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(Montreal, Quebec) Parti Quebecois Leader Andre
Boisclair said Tuesday that he is ready to become Canada's first openly gay
premier.
The 40-year old also wants to be the first Prime
Minister of an independent Quebec nation.
In an interview with the Radio-Canada, the French
language service of the CBC, Boisclair said that his sexuality could be a plus
in his quest for both.
"I think I can contribute to changing the
mentality," he told the national broadcaster. "All the better if
people hear about my story and recognize themselves in it."
Boisclair was elected PQ leader nine months ago (story)
and won a by-election earlier this year. He was sworn in last month as a
member of the National Assembly where his PQ party is the official opposition.
Boisclair's return to the legislature came two
years after he quit in 2004 to briefly attend Harvard University.
He was elected for the first time in 1989 at the
age of 23 and was re-elected three times.
Boisclair has promised that if his party forms
the next government in Quebec he will hold a referendum on separation from
Canada in the first term.
His chances of becoming premier are good. A Crop
poll released last week shows that support for the PQ stands at 37 percent with
the governing Liberals at 32 percent, once the undecided vote is factored in.
"The chances are good," he told
Radio-Canada, "but I have to earn the confidence of people."
A gay premier in Quebec could set in motion an
interesting fight for the future of Canada. An openly gay member of the
federal government is seeking the leadership of Canada's Liberal Party.
Scott Brison is considered a long shot to win the
Liberal nod, but no one in the party is counting him out. Brison was Canada's
first openly gay federal cabinet minister.
©365Gay.com 2006
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