SCOTT, Que. — Quebec needs a new deal with Ottawa, one that would give the province more powers over a slew of areas including language and immigration, the leader of Quebec's third party said Wednesday.
Francois Legault, leader of Coalition for Quebec's Future, asked Quebecers to embrace his call for a new nationalism, which would "create a strong Quebec in Canada."
He tried to position his party as a nationalist alternative to the governing Liberals and to the sovereigntist opposition Parti Quebecois as he spoke to reporters Wednesday following a caucus retreat.
Legault is trying to increase his party's exposure after a difficult year where he was overshadowed by media magnate Pierre Karl Peladeau, who ran and won the leadership of the PQ.
The Coalition leader said the governing Liberals are too passive in their relationship with Ottawa and the PQ too obsessed with independence.
Legault said his party will offer a clear, middle ground that seeks to keep Quebec in Canada but with additional powers, particularly over immigration and language.
He said by November the Coalition will produce a detailed proposal for a new Quebec nationalism, including a list of demands seeking for Quebec more control over its affairs.
Legault issued Wednesday a list of immediate demands to federal party leaders including giving Quebec full control over language issues and immigration.
He said the federal government still chooses roughly 30 per cent of the immigrants who move to Quebec, something that must change in order for the province to be able to effectively protect its culture and identity.
Legault refused to discuss opening the Canadian constitution, choosing only to say: "I prefer talking about a new deal."
Peladeau was incredulous on Wednesday about the possibility of Quebec working with the federal framework.
"It's not my place to comment on the strategy of the (Coalition)," he told reporters in Baie-Comeau, Que., about 400 kilometres northeast of Quebec City. "But I think (Legault) will realize quickly the limits of the federal system."
