Morethan 400 people are attending meetings in Quebec City this weekend toplan the creation of a right-of-centre political party in Quebec.
The meetings are being organized by the Réseau Liberté-Québec (Quebec Freedom Network), a group that launched in September.
Theparty does not have a platform or name yet, but it has declared itsintention to focus on economic issues instead of the idea of separatingfrom Canada.
Maxime Bernier, a member of the federal Conservativecaucus and a former minister in Stephen Harper's cabinet, addressed themeeting, calling it a new chapter in Quebec history.
"Let'sstate it loudly and forcefully — we need a smaller, less interventionistand less centralized government in Ottawa, but also a smaller, lessinterventionist and less controlling government in Quebec City," Berniersaid in an English version of his speech that was posted on his blog.
Other conservative thinkers due to address the group include Ezra Levant and Tasha Kheiridden.
The meeting comes after the fall in status of the Action Démocratique du Québec, or ADQ, a provincial conservative party.
Inthe 2007 election, the ADQ won 41 seats and wrestled OfficialOpposition status away from the Parti Québécois, but the party now hasonly four elected members.