Fréchette and Drainville face off in first CAQ leadership debate
Fréchette and Drainville debated key issues including a disputed St. Lawrence River bridge project as CAQ's nearly 20,600 members prepare to select a new leader.
- The first debate in the Coalition Avenir Québec leadership race took place in Quebec City with Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville discussing the economy, public finances, infrastructure, transport, regional development and Canada–U.S. relations.
- The race to succeed Quebec Premier François Legault prompted the debate, following a March 13 membership cutoff that left just under 20,600 members eligible to vote.
- The venue, Espace Saint‑Grégoire, hosted about 300 attendees and streamed online.
- Tensions flared over the proposed 'third link' bridge as Fréchette called Drainville's route ego-driven, while Drainville said she was blocked by too many conditions; Fréchette proposed private‑sector partnership and local consultation.
- With just under 20,600 members eligible, the contest will be decided by the party base ahead of an April 12 announcement, focusing on economy, infrastructure, and Canada–U.S. relations.
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CAQ candidates get heated over shale gas, Third Link project in 1st official debate
Members of the Coalition Avenir Québec are now just weeks away from choosing the party's next leader. Whoever wins would become the province's premier until the general election slated for the fall.
Fréchette and Drainville face off in first CAQ leadership debate
QUÉBEC - The first debate in the race to succeed Quebec Premier François Legault as leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec took place in Quebec City, with candidates Christine Fréchette
The candidates for the caquist chiefdom Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville crossed the iron and did not hesitate to question the party's historical positions, whether on the third link, on permanence in the public service, on state interventionism or shale gas, on Saturday in Quebec City.
The caquist chieftain candidate and her rival Christine Fréchette are debating in Quebec City for the first time.
The motorway project sparked intense exchanges on Saturday morning between the two candidates for the leadership of the Coalition futur Québec.
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