Quebec political parties at crossroads as National Assembly returns

As Quebec's political parties get ready to start a new legislative session on Tuesday, they will have one eye on the election coming in 2018.

Here's an overview of what the biggest players in the National Assembly will be worried about.

The Liberals: Ghosts of governments past

On the first day of his party's retreat in Gatineau, Que., PremierPhilippe Couillard made a confession: his party has a problem.

After spending the summer talking to Quebecers, he realized his messageis not getting through.This might be the biggest challenge he faces.

Couillardwants to talk about his balanced budget and recent reinvestments ineducation and health care. The government feels these are important successstories following two years of unpopular austerity measures.

ButCouillard'sefforts at changing the conversation have often beenovershadowed by theparty's ethical ghosts.

WhenCouillardunveiled his balanced budget in March,everyone was paying attention instead to the news thatformer Liberaldeputy premier NathalieNormandeauhad beenarrested on corruption charges.

But it's not just the past that is deflecting attention away from Couillard's key messages, it's also how his government deals with ethical episodes of the present.

• Ex-Quebec deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau rips up Liberal membership card
• Nathalie Normandeau says MNAs boycotting radio show 'irresponsible'

Take, for example, the premier's news conference in Gatineau, where he hoped to champion the government'swelfare reform bill.

A formerCoalitionAvenirQubecstafferquicklyeclipsedCouillard'smessage.

FrdricSchautaud left his former party with a handful of sensitive documents. He then applied for a job withEconomy MinisterDominiqueAnglade (herself a one-time member of the CAQ).

This ethical mistake wouldn'timpact his job prospects, Anglade assured, at least initially.

That meant Couillard spent his news conference defendingAnglade, rather than talking up his party'sbill. Angladelater said she no longer planned to hireSchautaud.

Couillard sayshe wants to repeat his messages more often and louder this session.

He can't controlwhen his party's ethical ghosts make theirappearance. But if he can'tevencontrol how his government responds to ethical questions of the present, it won't matter how often or loud he repeats his message going into the next election.

• Philippe Couillard's summer vacation cut short, faces early test

Parti Qubcois: A return to calm

This is the second time the party is going through a leadership race since the 2014 election ousted them from power.

Not only does a leadership race leave party members bruised in its wake, it also means attentionis focused onspeaking to a small constituency ofcard-carrying partymembers.

Thatmeans less attention focused on its role as chief opponent to theCouillardLiberals.

Interim leaderSylvainGaudreaultinsists the PQ can live through the roller-coaster ride once againwhile fulfilling its role as theOfficial Opposition.

• PQ must show 'restraint' in absence of permanent leader, says Sylvain Gaudreault

But as we saw during thePQ'sowncaucus retreat inGatineau, little attention was paid to the party's priorities for the coming session, which was the whole point of the gathering.

Instead,discussionsfocusedonthe open hostility among the leadership candidates.

The recent spat between the two front-runnersAlexandre Cloutier and Jean-Franois Liseonly underscoreshow difficult the process of reconciliation after the race could be.

Whoever is chosen as the party's next leader onOct.7 will have to findher or his feet as leader, while at the same timeshifting into campaign mode.

At the top of the new leader's to-do list?Turning thePQ'sfocus away fromitself and towards positioning the party as the main opponent to the Liberals.

• Alexandre Cloutier says SQ monitoring his PQ leadership campaign

Coalition Avenir Qubec: The art of soul searching

The CAQ has been doing some soul-searching this year in the hopes of getting a boost in the polls.

During the last session, the party tried to expand its appealbeyond the economy with more talk of education.

They also highlighted leaderFranoisLegault'sexperience as a minister of education and health when he was with the PQ.

But this summerthe CAQ took its soulsearchingto a new level, showing everyone it wants to claim the title as defender of Quebec identity, a place traditionally occupied by the PQ.

With pquistesmore focused on themselves lately,Legaultsees an opening.

• 'We have to open our eyes. We have a real problem,' Franois Legault says
• CAQwants immigrants to pass culture test or leave

The CAQ leaderbelieves immigrants are not integrating wellenough into Quebec society and the issue became the focal point of their caucus meeting in August. Legaultannounced that, if elected, hewould force all immigrants to take a "values test" and decrease immigration levels by 20 per cent while maintaining the current budget.

Theirstrategy on immigration and integration carves out a political space for the CAQ that it hopes will translate into votes in 2018.

Over the next few months, we will see how far they are willing to take it.

• Quebec's charter of values, revisited