State election What is the real family party

State election: What is the “real” family party?

Québec solidaire may have presented itself yesterday as the party of families, but the Coalition Avenir Québec has the largest number of parents among its candidates.

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Announcing the candidacy of the founder of the “Ma place au travail” movement denouncing the lack of childcare places, Québec solidaire leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois stated that “the arrival of Myriam Lapointe-Gagnon in our team sends a very strong message: the party of families is Québec solidaire.”

In every election, the campaign is a race to see who will be the “true” party of families.

According to an analysis of data collected by our Bureau of Investigation, the CAQ has the largest number of parents, namely 81% of the candidates (biological children or blended families).

For Québec solidaire, this percentage is 53%. Note that candidates have yet to be announced.

– Listen to Myriam Lapointe Gagnon, founder of Ma place au travail, in an interview with Yasmine Abdelfadel on QUB radio:

young parents

However, the average age of the QS squad is 39 years. The average age of parenthood in Quebec is around 30, and QS is the party with the most candidates aged 30 and under (there are 24).

“It is therefore normal that there are fewer children at QS,” explains Mireille Lalancette, professor of political communication at the University of Québec in Trois-Rivières.

At the CAQ, the average age of the parents is 50 and there are only 6 people under the age of 30.

Parents at QS are therefore younger and therefore tend to have small children and present the applicant picture in connection with family issues such as access to daycare places and the compatibility of work and family.

“Politicians will present themselves as good fathers, they will campaign with their families […] say they have children and are concerned about this,” explains Ms. Lalancette.

“CAQ has been ignoring families for four years […] I’ve heard too many stories from women who had to give up their careers because the CAQ didn’t give every child a place in daycare,” said Myriam Lapointe-Gagnon, for example, when announcing her candidacy.

family values

In 2017, the CAQ also represented this image, while Geneviève Guilbault advertised pregnant in 2017.

“The family implies values: giving oneself, caring for the other […] go beyond the career side, adds Professor Lalancette. They seem approachable, part of the norm […] That’s part of the politician’s staging, we expect the family to be there to support him.”

This image is not necessarily cynical, but also part of the strategy of the “image makers,” she says.

PERCENTAGE OF CANDIDATES* WHO ARE PARENTS

CAQ 81%

PCQ 65%

QLP 76%

QP 57%

QA 53%

Source: Data provided by the parties and compiled by Le Journal.

* The candidatures are not all announced yet, so the picture may change, particularly for the PQ and PLQ who are lagging behind in announcing candidates.

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