As much as the Liberal Party of Quebec tried to frame their weekend convention in Quebec City as a 150th birthday party, anxiety was apparent from its leaders, who spent an awful lot of time talking about the CAQ.
On the main stage before the party faithful, new Liberal Party President Antoine Atallah echoed a common sentiment that was heard for most of the weekend. Speaking about the CAQ in a direct appeal to the party's English-speaking supporters, Atallah urged Anglophones to not "be fooled by a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
As CAQ leader Francois Legault continues to make overtures to English-speaking voters, the Liberals introduced policies reaffirming their support for the province's Anglophone community. One in particular, which passed on Saturday, compelled the government to closely study how legislation will impact English-speaking Quebecers.
Other policies turned heads at the weekend summit, including a proposal by Premier Philippe Couillard to construct a rapid-transit line connecting Montreal and Quebec City. It's unclear what that line would look like, or how many stops would be found along its path, but the Liberal leader said the goal would be to build a "revolutionary" transportation connection along the densely-populated corridor in the province.
The next provincial election is scheduled to be held in October of next year.