MONTREAL — A defiant François Legault took a fighting stance as he entered a party convention last weekend, accompanied by the theme song from Rocky III.

The Quebec premier threw a few mock punches and paraphrased an aging Sylvester Stallone to a roomful of supporters in Gatineau, Que.

"It's not the force of the blows that counts, it's the ability to take them and keep moving forward," the Quebec premier said.

"I'm ready to keep taking hits."

Once considered a benevolent father figure who shepherded his people through the COVID-19 pandemic and steered his party to two decisive majority wins, Legault has since suffered a dramatic fall from grace.

He returns to Quebec’s national assembly this week with an eleventh-hour promise to pull his party back from the brink. With polls suggesting

See Full Page