to the show. We want big, bold ideas. What is that bold idea? Maybe the top-of-mind bold idea that you're bringing to the Quebec Liberal leadership race. Karl Blackburn: Economy—everything is about the economy. We need a strong economy to be able to reconnect with our healthcare system and our education system. For me, without a stronger economy, nothing is possible. That's why I strongly represent a vision based on the economy. And, of course, if the Quebec Liberal Party wants to be in government again, we need to reconnect with Francophones and the regions. I'm from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. I know the Quebec Liberal Party well. I know the members and the members know me. That's exactly what I'm proposing in this race. Personally, I believe I'm the most complete candidate to reconnect the party with both the economy and the regions. Makos: But how would you do it? Do you have an idea on how to reshape, redraw the Quebec economy and change how it's been run over the last couple of decades? Blackburn: Yes. First of all, I will reduce income taxes. Right now, among about 40 countries around the world, we're ranked near the bottom—we're 38th. We need to change that. I will reduce taxes for individuals and for companies. I'll also reduce regulations. Just to give you an example, entrepreneurs are currently spending 15 to 20 hours a week just to meet bureaucratic demands from the Quebec government. We need to reduce that red tape. And based on my experience and my ability to identify where cuts are needed, I'm confident I can deliver on this. Makos: On the tax front—are you saying cutting personal income taxes or just business taxes? Blackburn: Just business taxes. And in this race, I'm also the only candidate talking about something that's very important for our employers: I will increase the ability to bring more economic immigrants to Quebec. This is essential to help our businesses grow, create services, and address the labour shortage. Right now, we still have more than 120,000 job openings across all regions of Quebec. We need more workers and more support. That's why I will increase opportunities for economic immigration to support our companies and our economy. Makos: How do you reduce corporate taxes when Quebec is looking at a historic dollar sign amount when it comes to the deficit? How do you balance that out? Blackburn: First of all, by reducing business taxes, we'll create growth and prosperity. If we produce more, if we create more prosperity, and if we bring in more workers to Quebec, we'll have a stronger economy. A stronger economy means more jobs and more people paying taxes. That gives us the ability to invest in our infrastructure. Right now, we've lost confidence when it comes to investing in our own economy. And I just want to make sure that I will change the economic climate because right now, we are not going in the right direction. And you're right to raise the question of public finances—because we don't currently have a strong economic vision, and we're in a difficult fiscal situation. We'll have to make choices—decide where to invest and which projects to support. In my vision, that means focusing on building a stronger economy, and it will be about education and our health system. Makos: I want to talk to you about economic immigration. Many people would say that the immigration numbers are already too high. I've heard from some of the people you're running against who would like to see a small drop when it comes to immigration. You are not proposing that. So, do you have an idea here on how to do immigration in the right way? Because I think we're all thinking about integration and our public services at the same time. Blackburn: Mr. Legault always divides Quebecers when it comes to immigration. When I talk about increasing economic immigration, I mean economic immigration only—I'm not talking about refugees or other types of immigration. This is based on our needs. Every day, for every 10 workers retiring, we have only nine new workers entering the workforce. So we need more workers. That's why we must increase economic immigration. I also agree with concerns about refugee immigration. Quebec represents 20 per cent of Canada's population, but we receive nearly 50 per cent of the country's refugees. That's not normal. We should only receive 20 per cent of that type of immigration. That means other provinces need to do their part. Lastly, when it comes to international students, we need to make our universities—like McGill, Concordia, Université de Montréal—more attractive and increase their capacity to bring the best talent from around the world to Quebec. Makos: Are you more open to English-speaking immigrants coming to Quebec than the CAQ has been? Blackburn: Yes, because we need this kind of immigration. And, of course, in Quebec, everyone agrees that business is done in French. But we also need to support our companies. If we want to be a global leader, we must be able to speak to the world—in its own language. Here in Quebec, we need to be more attractive and more competitive. I'm convinced we can do more than what Mr. Legault has done over the last eight years. He has only divided Quebecers. For me, it's the opposite—I want to bring all Quebecers together around a strong vision, one that believes Quebec can and should be a strong nation, an influential nation in the world. I believe that deeply. Makos: Give our listeners your bold idea to make healthcare better in Quebec. Blackburn: I will work with doctors. I will work with nurses. I'm not going to confront them—they have the solutions. They know how to manage the healthcare system to deliver the right services to our population. My first priority in healthcare will be to create more than 60 new Groupes de médecine familiale (GMFs) because we're currently missing around 100 GMFs across Quebec. I will also invest in expanding our university medical faculties because we're short between 1,500 and 2,000 doctors in the system. I will make this happen—because it's a question of delivery and it's a question of priorities. I will protect our services, and I will reconnect with Quebecers.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Arthabaska: Denis Coderre urges Liberals to vote for Éric Duhaime
Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre (left) appears alongside Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) and candidate in the Arthabaska by-election, in Victoriaville on Thursday, May 29, 2025. (The Canadian Press/Thomas Laberge) In a political twist in Arthabaska, Denis Coderre has thrown his support behind Éric Duhaime, calling on Liberals and federalists in the riding to vote for the Conservative leader. 'A party leader, no matter who it is — if it had been someone else, I would've done the same darn thing — has the right to sit in the National Assembly,' the former mayor of Montreal said Thursday at a press conference in Victoriaville, standing alongside Duhaime. Coderre said the Conservative leader's ideas deserve to be heard at the National Assembly. 'The interests of Quebecers include, among other things, scrapping the carbon tax, and the only one who's been clear, straightforward and transparent about that is Éric Duhaime,' he said. The former federal minister urged the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) not to run a candidate in the riding, both to facilitate Duhaime's election and to 'save money.' 'If the PLQ runs someone, they won't even get 10 per cent,' he argued. Sitting beside him, the Conservative leader welcomed the endorsement, describing Coderre as a politician who puts democracy first. 'It sends the message that people of all stripes — no matter your position on the Constitution, no matter where you fall on the left-right spectrum — you're welcome in the Quebec Conservative Party. I want to bring people in Arthabaska together,' Duhaime said. After the press conference, the two went to shake hands with seniors at a nearby retirement residence. Tax troubles Until recently, Coderre had wanted to run for the PLQ leadership. But his ongoing tax troubles led the Liberals to reject his candidacy in February. At the time, he said he was 'disgusted' by the party's decision. On Thursday, the former mayor insisted his support for the Conservatives isn't about getting back at the Liberals. Coderre's tax issues remain unresolved. La Presse reported in recent days that he still owes taxes at both the provincial and federal levels. Back in October 2024, he said his situation would be resolved by January. At Thursday's press conference in Victoriaville, he repeated that 'all funds are secured.' 'The rest of this sounds more like smearing, harassment and intimidation,' he said. Asked whether he might run with the Conservatives in 2026, he replied simply: 'I'll deal with my stuff first.' Despite everything, the former federal minister says he still holds a PLQ membership card. When asked whether paying taxes is important, Duhaime sidestepped the question, saying that 'unfortunately,' in politics, old stories always resurface. 'Today's real news is that someone is standing up to say that democracy has its place in Quebec,' he added. Coderre was mayor of Montreal from 2013 to 2017. Before that, he was a federal Liberal MP from 1997 to 2013 in the Montreal riding of Bourassa. Three-way race According to poll aggregator Qc125, the Arthabaska by-election is shaping up to be a three-way race between the Quebec Conservative Party (PCQ), the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), and the Parti Québécois (PQ). Former Radio-Canada journalist Alex Boissonneault is running for the PQ. Voters in Arthabaska haven't elected a PQ MNA in over 25 years. Québec solidaire is running Pascale Fortin in the by-election. So far, neither the CAQ nor the Liberals have named a candidate. The riding has been held by the CAQ since 2012. In the 2022 provincial election, Conservative candidate Tarek Henoud placed second in Arthabaska with 25 per cent of the vote. The government has until September to call the by-election. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 29, 2025. By Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Quebec Liberal leadership race: Charles Milliard shares his ‘big ideas'
Virtual medicine, paying interns and prioritizing small businesses are some of the 'big ideas' Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) leadership hopeful Charles Milliard says he wants to focus on. The pharmacist, former head of Quebec's Chamber of Commerce (QCC) and political neophyte, sat down with CJAD 800 Radio host Elias Makos to make his case about wanting to lead the oldest political party in Quebec. Some answers have been edited for clarity. ELIAS MAKOS: We've invited the candidates to sit down with us, and we've asked them to do one thing: bring us their boldest ideas, their vision for rebuilding the party and reconnecting with Quebecers. We want to shy away from cliches as we introduce these candidates to you. Charles Milliard is in studio. Thank you so much, Mr. Milliard, for coming into studio. Give me the bold idea that when Liberal Party members vote, they're going to check off your name. CHARLES MILLIARD: Well, I'm going to start by saying that my candidacy is, in a way, the boldest idea in this campaign because I'm not a politician. I'm 45 years old. I'm a pharmacist by trade. I used to be CEO of the QCC, as you mentioned, so I'm coming with a new tone, a new type of resume to lead the Liberal Party, the longest-serving party in the history of Quebec. So that, in a nutshell, is the basic line. I would say there are many challenges in Quebec, as you know, I'm going to talk about health care and education. One bold idea that I'm bringing in this campaign is to have access, from a public service perspective, to virtual health care services, telemedicine, 24/7. It has worked for the past years in the private sector. It's time that the public system goes virtual as well, and you know what? It's going to be very helpful for mental health care, precisely. Charles Milliard Quebec Liberal Party leadership candidate Charles Milliard gives remarks during the Quebec Liberal Party French-language leadership debate in Laval, Que., on Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press) MAKOS: Give me your vision for that. How does it work? Is it every Quebecer has a Quebec health care app? MILLIARD: I want a hybrid system, like the assurance medicaments, you know, for the medication we take. We're going to let the private do what it does, what it's doing best right now, but I want the public system to have access. I want people to have access to doctors, 24/7, virtually, and it's going to be very helpful in the different regions and rural areas of Quebec, where access to first-line health care professionals is a dire need. MAKOS: This is because you're looking at access to family doctors and how clogged the emergency rooms are. You think that's a benefit here? MILLIARD: I'm a pharmacist, so I know when you're sick, you need to look someone in the eyes and feel that you're being taken care of, whether it's physical or virtual. This is something that I want to implement, and I think there's a lot of interest from doctors as well because they can do that at home. They can do that at any time of the day, and you know what? All the candidates in this race have been agreeing with me, so it's looking good. MAKOS: Let me ask you one thing, though, because it's a great, big, bold idea, but it involves an app. It involves technology, and then my worry is, you're going to get the boys from SAAQclic to come on down and design it, and then it's going to cost billions of dollars with no results. How do you make sure it's not $1.1 billion later, [and it] doesn't work? MILLIARD: What we need to do more is to have, I'm going to say tech geeks, or IT guys and girls, in the Salon Bleu. We need that expertise to be represented in our parliament because obviously, times are changing. We're going to need the help of the private on that area. MAKOS: You have another bold idea here. Hit me with your next bold idea. MILLIARD: It's a long-time request of the different student federations. It's about paying our interns. When it comes to future nurses, future teachers, both from the public and private sectors, I think we need to put our students and future adults in a less precarious financial situation. This has been asked for, for 10 years, and again three weeks ago, [Higher Education] Minister [Pascale] Déry said she's not going to go forward with the idea. We want to pay future nurses, future teachers, and if students are doing internships in the private sector, it's going to be a 50/50 repartition between the employer and the public system. MAKOS: All of these measures would cost money. You compare Quebec to a lot of other jurisdictions; the amount that you pay to go to school in Quebec versus other places, seems like students have it OK in this province. I wonder why that's such a priority for you to lessen that burden, when some would argue the burden is already lower than others. MILLIARD: The cost of living is getting higher and higher in Quebec. The different food banks have new clients right now, and they're called students throughout Quebec. We've seen that pretty much in every region that I visited in the past 10 months on this race. I just want to accept this request from the student federations. I think it's going to cost between $300 and $400 million, but this is money that we're not going to put in helping the students in other situations, whether it's housing, whether it's financial aid for tuition fees and stuff. This is something that I've been very clear about from the get-go. MAKOS: If you can increase the wealth of Quebec and bring in revenues, you can pay for any program. So, give me a bold idea here when it comes to the economy. MILLIARD: It's about going back to prioritize our SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises]. We've been talking a lot about big companies in the past six years, with Northvolt, with Lion Electric, and so on and so forth. I think [Premier] Mr. [François] Legault and [former economy minister] Mr. [Pierre] Fitzgibbon played the lottery with our money. We need to go back to what we're good at, which is SMEs, which are small and medium-sized businesses, which are companies with 25, 50, 100 employees. They're the ones who are vitalizing our different regions in Quebec. The economic plan that I put out with former minister [Raymond] Bachand in this campaign, he's been with me since day one, is about rolling out the red carpet for SMEs, decreasing taxes for SMEs. We're going to have a look also at the wage taxes that entrepreneurs are paying right now, so we can send a strong signal that if you want to open a business in Quebec and bring fiscal revenue, so that we can pay for our social net, we're more than hoping to welcome your cases. MAKO: You said before, 'I want to bring in the tech bros and the tech gals,' and when you said that, I'm thinking, 'Oh, United States. Elon Musk. DOGE.' It's on the same vein that the government has too many regulations, they're getting in the way too often. Do you feel that Quebec gets in the way of doing business? MILLIARD: There is way too much regulation in Quebec. To me, it's obvious, and I've heard some of my opponents saying that they want a ministry of regulation. I would rather have a bill put into place that is going to force the different public servants to work towards more deregulation than having a ministry. This is something we need to do, both from an economic perspective, but also from a linguistic perspective, especially with the [Office québécois de la langue française] OQLF. MAKOS: Do you have a bold idea on refocusing the OQLF? MILLIARD: I'll be more precise as to what I want the OQLF to do, and it's not to get in the way of businesses in Quebec. We can say that and still be strong and fierce promoters of French and Quebec without impeding on what the businesses have to do. MAKOS: I'll give you some time here to wrap up with one more bold idea, if you've got it for us. MILLIARD: I'm going to say that on identity, this is a field that we need to play. We don't have to leave the [Coalition Avenir Québec] CAQ and the [Parti Québécois] PQ alone. I'm the only one who has been courageous enough with proposing a bill on interculturalism, which is a way to recognize that Quebec is like a tree, and the tree trunk is the French language, of course, and we have branches, which is the English-speaking community, our First Nations and Inuit, the different cultural communities we have, but we want them to bear fruit. We want them to grow with our tree trunk, which is the French language, and this is my answer to the divisive politics of the CAQ and the PQ, who want to bring a customs [office] to Gatineau instead of uniting Canadians. MAKOS: It seems to me that you also really do believe that integration is key. MILLIARD: I want us to be a liberal society, which means that we have to respect and defend all the minorities, and this is what the Liberal Party has been all about for 157 years, and hopefully for the next 10 years, with me leading it.
