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Quebec election: Leaders preparing for second and final debate of campaign

Sep 21, 2022 | 2:04 AM

MONTREAL — Quebec’s party leaders will be spending much of the day preparing for the second and final debate of the election campaign, as polls show the governing Coalition Avenir Québec firmly in the lead.

The CAQ’s four main opponents — the Liberals, Québec solidaire, the Conservatives and the Parti Québécois — are in a virtual tie for second place, according to the latest Leger poll, which put the CAQ at 38 per cent.

That poll put the PQ at 13 per cent support and the three other major parties at 16 per cent as the Oct. 3 election draws near.

Meanwhile, CAQ Leader and incumbent premier François Legault is looking to avoid saying things at Thursday night’s debate on Radio-Canada for which he would have to apologize.

Legault said he was sorry on Tuesday for comments he made at last week’s debate, during which he repeatedly said that racism against Indigenous people at a Quebec hospital was “settled.” He has also had to walk back comments made earlier in the campaign when he linked immigration to violence.

Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade is to hold a news conference this morning on Montreal’s south shore.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2022.

The Canadian Press