(Thetford Mines) With former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre's interest in the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) leadership race, MP Marwah Rizqy's phone started ringing. At the end of the line, she swears, she is being consulted by business people who are now thinking about joining.
Posted at 5:43 p.m
“I am pleased that there is interest [pour la course] and in the meantime my phone actually rang. People who start to think honestly. […] As Denis Coderre announced [son intérêt]other people said: “Me too, I have the taste,” she explained on Tuesday as she arrived at the official opposition's pre-election meeting, which runs until Thursday in Thetford-Mines.
Like all of her colleagues who have spoken in a series of press briefings, Ms. Rizqy welcomes interest from potential candidates in the party leadership race. Since one of them is Mr. Coderre, what does she think of his record at the helm of Montreal? The deputy laughed for a long time.
“It's a laugh because the question is difficult to answer. Apparently there was still a result. He campaigned in his name [comme maire de Montréal] and obviously it didn’t end with a positive result,” she replied, referring to Denis Coderre’s two consecutive defeats in the metropolis’s town hall.
His spouse, Representative Gregory Kelley, then added that Mr. Coderre was nevertheless recognized as a politician present on site. “This is something that is important for the next leader,” he said.
According to Ms. Rizqy, people who want to become leaders of the PLQ have to travel to rejoin the regions to the party, while several liberal associations have few or more members.
“In some places there will be four or six of us [militants]. We have to build back from this. The person must be optimistic, even if this will not be the case at the meetings [toujours très] big,” she said.
Beauchemin meets with his colleagues again
The Liberals' preliminary session also marks the return of MP Frédéric Beauchemin to the group. The latter was officially reinstated by his troops in mid-December, while the bullying complaints against him were withdrawn following a mediation process.
Mr. Beauchemin, who has never hidden his ambition to enter the race, welcomed Mr. Coderre's possible candidacy.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, and Frédéric Beauchemin
“Mr. Coderre was a mayor of Montreal who did good things, [notamment] the arrival of the Bonaventure Highway in the city center. Mr. Coderre is a very good politician in the sense that he knows the machinery. He is able to organize, he is able to do groundwork, he is a very good candidate to ensure that the party has more debates on ideas,” he said.
MP Michelle Setlakwe, who was a councilor in the city of Mount Royal on the island of Montreal when Denis Coderre was mayor, declined to comment on her filing.
“He is a person I respect. I won't review it today. I welcome his candidacy and I am sure there will be other candidates,” she said.
For his part, interim boss Marc Tanguay, who spoke to Denis Coderre in recent weeks, welcomed his interest.
“We all know him, Denis. He has his own style. He is open-hearted. If he decides to run, I think he will bring momentum to the race if necessary,” he said.
On his Facebook page, Mr. Coderre shared photos of books summarizing liberal values and wished Liberal MPs a good election. Last October, PLQ activists in Drummondville decided to elect their next leader in spring 2025, just over a year before the next general election.