A rchive Date
[ 12-11-2000 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Canada ]
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[Day's a mere blip on Quebec radar
By MICHEL C. AUGER - Toronto Sun
November 12, 2000
OTTAWA - Okay, you barely noticed Stockwell Day was there during the French language debate last Wednesday. And if you're in Quebec these days, you won't see Day's face on billboards or hear much about the Canadian Alliance.
That's not unusual, I suppose, for a new party that hasn't invested a lot of time, money or effort in Quebec. It's already clear the Alliance won't win a seat in the province. And - you read it here first - if Day's party gets better than expected results in the Quebec City area, it will be a protest vote against the provincial government because of a municipal merger issue, not a great breakthrough by the Alliance.
So, in reality, the Alliance has to start building for the future in Quebec the day after this election, taking into account the lessons that can already be drawn from this campaign.
The first lesson comes from the debate. It's not enough to be able to say a few sentences in French or to repeat a pre-packaged answer to an expected question. In a debate you can't just be there, you actually have to take part.
Day has made much of his ability to speak French. He never told us he wasn't so good at understanding French. That's the part that comes from going outside the classroom and getting a lot of practice conversing in the language.
Day could recite his answers, but he was unable to debate, as opposed to Joe Clark who could and did debate quite efficiently.
This is essential - and not only on debate night - if you want to be taken seriously by Quebecers. You have to be able to talk with them, not merely talk to them. This comes with practice and not from a bunch of photo-ops. One understands this is all Day had time to do this time around; he will have the next four years to actually come to Quebec and listen.
The second lesson is that you cannot create a grassroots movement out of nothing. There is no Reform infrastructure to build on and no Tory organization to take over in Quebec. In fact, there never was a Tory organization to speak of. Brian Mulroney just borrowed that of Robert Bourassa and the Quebec Liberal Party.
And you know what? That same machine is free and available if the Alliance can find a way to get a bit closer to the Quebec Liberals.
In this election, federal Liberals were quite sure their provincial friends would work with them. "Federalists will work for federalists," they said. No way if that means re-electing Jean Chretien, the Quebec Liberals replied.
Respect Joe Clark
There are very few Quebec Liberals working on this federal election. They're taking a pass. This year they could not be brought in to work with the Alliance, if only out of respect for Joe Clark, who is well liked in Quebec and is a friend of Quebec Liberal Leader Jean Charest.
But with a platform insisting on respect for provincial jurisdictions, with just a few adjustments the Alliance and the Quebec Liberals could walk hand in hand.
For that to happen, Day will have to start to listen to Quebec federalists and not just to the disgruntled band of former Liberal and Bloc members he has assembled as candidates this time around.
He must spend time with Charest, travel around the province and listen to what people say. And he must start recruiting good candidates now. Candidates who will be available not only to the big Montreal media, but also to the media in the smaller markets to explain Alliance policies. Remember that Mulroney's strength in Quebec came from the outlying regions of the province, not from the big cities. The Alliance has no choice but to do the same.
Especially since, next time around, there could be many francophone voters looking for a new way to express themselves. The Bloc will have a lot more trouble justifying its existence when Jean Chretien has left the field.
Against a Brian Tobin or an Allan Rock, Day could find a huge pool of support from former Bloc voters. Against Paul Martin, however, that would be far more difficult.
This is why the Alliance's early success can be its long-term problem. Putting Chretien in a minority could mean a quick election with Martin as the new Liberal leader. And the Alliance needs much more time than that to build a solid foundation in Quebec.
Michael Auger, political columnist for Le Journal de Montreal and Le Journal de Quebec, appears Fridays.
His e-mail address is: mcauger@journalmtl.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]]
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