Quebec Premier Fréchette says she will run in Trois-Rivières in October election
Posted July 2, 2026 11:33 am.
Last Updated July 2, 2026 3:37 pm.
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette announced Thursday that she will contest from the Trois-Rivières riding in the upcoming provincial elections in October.
A native of Trois-Rivières, the premier confirmed on Thursday what was no longer really a secret: that she will run in the Trois-Rivières riding, a seat vacated by Labor Minister Jean Boulet, who will be leaving politics at the end of his term.
Fréchette addressed a small group of supporters, ministers, members of the National Assembly, and family members at a local distillery after being introduced by her husband, financier Guy Nadeau. He also announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from his job to support her through the general election next October.
Fréchette spoke at length about her hometown, where she lived until she finished college. “I was born here, I grew up here, on Bordeaux Street,” she said.
“This is where I grew up and was shaped in all sorts of ways—yes, at school, but just as much at the ‘roulathèque’ in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, with friends.”
Fréchette currently represents Sanguinet, in the Montérégie region, where she was elected in 2022.
“I also want to thank the citizens of Sanguinet from the bottom of my heart,” Fréchette said. “I will never forget the trust you placed in me in 2022. I will always be grateful to you, because you gave me my real chance in politics.”
Also, posting on X, Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) said, “Born and raised in Trois‑Rivières, Ms. Fréchette is returning today to her city to continue her commitment there. It is there that she discovered the culture, the language, the rigour, the boldness… and the values that have guided her entire journey.”
She held various ministries such as the economy, immigration and energy, in the CAQ government under François Legault before being elected as the party leader becoming only second woman to hold the premiership in Quebec.
Since Fréchette took office, CAQ which had consistently seen a decline in public support in the last couple of years, has seen a boost in voting intention polls.
When asked whether she could carry what has been called the “Fréchette effect” into the riding, she replied in the affirmative: “I think the Fréchette effect should continue. We’re going to keep showing that we’re on the right track and that we’re focused on Quebecers’ priorities.”
Trois-Rivières is sometimes considered a bellwether riding in Quebec elections. According to projections by the poll aggregator Qc125, the Parti Québécois (PQ) is expected to put up a close fight against the CAQ.
Before the CAQ came to power in 2018, the riding had long been represented by the Quebec Liberal Party.
Fréchette will be running against Liberal candidate Valérie Renaud-Martin, a former radio host and PQ’s Jean Pellerin, a businessman and former president of the Chamber of Commerce.
Fréchette did not hesitate to criticize the PQ and its determination to hold a referendum. “When I look at what Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon and the Parti Québécois are proposing, I have to tell you that I am very concerned. Very concerned because they have a single obsession: holding a referendum. A referendum at any cost, no matter what.” Holding a referendum means inviting Quebecers to take a 30-year step backward into the same referendum squabbles. (…) With Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon’s PQ, there’s only one certainty: there will be more uncertainty.”
As for the Liberals, she did not mention them in her speech, but during the press conference, she made this single comment about them: “As for the Liberals, I get the impression they’re still finding their footing. I haven’t yet seen clearly what they want to put forward.”
In Sanguinet, she would have faced off against former PQ and Bloc Québécois MP Alain Therrien. Although she is leaving the riding, she had this to say to her constituents: “Sanguinet is tattooed on my heart. For me, that will never go away. They’re the ones who gave me my first chance in politics, and I’ll be eternally grateful to them, because I wouldn’t be standing before you today had it not been for the trust they placed in me in 2022. I will continue to work for them; I will continue to serve as the Member of the National Assembly for Sanguinet until Oct. 5, and afterward, when I become premier, I will continue to pay special attention to the riding because I have a special attachment to Sanguinet.”
Fréchette, who will turn 56 next month, holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from HEC Montréal and a master’s degree in international relations from Université Laval.
Quebecers head to the polls on Oct. 5.
