Tories back in Quebec before 2019 election hoping to collect ideas and candidates

The Conservatives are on the road again in Quebec before a federal election, this time with a relatively new leader but with largely the same message: Tory values are Quebecois values.

Party leader Andrew Scheer — like his predecessors — says Conservative policies such as low taxes, strong borders and respect for provincial jurisdiction make his party the natural choice at the federal level for Quebecers.

But while the message might be similar to the one trotted out by the Tories before the 2015 election, the context is not.

Scheer sees an opening for the Tories now that the Bloc Quebecois appears to be tearing itself apart. And the refugee crisis at the Quebec-New York state border is providing him with talking points in the province that positions his party in stark contrast with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals.

On Friday, the second day of the Conservatives' cross-Quebec tour, Scheer sat down with Cogeco Nouvelles for a radio interview in Trois-Rivieres, about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.

The Conservative leader hammered home his message on what he called "illegal immigrants."

"It's been more than one year and the Trudeau government has done nothing," Scheer said in the French-language interview. "And we have to remember it was his tweet that started the problem."

Quebec's opposition parties have also used Trudeau's social media messages welcoming refugees as a major reason for the high volume of asylum seekers at the border.

The tens of thousands of people who have crossed illegally into Quebec from the United States over the past two years seeking asylum have strained the province's social services and made immigration a major election issue ahead of the October provincial vote.

About a month ago, Scheer penned an open letter to Quebecers in La Presse, in which he said his party was "listening" to their preoccupations, adding, "together, let's build the Canada of tomorrow."

Scheer says he hopes to collect support on the tour from disenfranchised Bloc Quebecois supporters who have seen their party's seat total fall to three from 10 after seven members recently quit the caucus.

The exodus was due to party leader Martine Ouellet, who is being criticized for her leadership style but nonetheless hanging on to her role despite strong calls for her resignation.

"There is an opportunity for people who might have voted for the Bloc in 2015," Scheer said.

"(They) aren't necessarily separatists, but believe in a strong Quebec and are a little nationalist and are looking for a party that will protect Quebec's interests."

The Tories won 12 of the 78 federal ridings in the 2015 election but lost a bylection in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area last year to drop to 11.

Another byelection in the nearby riding of Chicoutimi, which was won by the Liberals in 2015, has yet to be scheduled but will likely provide an idea of Tory support in the regions outside Montreal and Quebec City.

Scheer will be in Saguenay on Saturday, while MP Alain Rayes, his Quebec lieutenant, will take over the rest of the listening tour.

Rayes told The Canadian Press in Montreal on Thursday he is headed "to the four corners of Quebec" to listen to people's ideas with the goal of integrating them into the party's 2019 election platform.

"The question is not if the Conservatives will return to power — it's when," he said.

"Do (Quebecers) want have an important place at the table when the decisions are taken? Do you want your concerns addressed?"