He’s wasting his time here.”
asserted
He → waste → time
Samuel Côté, a country music DJ, and his girlfriend Mélanie Lévesque, a social worker, were eating lunch on their porch, just steps away from where Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was trying to shore up support before the election.
asserted
Plamondon → eat → election
Clearly, the PQ did not have their vote.
asserted
PQ → have → vote
Their lawn sign showed they instead supported their Conservative candidate, Tarek Henoud, who would end up winning the riding of Arthabaska—L’Érable, located between Montreal and Quebec City, on Monday.
asserted
who → show → Monday
This is also one of the handful of seats that would end up costing the PQ its coveted majority, having underestimated the voter turnout for their Conservative opponents.
asserted
that → end → opponents
“To begin with, I’m not a huge separatist,” said Côté, who also goes by the alias DJ Sammy.
asserted
who → begin → alias
“I used to vote for Québec Solidaire when I was much younger — like a lot of young people in the 18-to-25 age range.
asserted
I → use → range
But I really lost interest in them during COVID.”
asserted
I → lose → COVID
Côté said he was skeptical of the “medical conspiracies” during the pandemic and refused to get vaccinated.
asserted
he → say → pandemic
It was during that time that he subscribed to follow Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime who was not shy to address those questions.
asserted
who → subscribe → questions
“That’s what made me move from the far left to a less extreme right, I’d say.”
asserted
I → ’ → right
With the pandemic behind them, Côté and Lévesque said they continued to subscribe to Duhaime’s propositions to lower taxes so families could have more in their pockets and to cut in Quebec’s bloated bureaucracy to reinvest in better services for people.
uncertain
families → say → people
One example that spoke to them was the promise to abolish the provincial tax on used goods.
asserted
that → speak → goods
Lévesque said it makes no sense to pay taxes on a used car, for instance, when those same taxes were already paid for when that same car was brand-new.
asserted
car → say → instance
Côté also said Duhaime’s promise to abolish Quebec’s “carbon tax” appealed to him.
asserted
promise → say → him
The province remains the only jurisdiction in Canada to have maintained its carbon pricing system, which is adding to the already bloated price at the pump.
asserted
which → remain → pump
The PQ government has promised to abolish the provincial tax on used goods.
asserted
government → promise → goods
It also intends to cut the provincial tax on gas by half for one year and reimburse it completely for individual Quebecers earning less than $40,000 per year with a cheque of $125.
asserted
It → intend → 125
Côté said he was happy to see the ideas promoted by the Quebec Conservatives be adopted by other parties — and in this case, make their way to government.
asserted
ideas → say → government
“The important thing is for the ideas to get through — not for the Conservative government to get elected.
asserted
government → get → ?
The goal is for the ideas to get through,” he said.
asserted
he → get → ?
While lots of ink has been spilled on the referendum issue, many Quebecers have expressed they just want to get by.
asserted
they → spill → issue
And Duhaime was able to pound that message.
asserted
Duhaime → pound → message
As a result, the Quebec Conservatives are making a noticeable comeback in the National Assembly with over 20 per cent of the votes and a whopping 19 seats.
asserted
Conservatives → make → votes
They won 15 out of the 18 seats in Quebec City, spilling into central Quebec and the Eastern Townships.
asserted
They → win → Quebec
Their navy blue seats now form a large blot on a map of Quebec.
asserted
seats → form → Quebec
“It exceeded our expectations,” said director of communications Cédric Lapointe.
asserted
Lapointe → exceed → communications
Duhaime has said he built on the lessons of the past campaign, where his party won no seats despite finishing with 13 per cent of the popular vote.
asserted
party → say → vote
So, he focused his efforts on the Quebec City area, campaigning in surrounding regions as his support grew.
asserted
support → focus → regions
Lapointe said the idea was to develop their brand as the “party of taxpayers” by focusing on people’s purchasing power.
asserted
idea → say → power
He said it was a clear contrast with the PQ and the Quebec Liberals, which were more focused on constitutional debates.
asserted
which → say → debates
“We were considered by many people as an alternative to the old parties,” he said.
asserted
he → consider → parties
Some of their candidates made headlines for recent comments on vaccines, abortion or Canada becoming the 51st state.
asserted
Canada → make → vaccines
Duhaime dismissed those comments as “distractions.”
asserted
Duhaime → dismiss → distractions
His campaign was also overshadowed by revelations that 62 per cent of his most recent book, “Destination Autonomy: Expanding Quebec’s Powers within the Canadian Confederation,” was written with artificial intelligence.
asserted
cent → overshadow → intelligence
Duhaime argued that AI is a tool like any other and those were still his ideas.
asserted
those → argue → other
In the last stretch of the campaign, Duhaime called on voters who were disappointed by the incumbent Coalition Avenir Québec government to instead opt to vote for the Conservatives to block a PQ majority and a possible third referendum.
asserted
who → call → majority
Duhaime made that ultimate appeal in front of a garage with two buses — one with a “Yes” sign and the other with a “No” sign.
“There is only one party that can stop them from leaving the garage,” he said.
asserted
he → make → garage
The Quebec Conservatives were aiming for at least 12 seats and form a recognized party at the National Assembly.
asserted
Conservatives → aim → Assembly
Poll aggregators were showing there would be close races with the PQ in many ridings which could reduce it to a minority government.
uncertain
which → show → government
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
