Christine Fréchette helping bump the CAQ in recent polls

Two new polls suggest new Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette is giving the Coalition Avenir Québec a boost in public support.

A new Léger poll for the Journal de Montréal has the CAQ at 22 per cent voter intention, a nine-point increase since former premier François Legault left the party leadership and a five-point gain over the last month.

The Parti Québécois remains in first place at 31 per cent support, down one point, while the Quebec Liberal Party is steady at 28 per cent.

“It’s not just a slight bump, there’s something more substantial happening,” said Sébastien Dallaire, executive vice-president of Léger marketing. “We had seen this build over the past few weeks, but our last poll really shows that there is some traction.”

The latest Léger poll also shows Fréchette at 26 per cent support among francophones, with the CAQ nearly doubling its support among older women in Montreal’s suburbs while also gaining some former conservative voters.

“Definitely there’s a ‘Fréchette’ effect going on, or should I say a ‘freshness’ with Christine,” said Daniel Tran, director of communications and governmental relations at Casacom & political analyst.

“A lot of people are looking for safety and what we’re seeing is that Christine Fréchette is acting like a leader,” he added.

However, nearly half of respondents said their decision was not definitive, suggesting the race could still shift ahead of the next election.

“As far as I know, it’s unprecedented to measure that level of openness to change only a few months away from a general election,” Dallaire said. “Especially a general election that is now at a fixed date that voters have known about for a long time.”

A separate poll from Mainstreet Research has the CAQ even higher at nearly 25 per cent support.

That poll places the Liberals first at 30 per cent of the popular vote, while the PQ sits at 22 per cent, though the survey focused heavily on voters on the Island of Montreal.

“The real challenge for [Fréchette] will be to show that even though she’s leading the same party with very much the same people around her, she represents a marked change from the past,” Dallaire said.

Some Quebecers interviewed said they remain cautious despite the CAQ’s recent momentum.

“I think she’s making some good moves, but for example, with the welcome tax … I bought my home in October, so I’m being penalized because of that,” one Montreal resident said. “That leaves a bad taste for me.”

Another voter, Isabelle Leclerc said she was waiting to see more from the parties before making a decision.

“I’m still going to wait and see everyone’s platform and everything,” said Leclerc. “But it’s really good to have a woman in power.”

More than two-thirds of respondents in the Mainstreet Research survey said they oppose the possibility of Quebec sovereignty, while 23 per cent said they support it and 11 per cent said they had no opinion.

From May 15–15, 2026, Mainstreet surveyed a random sample of 1,225 people aged 18 or older living in Quebec. The survey was conducted via calls using interactive voice response technology. Responses were statistically weighted using demographic information collected from the 2016 census. The survey’s margin of error is ±2.8%, at a 95% confidence level.