Informed that almost 250,000 people signed an online petition calling for his resignation, Quebec Premier Jean Charest was characteristically Zen.

“Didn’t Rick Mercer get 600,000 names for [Treasury Board president] Stockwell Day to change his name to Doris?” Charest asked recently, recalling the CBC funnyman’s stunt when Day, then head of the Canadian Alliance political party, was widely mocked for advocating recall referendums.

Charest has been on a “win some/lose some” streak recently. In January, former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Michel Bastarache, named by Charest to probe allegations by Charest’s former justice minister, Marc Bellemare, reported that Bellemare’s contentions of political influence in the naming of judges were unfounded.

But a January CROP poll, conducted after Bellemare disparaged Bastarache and the premier in a media offensive, found that 66% of Quebecers still believe Bellemare rather than Charest.

What was Charest’s reaction? To turn the page, with a promise to follow the recommendations of Bastarache. Those recommendations are designed to ensure that the influence-peddling alleged by Bellemare — but not established by Bastarache — will not happen in the future.

But the Bellemare problem is not going away. Charest has sued Bellemare for $700,000 for calling Charest a liar: Bellemare has countersued for $900,000.

Since the autumn of 2009, when Radio-Canada began a series alleging corruption and collusion in the awarding of public-sector construction contracts in Quebec, the polls have shown a consistent trend: Charest has been trailing Pauline Marois and her Parti Québécois since that time.

The PQ has been calling for a broad public inquiry to look into allegations of corruption in the construction industry, Mafia involvement, cash kickbacks to politicians and possible connections with Liberal fundraising. In a Léger Marketing poll last month, 76% of Quebecers backed the PQ demand for a public inquiry into the construction industry. The same poll found that 77% of voters are dissatisfied with Charest’s government.

Charest’s plan to develop shale-gas deposits, ignoring citizens’ environment and health concerns, has added to his unpopularity, with 55% of Quebecers saying they do not favour shale-gas development.

The premier’s reaction? “Polls tell a story. They don’t tell the whole story.”

After an extended career in federal politics beginning at age 26, Charest has won three Quebec elections — in 2003, 2007 and 2008 — and now says he’s gearing up for a fourth, hoping Quebecers will balk at the PQ goal of a third sovereignty referendum.

With the departure of British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, Charest becomes the dean of Canada’s premiers. The recent resignations of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Danny Williams and Ed Stelmach in Alberta have not fazed him. Nor has the defeat of Shawn Graham, whose hold on New Brunswick voters evaporated after Graham signed, then reneged on a deal with Charest for Hydro-Québec to buy N.B. Power.

Charest endures, greeting his Liberal caucus with a jaunty “Tally ho!” delivered with the trace of a British accent. IE