Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) leadership candidates Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville will participate in a “virtual meeting” organized by young CAQ members on Saturday.
This is the first event bringing the two candidates together since the race began. From 4 to 5 p.m., they will take turns answering questions from young people, without necessarily confronting each other.
Two more traditional debates will be held on March 21 in Quebec City and March 28 in Laval. The election of the new CAQ leader and premier of Quebec will take place on April 12.
Saturday’s event, organized by the CAQ’s Next Generation Commission (CRCAQ), will address the following topics: the standard of living of young people, identity, and party unity.
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Of the CAQ’s approximately 15,000 members, about 900 are aged 30 and under.
The discussions will be moderated by political analyst and former communications director for Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Dimitri Soudas.
Drainville did not wait for the 4 p.m. meeting to make his first commitment to young people.
In a press release issued Saturday morning, he promised that a Drainville government would help them buy their first home by advancing up to 20 per cent of the cost of a new property.
If the government advances 20 per cent of the purchase price, it recovers 20 per cent of the resale price, he explained.
“I refuse to accept that an entire generation should be excluded from the market. We must (…) support construction and give families real prospects for the future,” he said.
For the past month, Fréchette, former Quebec minister of economy and energy, has been leading her opponent.
According to the most recent Pallas-Data-Qc125-L’Actualité poll, 51 per cent of CAQ respondents have a favorable opinion of her, compared to 24 per cent who have an unfavorable opinion.
For her rival in the race, Drainville, the opposite is true: 24 per cent have a favorable opinion of him, compared to 55 per cent who have an unfavorable opinion.
CAQ founder François Legault announced his resignation as premier on Jan. 14, amid poor poll numbers.
He plans to remain in office until April 12.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
