PEQ: Drainville urges Fréchette to support grandfather clause
Posted February 9, 2026 6:00 pm.
Last Updated February 9, 2026 6:03 pm.
CAQ leadership candidate Bernard Drainville is calling on his rival, Christine Fréchette, to support a grandfather clause for the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).
“We need to stop stalling and Christine needs to support the idea of grandfathering,” Drainville declared at a press scrum in Saguenay on Monday.
Drainville is also asking Fréchette to convince Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge, who is backing Fréchette in the leadership race, to move forward with the measure.
Drainville has pledged to grant grandfathering rights to temporary workers in priority sectors, such as health and education.
“Obviously, there are conditions: you have to have been here for two years, and you need an intermediate level of French,” he explained.
Roberge is the one who ended the PEQ last November. The program allowed temporary foreign workers and international students to obtain permanent residency.
The minister’s decision continues to be widely criticized.
Last week, Roberge pledged that the applications of foreign workers in the health-care sector would be given priority in another program, the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ).
Bonnardel supports Fréchette
Former minister and former MNA for the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ), François Bonnardel, is backing Fréchette in the CAQ leadership race, stating that she is best positioned to advance the ADQ’s ideas.
“That she be able to defend these values is non-negotiable for me. It is also important to continue our efforts to put money back in Quebecers’ pockets. The significant increase in the cost of living affects everyone, and we must do everything we can to address it,” he wrote on the social network X on Monday.
Bonnardel was first elected under the banner of Mario Dumont’s ADQ in 2007. The party, located on the right of the political spectrum, merged with the Coalition Avenir Québec in 2012.
“The Quebec economy will be severely tested this year, and we need a composed, calm, and reassuring person with economic experience to weather this storm, which still holds many surprises in store for us. I am convinced that this person is Christine Fréchette,” the former minister stated.
“Christine will know how to lead our troops to make history again this October. The challenge is enormous, but we will regain the trust of Quebecers one by one.”
Bonnardel considered running for the CAQ leadership. He ultimately abandoned the idea.
He was removed from the cabinet during the September shuffle.
Drainville says he respects his colleague’s decision. “I reiterate that we must return to the CAQ’s roots. And the CAQ’s roots include, in part, the ADQ,” he added.
The next leader of the CAQ, who will also become premier of Quebec, will be announced on April 12.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
