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Or sign-in if you have an account.Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, second from left, speaks about the PQ’s new independence playbook, Livre Bleu, in Montreal on June 23. Photo by Tim Snow/MONTREAL GAZETTEThe following is an open letter written by Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to Quebec’s English-speaking population.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorTo all English-speaking Quebecers,I am writing to you today with a sense of hope and an open mind at the dawn of a pivotal election campaign.While we may not always agree on Quebec’s constitutional future, we share something fundamental: a deep attachment to this nation, its democratic institutions and the quality of life we want to preserve and strengthen for future generations. That is why I believe the election ahead is of critical importance for our shared future.Because Quebec certainly deserves better than what we’ve seen in the last eight years.The National Post newsletter that doesn’t hold back, giving readers the unvarnished truth on media, politics and culture.By signing up, you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Right? will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againWe must state it plainly and without hesitation: we’ve gone through one of the worst regressions in quality of life in Quebec’s recent history. Quebecers know it, and they see it in their daily lives. Their purchasing power has vanished, home ownership has become an increasingly distant dream for too many young people. Our health-care and education systems are struggling to provide the quality of services that our citizens have every right to expect. Security and tidiness have suddenly become major issues in our cities and the number of homeless people has exploded. Meanwhile, our infrastructure projects make headlines only because of soaring costs and endless delays. While the government neglected road maintenance, schools and hospitals, it has normalized the waste of public funds through scandals like SAAQclic and financial debacles such as Northvolt. A part of that decline is connected to the ideological beliefs at the federal level that brought uncontrolled and unlimited immigration during those eight years, yet the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) chose to stand by as a resigned spectator, leading to the consequences we see today.Quebecers were promised a wind of “change” by the CAQ. Instead, what we have witnessed is not even the status quo — it is decline. We cannot blame citizens for losing faith in the state when, year after year, they pay more and receive less.I am convinced that we all share this assessment. Over the past months, many Anglo-Quebecers have told me they would vote for the Parti Québécois (PQ) for the first time in their lives, simply because they agree with our stances on a vast majority issues. Underneath that pledge is also the fact the Anglos don’t fear the PQ anymore, since Anglos and Francos share the same realities and concerns. Public discourse has too often encouraged the mistaken belief that the concerns of French-speaking and English-speaking Quebecers are fundamentally at odds. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all in the same boat. We live under the same institutions. We pay the same taxes. We deserve the same high-quality public services and individual financial well-being.Together, we have a shared responsibility to reject decline. We would be wrong to accept a Quebec that has grown accustomed to doubting itself, to distrusting its institutions or to settling for less. We would be wrong to allow our ambitions to shrink. Above all, we would be wrong to believe that our interests somehow diverge simply because of the language we speak at home.The Parti Québécois is the party of all Quebecers. It believes Quebecers should govern themselves. But that project has never and will never be a project that excludes the English-speaking minority. On the contrary, its purpose is to build a new model founded on social harmony and the idea that we are all Quebecers. It seeks to give all Quebecers the ability to make their own decisions, to shape their own future and to build a government that is more effective, and more accountable.As we clearly stated in our blue book, the country of Quebec that we are building is one where the rights of the historic English-speaking minority will be fully protected. Its institutions will continue to exist and be called on to play their essential role. The Parti Québécois will even ensure that the rights currently enjoyed by the English-speaking community are entrenched in the constitution.In the years ahead, if Quebecers so choose, we will collectively resume our reflection on the place Quebec wishes to occupy within Canada and within the world, and we will decide that question democratically. But that conversation should not put aside the numerous urgent issues before us in this upcoming electionWho can Quebecers trust to get our nation back on track? Who can embody the change in the way we govern that we so desperately need?Can we trust the CAQ to restore our public services after they have deteriorated under its leadership? Can we trust the party to make us wealthier when life has never been more expensive? Can we seriously believe that a government that promised so much and delivered so little will suddenly solve the very problems it allowed to flourish?The real ballot question this upcoming October is who can form a good government for Quebec: a competent government, an honest government, a government prepared to tell the truth about the challenges we face and then hit the ground running to solve them.It is in that spirit that I extend my hand to you. Let us take an honest look at what we have in common. And when others once again seek to pit French-speaking and English-speaking Quebecers against one another, let us remember the simple, enduring truth that former premier Lucien Bouchard once expressed: “It’s good to know there is one unalterable truth we can cling onto: the knowledge that in the end we are all Quebecers. Nous sommes tous Québécois. We all love Quebec — because Quebec is our home.”National Post Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.