Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
GASPE: – Late contender in the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) leadership race, Karl Blackburn, presents himself as a proud regionalist and maintains that Quebec will be as strong as its regions.
The former Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Roberval under Jean Charest from 2003 to 2007, Mr. Blackburn is the son of former Liberal minister Gaston Blackburn. He has remained active within the party over the years and also as director of public affairs and government relations at Produits forestier Résolu. Since 2020, he has been president and CEO of the Conseil du patronat du Québec.
Having recently overcome prostate cancer, Mr. Blackburn says he now feels ready to tackle Quebec’s challenges.
“I had one of the best jobs in Quebec. I had a general and peripheral vision of the Quebec economy. When my doctor told me on March 9 that there was no longer any trace of cancer and no longer any work restrictions, that’s when I decided that it might be late, but not too late, to run for the top job,” says Mr Blackburn.
Within 36 hours, he had fulfilled all the conditions required to become a candidate in the race.
Karl Blackburn describes himself as a regionalist and says he is in a position to remobilise activists and reconnect the regions and Francophones.
“I’m a proud regionalist. For me, Quebec must be a strong Quebec if all its regions are strong. If Baie-Comeau is strong, if Gaspé is strong, if Rivière-du-Loup is strong, if Roberval is strong, if all the regions of Quebec are strong, Quebec will emerge bigger and stronger,” explains the candidate.
“I bring a detailed knowledge of the regions of Quebec, a detailed knowledge of the Quebec economy and above all of the interconnections between the regions and Montreal and Quebec City, and above all I bring a unifying vision. I don’t want to do what Mr. Legault did, for example, divide the population into good Quebecers and not-so-good Quebecers. Instead, I want leadership that brings people together,” continued Mr. Blackburn.