News
2005-11-17
New gay leader
pushes for Quebec's sovereignty
Canada
elects first openly gay person to lead political party
Andre Boisclair,
the out gay newly
The newly elected
head of Quebec's separatist party has promised to hold
a quick referendum to pull Quebec out of Canada if he
becomes premier of the French-speaking province. Andre
Boisclair became the first openly gay person to lead a
political party in Canada when the Parti Quebecois voted
him as their leader Tuesday night. He received 53.6% of the
vote, more than 20 points ahead of his closet rival,
despite criticism of his past cocaine use.
Boisclair told party members he'll hold a
referendum as soon as possible if the Parti Quebecois
defeats the ruling Liberal Party in the next
provincial elections, expected in 2007. "Two things are
clear for us now: First, in the next election
campaign, the Parti Quebecois will seek a mandate to
hold a referendum on Quebec sovereignty as soon as
possible," he said to loud cheers in Quebec City on Tuesday
night. "And we will present Quebecers with a plan to
give them a country."
Quebec has held two referendums on sovereignty,
and it was voted down in both of them. The first came
about 25 years ago, while the latest, in 1995, saw
sovereignty rejected by less than 1%. That narrow
margin has led some analysts to predict that the
39-year-old Boisclair's election could signal a
revival of the separatist sentiment, especially as
Quebec premier Jean Charest has been widely criticized since
coming to power in 2003.
The PQ's leadership campaign was jolted in
September when Boisclair admitted he used cocaine on
several occasions as a provincial cabinet minister.
Boisclair chalked it up to youthful indiscretion and
actually received a boost in the polls following the revelation.
But his reluctance to answer questions on the
issue left many analysts wondering if he could handle
a real crisis in government when he was so easily
flustered by the predictable queries about his cocaine use.
Boisclair, who quit politics in 2004 to attend
Harvard University, was planning to move to Toronto
this past summer and gain business experience but
canceled those plans when former PQ leader Bernard Landry
decided to leave politics in June. (AP)
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