Harper woos Quebec as NDP lashes out at federal Liberal government
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MONTREAL (CP) - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Monday he'll go into the next federal election with a strong team in Quebec that will bring the province back to the Tory fold.
"We're getting good candidates in place and I think we simply have to hit the ground and make the case to Quebecers," he said after a speech in Montreal. "If they want real change, the only way to do that is to change the government. The Conservative party represents a philosophy of federalism that most Quebecers should be very comfortable with."
Harper said former provincial Liberal cabinet minister Lawrence Cannon, who is also a Conservative candidate, is leading an effort to put down organizational roots.
The Conservatives have been largely shut out of Quebec since the province helped Brian Mulroney secure a second consecutive Tory majority in 1988.
In 1993 and in subsequent elections, the Bloc Quebecois grabbed most of the province's 75 seats and still leads in opinion polls.
In his speech, Harper said the only way to clean up the federal government is to vote Conservative because the Bloc will never take power. He also said his party will be more honest and respectful of provincial jurisdictions unlike the Liberals.
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, speaking in Sherbrooke, Que., said his troops are ready to hit the campaign trail if the government falls.
"We're in pre-campaign (mode) and we will be ready when there is a date or the election is called," he said.
Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, Prime Minister Paul Martin's Quebec lieutenant, wasn't scared by recent strong Bloc showings in the polls.
"Surveys change," he said. "We won't build the next election, which will take place in a few months, on the basis of the latest poll."
Lapierre acknowledged he would rather stick to the Liberal timetable of calling an election within 30 days of Justice John Gomery releasing his second report on the sponsorship scandal, which would mean a spring election.
But he recalled his last winter campaign in 1980 when the fall of then Conservative prime minister Joe Clark's government resulted in an election that returned Pierre Trudeau to office with a majority in February of that year.
"You know, it's darn cold but when you win it's a kind of a nice warm feeling," he said.
©The Canadian Press, 2005
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MONTREAL (CP) - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Monday he'll go into the next federal election with a strong team in Quebec that will bring the province back to the Tory fold.
"We're getting good candidates in place and I think we simply have to hit the ground and make the case to Quebecers," he said after a speech in Montreal. "If they want real change, the only way to do that is to change the government. The Conservative party represents a philosophy of federalism that most Quebecers should be very comfortable with."
Harper said former provincial Liberal cabinet minister Lawrence Cannon, who is also a Conservative candidate, is leading an effort to put down organizational roots.
The Conservatives have been largely shut out of Quebec since the province helped Brian Mulroney secure a second consecutive Tory majority in 1988.
In 1993 and in subsequent elections, the Bloc Quebecois grabbed most of the province's 75 seats and still leads in opinion polls.
In his speech, Harper said the only way to clean up the federal government is to vote Conservative because the Bloc will never take power. He also said his party will be more honest and respectful of provincial jurisdictions unlike the Liberals.
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, speaking in Sherbrooke, Que., said his troops are ready to hit the campaign trail if the government falls.
"We're in pre-campaign (mode) and we will be ready when there is a date or the election is called," he said.
Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, Prime Minister Paul Martin's Quebec lieutenant, wasn't scared by recent strong Bloc showings in the polls.
"Surveys change," he said. "We won't build the next election, which will take place in a few months, on the basis of the latest poll."
Lapierre acknowledged he would rather stick to the Liberal timetable of calling an election within 30 days of Justice John Gomery releasing his second report on the sponsorship scandal, which would mean a spring election.
But he recalled his last winter campaign in 1980 when the fall of then Conservative prime minister Joe Clark's government resulted in an election that returned Pierre Trudeau to office with a majority in February of that year.
"You know, it's darn cold but when you win it's a kind of a nice warm feeling," he said.
©The Canadian Press, 2005
