As the Coalition Avenir Quebec marks its sixth anniversary, it's currently leading in the polls.
Francois Legault broke away from the Parti Quebecois and formed the party with both federalist and sovereigntist members. Since its inception, the party has not only changed its logo, but its narrative as well. Legault tells CTV his party has no intention of ever calling a referendum. He says the CAQ's constitutional proposal is within Canada.
A recent Leger-Le Devoir poll has the CAQ at 34 per cent support, with the possibility of forming a majority government. The Liberals were second in that poll at 29 per cent support, the Parti Quebecois third at 20 per cent, and Quebec Solidaire trailing with 12 per cent support.
Opposing MNAs criticize Legault and the CAQ for largely being non-committal on many issues. Health minister Gaetan Barrette says the party has a constant "we'll see" attitude, and has no program nor has it made any concrete proposals.
Legault feels that means the opposition can't stop thinking about the CAQ, and because of that, they are panicking. He also points to his party's major win in a recent by-election (where Genevieve Guilbeault won the Quebec City-area riding of Louis-Hebert with 51 percent of the vote) as a sign of good things to come.
Former Bloc Quebecois leader turned political analyst Gilles Duceppe says the biggest problem facing the CAQ is that aside from Legault, its members are largely unknown to the population. He wonders who would hold important cabinet positions, such as finance and justice, should the CAQ form a government.
Legault meanwhile believes his party has a legitimate chance at forming the next provincial government. He adds that while the party is riding high now, it could be a different story six months from now.