François Bonnardel will be excluded from Legault’s cabinet shuffle

Public Security Minister François Bonnardel will not be part of the new cabinet, which will be unveiled Wednesday by Premier François Legault.

Several media outlets reported Tuesday morning that Bonnardel would lose his seat at the decision-making table. On social media, Bonnardel confirmed that Legault had expressed his desire to “rejuvenate his team.”

Bonnardel added that he was “extremely disappointed with this turn of events,” since, by his own admission, he had wanted to remain on the cabinet.

“It shows us how serious he is about sending this message. And yes, there is the SAAQclic, although the Premier said that he had confidence in Bonnardel. Some people had to be pushed aside to leave room for new faces, and well, it seems that he’s one of them,” said Daniel Béland, the Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.

Dans les derniers jours, le premier ministre m’a indiqué sa volonté de rajeunir son équipe. Évidemment, je suis extrêmement déçu de la tournure des événements. J’étais prêt à continuer de servir les Québécois et les Québécoises au sein du Conseil des ministres et j’avais…

— François Bonnardel (@fbonnardelCAQ) September 9, 2025

Bonnardel reiterated that he had indicated that he intended to run again in the 2026 election. On Tuesday, he simply emphasized that he “firmly intends to continue representing the citizens of Granby until the end of the mandate.”

This is the fourth seat available on the cabinet due to the reshuffle.

Current Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbault reportedly won’t be demoted, as rumours previously indicated. Instead, La Presse reports Tuesday afternoon that she’s making a lateral move and will take over the Municipal Affairs Ministry.

Last week, Andrée Laforest — who held that post — announced her resignation to launch her campaign for mayor of Saguenay.

On Monday, Families Minister Suzanne Roy confirmed that she will not be a candidate in the 2026 election. Agriculture Minister André Lamontagne also reportedly announced that he will not seek reelection next year.

“It will take much more than a cabinet shuffle, even if it’s a massive one or a major one, for the CAQ and François Legault to turn things around. François Legault himself is deeply unpopular, is the least popular Premier in the country right now,” said Béland.

Legault is looking to reshuffle the decks in his cabinet and bring in new blood to breathe new life into his increasingly unpopular government, just over a year before the next general election.

“This shuffle for the CAQ is a kind of Hail Mary, in a way, an attempt to save what they can at this time and try to improve their position,” said Béland.

New data from the Angus Reid Institute finds one-in-five (22 per cent) in Quebec approve of Legault, while 72 per cent do not — marking the lowest approval of Legault since he first took office in 2018.

“They really lost a lot of confidence with all the SAAQclic and Northvolt cases. We can name them all. And especially the fact that he was in the majority, that too means he can’t blame anyone else. It’s really their fault,” said Andres Amaya, a Montrealer CityNews spoke to.

George, another Montrealer, said, “Right now, it’s more damage control. I would have preferred that the damage wasn’t done in the first place.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews