MONTREAL, March 17 (UPI) -- Quebec's two provincial separatist parties held conventions during the weekend and set long-term goals for separation from Canada.
In Laval, the 1,000 delegates of the Action Democratique du Quebec Party, or ADQ, gave Mario Dumont a 94.8 percent confidence vote in a leadership review, Montreal's Gazette newspaper reported Monday.
Dumont extended an invitation for English-speaking expatriate Quebec residents to "return to the cradle" to share in and contribute to the "new prosperity" he said an ADQ government would foster.
Elsewhere in Saint-Hyacinth, 480 members of the Parti Quebecois met and voted almost unanimously to shelve the party's promise to hold another sovereignty referendum as soon as possible after beating the Liberals in the next election, the National Post reported.
PQ leader Pauline Marois, elected last June, said policy should shift away from "the means and strategy" for achieving sovereignty and instead explain why Quebec should become independent, the Post said.
Liberal Premier Jean Charest told reporters he wasn't surprised by the PQ's change in tactics.
"It's the old game of confusion," he said.
