Conservative Party of Quebec’s leader Éric Duhaime visits Pontiac

Conservative Party of Quebec’s leader Éric Duhaime visits Pontiac

The new leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, was in Pontiac yesterday (August 2) to meet with electors at Hursty’s Restaurant in Shawville and see the region as part of his summer tour across the province.

He spoke with CHIP FM at length about health care and was very critical of the provincial government’s response to COVID-19. He also was strongly in favour of increased privatization of health services.

A former radio host and columnist, Duhaime is no stranger to conservative circles at the federal and provincial level, having worked as an aide to Stockwell Day (then with the Canadian Alliance) and Mario Dumont, leader of the Action démocratique du Québec (who later merged to form the Coalition Avenir Québec in 2012).

The current iteration of the Conservative Party of Quebec was founded in 2009, and Duhaime was elected leader in April 2021. The party got its first sitting member on June 18 of this year in Claire Samson, who was kicked out of the CAQ a few days earlier for making a donation to the party.

In the 2018 elections, the party ran 101 candidates and captured 1.45% of the vote. In the Pontiac riding, candidate Kenny Roy finished in sixth place with 853 votes.

The full interview with Duhaime can be found here.