François Legault’s new cabinet unveiled Wednesday afternoon

Premier François Legault brought into cabinet five new faces and shuffled portfolios for several senior ministers in a bid to revive his party’s fortunes.

“We’ve gone through crises, we’ve made changes, we’ve achieved some of our goals. Sometimes we’ve made mistakes, we’ve done our best within the system we’ve had in Quebec for decades. Seven years later, it’s time to take stock, it’s time to develop a new plan for the future. ” Legault said as he unveiled his new cabinet on Wednesday afternoon.

Legault has been promising to reshuffle since the beginning of the summer, hoping to breathe new life into his government. This reshuffle comes just over a year before the next general election, at a time when the CAQ government is increasingly unpopular with Quebecers.

“Right now it’s the Parti Québécois’ election to win a year from now but a year is a very long time. So Mr. Legault needs to have his best people in the positions to make sure no more mishaps occur,” explained political analyst Karim Boulos.

There are major changes for the Public Security, Transport and Education ministries – while some ministers are holding on to their portfolios.

The Premier is sending former Montreal police officer, Ian Lafrenière, to Public Security, replacing François Bonnardel, who was Transport Minister before he was Public Security Minister. He is now left out of cabinet.

“He has mishandled a number of dossiers, most notably the SAAQclic debacle. The role of the new minister won’t be to fix everything, that’s not realistic to do it within the year, but certainly to try to diminish the attention that’s been placed on transport,” added Boulos.

Lafrenière will retain responsibility for Relations with First Nations and Inuit.

The current Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, was given the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, replacing Andrée Laforest. According to The Canadian Press this is a position she coveted.

“Mr. Legault is trying to salvage what little hope he has of doing anything in the next election. Having someone like Madame Guilbault at municipal affairs is a very strong presence,” Boulos said.

Former Infrastructure Minister Jonathan Julien is taking over as head of the Ministry of Transportation.

Sonia LeBel is leaving the Treasury Board for the Education ministry, replacing Bernard Drainville, who is now heading the Environment Ministry.

“Sonia Lebel going into education is also a very strong show of force and responsibility. Every dossier she has handled was handled masterfully,” Boulos said.

France-Élaine Duranceau is moving up the ranks by taking the helm of the Treasury Board.

Laval MNA, Christopher Skeete also moves up and inherits International Relations.

Martine Biron is succeeding Pascale Déry at Higher Education. Déry is moving to the employment ministry.

Kateri Champagne Jourdain is moving to the Family Ministry, replacing Suzanne Roy.

Sonia Bélanger succeeds Duranceau at the Housing Ministry. The responsibility for Seniors is in the hands of Caroline Proulx, who was in Tourism.

Even though he will not seek re-election in 2026, Health Minister Christian Dubé retained his position.

Jean-François Roberge also remained in his role responsible for Secularism, the French language, and Immigration. 

Other ministers remaining in place include Simon Jolin-Barrette for Justice and Canadian Relations, Eric Girard for Finance, Christine Fréchette for Economy and Energy, Lionel Carmant for Social Services, Jean Boulet for Labour, Isabelle Charest in Sport, Leisure and Outdoors, and Mathieu Lacombe for Culture.

The shuffle saw new faces join the cabinet, including Donald Martel new Minister of Agriculture, Samuel Poulin new Minister Delegate for the Economy and Youth, Éric Girard (MNA for Lac-Saint-Jean) new Minister responsible for Regional Economic Development, Jean-François Simard now Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, and Amélie Dionne new Tourism Minister.

The past few months have been difficult for the Legault government, which has had to deal with the SAAQclic fiasco and the failure of the Northvolt project in Montérégie. CityNews spoke to Montrealers about whether or not this shuffle makes a difference.

“They missed it with Northvolt, they missed it with SAAQclic so that’s it. I don’t think it’s going to change anything at this point in time,” said Pierre Duquet.

“Bringing new people on board, new ideas, that would be good. But I don’t know if that will be enough. Maybe what we need is new ideas from another political party,” said Marcela Pachon on the streets of downtown Montreal.

“I want to fight more than ever. I’m no longer into popularity contests. What motivates me is the love of the Quebec people,” concluded Premier Legault on Wednesday.

To allow the new ministers to familiarize themselves with their portfolios, the start of the National Assembly session has been postponed by two weeks, until Sept. 30.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews