Quebec’s governing party names Trump its ‘real adversary’ as election begins

QUEBEC CITY -- Quebec’s governing party launched its election campaign Thursday by naming an unusual adversary: U.S. President Donald Trump.“My opponent is named Donald Trump,” Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette said as campaigning began for the Oct. 5 vote to choose Quebec’s National Assembly, the provincial legislature. “He’s the real adversary.”Trump’s trade war with Canada has become an issue in provincial politics, particularly in Quebec, where U.S. tariffs are hitting major industries and his repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state has complicated a decades-old debate over whether the predominantly French-speaking province should leave Canada.Fréchette said her government is best positioned to protect Quebec businesses and workers from the economic uncertainty coming from the United States.“I’m asking for a mandate to move forward through a storm,” she said. Her main rival is the separatist Parti Québécois, which has promised another referendum on independence if it forms the government.But its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, said earlier this month that he would not hold such a vote while Trump remains president, arguing that Quebecers should be able ...