Parti Quebecois – mackaycartoons

RIP Jacques Parizeau

June 2, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Jacques Parizeau, the Quebec nationalist former Premier has died at the age of 84. He served for many years in the cabinet of René Lévesque before eventually becoming leader of the Parti Québécois. In 1995, he led the Oui force of the sovereignty referendum and narrowly lost by a razor thin majority.

For any cartoonist he was an absolute joy to caricature. For me personally, Parizeau was at his prominence while I was honing my skills as an aspiring editorial cartoonist. Several caricatures I drew of him are seen below which were all drawn in the mid 1990’s. The final cartoon is from 2013.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

September 2, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Illustrations by Graeme MacKay (all 4 originally drawn in 1995) – Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Parizeau used Bouchard in 1995, Chantal Hébert’s new book shows

They don’t make sovereignist leaders like they used to. It’s hard to imagine any candidate for the Parti Québécois leadership matching the combination of Jacques Parizeau and Lucien Bouchard in the 1995 sovereignty referendum.

That referendum wouldn’t have been held without Parizeau’s single-minded pursuit of sovereignty. And the sovereignists wouldn’t have come within fewer than 55,000 votes of winning if it hadn’t been for Bouchard’s ability to gain voters’ trust.

Yet, as a forthcoming book shows, Bouchard did not trust Parizeau — and with reason.

Not only did Parizeau, who was premier, unscrupulously use Bouchard to deceive voters about his intentions, he intended to shove Bouchard aside after a Yes vote so he could make a unilateral declaration of independence.

The book is The Morning After, written by widely respected Ottawa journalist Chantal Hébert. It’s to be published early next month.

It’s based on recent interviews by Hébert and commentator Jean Lapierre (my fellow CTV Montreal political panellist) with political leaders of the day about what they would have done after a Yes vote in 1995.

It describes a “power struggle” among the three party leaders on the Yes side before the vote, with Mario Dumont of the now-defunct Action démocratique du Québec siding with Bouchard of the Bloc Québécois against the PQ’s Parizeau.

Bouchard and Dumont had forced Parizeau to promise that after a Yes vote, he would offer the rest of Canada a new partnership, political as well as economic, with a sovereign Quebec.

And in the mid-campaign turning point for the Yes side, Parizeau handed its de-facto leadership to the more popular Bouchard by naming him Quebec’s chief negotiator after a Yes vote.

Bouchard told Hébert and Lapierre he might have settled for something less than outright sovereignty and wanted a second referendum to ratify the results of negotiations — admissions likely to confirm some sovereignists’ lingering distrust of him.

Parizeau, however, would accept nothing less than sovereignty. (Continued: Montreal Gazette)

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

April 9, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Quebec Liberals win majority: ‘Division is over’

Philippe Couillard’s Liberals have won the Quebec election with a majority government, crushing the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois and Premier Pauline Marois.

Liberal candidates won in 70 of the province’s ridings, the Parti Quebecois won 30, the Coalition Avenir Quebec took 22 and Quebec Solidaire picked up three. The PQ got about 25 per cent of the popular vote, its lowest share since 1970.

In a stunning turn of events, Marois lost her own seat in Charlevoix-Cote-de-Beaupre to Liberal Caroline Simard.

Couillard, who was a neurosurgeon before he entered politics, easily won his riding of Roberval, defeating PQ incumbent Denis Trottier.

Taking the stage at Liberal headquarters after most of the ballots had been counted, Couillard vowed to run an inclusive and “stable” government that represents the interests of all Quebecers.

“Our language, our flag belongs to all Quebecers,” he said.

Addressing the province’s anglophones in English, Couillard said: “We are all Quebecers. We should all focus on what brings us together. What unites us makes us stronger.”

He later added in French: “Division is over; reconciliation has arrived.”

In her concession speech, Marois announced she will step down as PQ leader and ensure an “orderly transition.”

“Quebecers have spoken and we must respect this result,” she said. “We had so much to offer, so much to accomplish for Quebecers.”

The defeat of the PQ came after a 33-day election campaign many observers described as one of the nastiest in decades.

The Parti Quebecois had only been in power for 18 months. Its controversial values charter, which aimed to prevent public sector workers from wearing “ostentatious” religious symbols, and the push for sovereignty did not sit well with voters.

For many, it was no surprise: opinion polls had been putting the Liberals in the lead for days leading up to election day. (Source: CTV News)

Wednesday September 5, 2012

September 5, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday September 5, 2012

Harper must walk political tightrope in PQ’s Quebec

Blamed by some in his own party for adopting policies that helped reawaken the Quebec independence movement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper now finds himself walking a political tightrope as he prepares to face the demands of a fresh Parti Quebecois government.

“He’s in charge and he’s got to figure it out. So we’re in for great fun and games,” said veteran Quebec Conservative organizer Peter White. “But it isn’t the end of Canada.”

For months, White has argued that Harper and his small team of Quebec MPs were angering a large majority in the province by adopting unpopular policies and decisions in areas such as language, law and order, and the environment.

But despite the fact there are only five Quebec Tory MPs in Ottawa, White has also said Harper could tackle the problem by raising his public profile in Quebec and explaining his policies more.

“Quebecers came very close to saying ‘Yes’ last time (in the 1995 referendum on sovereignty) and things were not nearly as bad then as they are today in terms of the emotion of the thing,” White said Tuesday. (Source: Postmedia)

Thursday August 30, 2012

August 30, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday August 30, 2012

Federalist voters are faced with some difficult decisions

Jean Charest has called the latest published poll results, showing his Liberal party losing the Sept. 4 Quebec election, “unreliable.”

But the actions of Charest and his party say otherwise.

When the Liberals spend more of their campaign budget on English television spots than usual, and when their leader spends time in the West Island and Outaouais in the last 10 days before a general election, it means something.

It means they’re in danger of losing even seats formerly considered safe.

The poll results from a survey conducted by Léger Marketing for the QMI news agency after last week’s crucial televised leaders’ debates, show Liberal support cratering.

The Liberals were a distant third in popularity among French-speaking voters — the choice of only 18 per cent — and third in every region except Montreal Island.

The poll results indicated that, barring a miracle, the Liberals were facing their worst defeat since 1976.

They also showed the Parti Québécois with less than overwhelming support, but enough for a slim majority in the National Assembly.

So with less than a week to go until the election, the federalist voter is faced with a difficult decision:

Go down with the Liberals, the only major party that is truly federalist. (Source: Vancouver Sun)