PQ rallies after another riding president defects

The leader of the Parti Qubcois is calling on her party to pull together and focus on the goal of sovereignty.

Pauline Marois addressed more than 400 party members assembledSaturday at the PQs national council meeting in Drummondville.

She said the PQ needs to speak with one voice and called for an independent Quebec.

But the beleaguered leaderwho is trying to rally party membership and support after a string of resignationswas also on the attack.

The target: former high-ranking PQ member, Franois Legault.

Despite not having a political party, Legault is still leading in the polls. His Coalition for the Future of Quebec is proving popular among Quebecers and hes been drawing crowds of more than 150 people on recent stops across the province.

Marois accused the former cabinet minister of being incoherent and of shifting ideology.

This years national council was markedly different from years past for the party in flux.

In June, five MNAs left the party to sit as independents because they werent happy with Marois leadership.

And this week another riding president, Philippe Leclerc, announced his defection.

He is the seventh riding president to leave the party in recent months.