Back in politics: “I have no plan”, says Dominique Anglade

Dominique Anglade in interview with Fabienne Colas of the Foundation of the same name.

In an interview with Métro, the former leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) Dominique Anglade maintained that he had no plan to return to politics. The former MP for Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne attended Fade to Black on Thursday evening, an activity organized as part of Black History Month. 

< p>For the first time since leaving the QLP, Ms. Anglade granted an interview to Fabienne Colas, whose Foundation is behind the activity. Ms. Colas asked her why she was running away from the media.

“Because I kind of do what tempts me,” she joked, sparking laughter, before answering more seriously. “When you leave a political formation, it is an important moment for you and for the party, she said. I think there is a time for everything. I didn't want to talk to avoid confusion, to take a step back.”

Ms. Anglade said that the game was no longer worth the candle for her within the party. When questioned about her own colleagues' relentlessness on her, Ms. Anglade refused to counterattack and responded with a bit of philosophy to the question.

Look, I've been in politics for seven years: MP, minister, deputy prime minister, party leader, opposition. I made three elections, raised three children. I wrote a book and I am still with the father of my children… I am very happy to have left.

Dominique Anglade, former head of the PLQ

She left several times

Despite everything, Dominique Anglade does not seem to have said his last word. Anecdotally, she referred to a poem and song by two different authors with the same title, Unstoppable, that her sister shared with her. She said she likes them a lot, as it helps to catch her breath.

“Several times in my career, I had to stop, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes involuntarily. But each time, it allowed me to grow, to think, and that's where we find the strength to bounce back, ”said the former leader of the opposition.

She also spoke of her difficult time at the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) with François Legault, before going to Montreal international. She left the CAQ following a dispute over the Party's identity shift. “I was told at the time: people are going to like it,” she revealed, telling herself that “politics is over”.

 Former Prime Minister Philippe Couillard's chief of staff taught me that in politics, you should never say no.

Dominique Anglade, former leader of the PLQ< /blockquote>

First black prime minister?

But getting elected as the first black premier of Quebec is something else entirely. A journalist had already asked her if Quebec was ready to vote for a black woman. Thursday evening, at the large library, Fabienne Colas asked her if she had been surprised by the question.

“No, no…, she replied. When I look in the mirror, I'm not the typical politician we've seen in the past. The reality is that the world is changing and you bring something else and it's a whole society that has to get used to that.”

Later, she added that “people are ready, but it takes time”. The appointment this week of a first black judge, only 35 years old, to the Court of Quebec represents, she underlined, a good step towards this objective, this learning.

She also supported the idea that people like her shouldn't hesitate to approach others and communicate with them. “During the last election campaign, in the regions where I went, I heard comments like: ah… we didn't know she was like that, she is thinner than we thought.”

Indirect racism

Born in Montreal to Haitian parents, Dominique Anglade says she has not experienced racism in her professional or political career. But indirectly, yes, she has already heard “comments that are unacceptable” for her community. At an event of a major cultural organization in Montreal a few years ago, she says she met a leader who said to her, “Ah, it's interesting to meet a dynamic young Haitian because all the Haitians I know are lazy”.

“I said: ah really? You must be talking about… Dany Laferrière? Or are you referring to Yvette Bony or Jean Claude Fourron?” she quipped.

Dr. Bony, who studied at the Faculty of Medicine in Port-au-Prince , performed the first bone marrow transplant in Quebec, as a hematologist. Dr. Fouron identified the aortic isthmus as the only shuntfetal aortic valve, which has had a major influence on improving the health of toddlers.

“It happened to me several times to have to set the record straight,” added Dominique Anglade , a bit emotional. Another day, while she was in Montreal International discussing immigrants leaving Quebec for the benefit of Western Canada, a company president allegedly told her: “It's true that we are losing two doctors and we find ourselves going to get two Haitians”.

The height of this story is that it was January 12, the day of earthquake in which I lost both my parents.

Dominique Anglade, former leader of the PLQ

Her father, geographer Georges Anglade, helped set up the University of Quebec to Montreal (UQAM). “And that’s when he turned red and started telling me that: I think I just put my feet in my mouth. And, I answered him: not nearly…»