Scheer to announce Francois Corriveau as new candidate in Quebec riding of Manicouagan tomorrow

Tomorrow afternoon, Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer will be in Baie-Comeau to announce his new candidate, Francois Corriveau, for the riding Manicouagan in Quebec. Corriveau is the current General Manager of the city of Baie-Comeau. Previous to this position, Corriveau also served as the city's assistant clerk from 1994-2002 and 2003-08 and clerk from 2008-10.

Previous political history

During the brief span where he was not working for the city, Corriveau was elected in a by-election as the provincial representative for the area under the upstart Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ). It was a shocking result in a Parti Quebecois stronghold for the ADQ, a small conservative, populist party that until Corriveau's election, had only ever had one other person elected under their banner. While Corriveau would go on to lose in the general election the following year, the ADQ would rise to be a force in Quebec politics, eventually merging with the now-governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in 2012.

"The time is right"

Speaking with The Post Millennial in an exclusive interview, Corriveau said that he felt the time was right for the Conservatives to take back the riding that was once represented by former Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. "I think the time is right. I've been waiting for the last 25 years to be involved in politics at the federal level for this riding. I was a fan of Brian Mulroney in the 1980s and '90s but then the Bloc Quebecois took over and there was no chance I could have a career [in Conservative politics]." "I think now that with Andrew Scheer and Alain Rayes, the time is good and the Bloc is down and there is a chance for this riding to rise again," Corriveau said. Despite the Conservatives finishing fourth in 2015 and only picking up 10% of the vote, Corriveau says he feels "very confident" that they can flip the seat.  He feels there's a real "anger" against the BQ and a desire for change amongst the residents of Baie-Comeau. Previously, when he was the Conservative candidate for the area in 2008, he had renounced his candidacy in order to work as the clerk of Baie-Comeau. Corriveau believes that the "friendly" and "charismatic" nature of Scheer along with practical economic policies of the Conservatives makes 2019 the right time to run as a Conservative in Quebec.

Concerns about Trudeau

When asked about why he wouldn't run under the governing Liberals right now, Corriveau responded by saying "the Liberal Party is a mess right now . . . I have nothing to say about Justin Trudeau, nothing good at least." Mentioning his disappointment concerning Trudeau's performance on the international stage, Corriveau was also quick to point out Trudeau's failure to remove Trump's tariffs on aluminum and steel. The announcement of Corriveau's candidacy is expected to be announced tomorrow at 1:30 pm EST at the Hotel Hauterive in Baie-Comeau.