A look at leaders vying to be next Quebec premier as campaign set to kick off

Quebecers are heading to the polls in early October, after eight straight years of Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) governance. 

As Quebec’s political parties embark on a 39-day marathon to convince voters to support them, here is a look at the leaders vying to be the next premier of the province.

Christine Fréchette

Fréchette heads into the Oct. 5 provincial election after spending a few months serving as Quebec premier and leader of the CAQ. She succeeded party founder and former premier François Legault in April.

First elected to Quebec’s national assembly in 2022, Fréchette rose quickly through the CAQ ranks to become Quebec’s 33rd premier and the second woman to hold the job.

Age: 56 years old

Hometown: Trois-Rivières, Que.

Early years: Fréchette was a member of the executive committee of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec in 1995 and 1996. The federation represented university students in the province. She later served on the board of the Conseil du statut de la femme, a Quebec government advisory body focused on women’s rights and gender equality, from 1996 to 2005. Between 2008 and 2012, she was featured as an expert on American politics for several broadcast media outlets in Quebec.

Before politics: Fréchette worked as director of external and institutional relations at Montréal International, an economic development agency that works to attract foreign investment, international organizations and talent to the Montreal region. She later served as president and CEO of the Chambre de commerce de l’Est de Montréal, a business organization representing companies in eastern Montreal.

Education: Fréchette holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, specializing in economics and international trade, from HEC Montréal, and a master’s degree in international relations from Université Laval.

Family: Her partner is financier Guy Nadeau; she has one son.

Political record: Fréchette was deputy chief of staff to former Parti Québécois minister Jean-François Lisée from 2012 to 2014. Years later, Fréchette was elected as the CAQ member for Sanguinet, a riding on Montreal’s South Shore in 2022 and served as immigration minister before being appointed economy and energy minister in September 2024, replacing Pierre Fitzgibbon. She oversaw major legislative changes on energy policy, adopted in June 2025.

Fréchette ran to succeed Legault as CAQ leader and defeated Bernard Drainville last April with 57.9 per cent of members’ votes, compared with 42.1 per cent for Drainville. She became Quebec’s 33rd premier and the second woman to hold the office, after Pauline Marois. As premier, Fréchette has made affordability a key short-term priority.

Riding: Trois-Rivières. Fréchette will run in her hometown riding in the Oct. 5 election. The riding was previously held by outgoing CAQ MNA Jean Boulet.

Quote: During the transfer of power from Legault in April 2026, Fréchette called for unity as she prepared to take over the province: “We live in an increasingly uncertain world. But for me, if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that now is the time to come together, to join forces, and to work together. We must not let ourselves become divided.”

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has led the Parti Québécois back from the brink since becoming leader in 2020. Now, the former lawyer is at the head of a party that is topping the polls going into the fall elections and has won four straight byelections.

Age: 49

Hometown: Trois-Rivières, Quebec

Early years: St-Pierre Plamondon was 18 the year Quebecers were called to vote on independence for a second time, in 1995. He was the only person in his family to vote to separate from Canada, he told The Canadian Press in 2023. He later became a federalist, accusing the independence movement of having “split Quebec in two.” His experience working as a lawyer was part of what led him back to being a sovereigntist, he said.

Before politics: St-Pierre Plamondon worked as a lawyer before joining the Parti Québécois. He was at the Stikeman Elliott firm from 2002 to 2009. He then joined the law collective Delegatus, where he was vice-president and worked until 2015.

Education: St-Pierre Plamondon got his bachelor’s degree in civil and common law at McGill University, graduating in 2001. He then studied business administration at Oxford University and got his master’s degree in 2006.

Family: St-Pierre Plamondon is married to Alexandra Tremblay. The couple has three children.

Political record: St-Pierre Plamondon ran to become leader of the Parti Québécois in 2016. At the time, he held no political office and lost the elections. He was however appointed councillor to then-leader Jean-François Lisée.

St-Pierre Plamondon became party leader in 2020, replacing Lisée. He became a member of the National Assembly when he was elected in the October 2022 general elections.

Riding: Camille-Laurin, in eastern Montreal.

Quote: “One thing is certain: our moment will arrive sooner than we think, meaning not at some long-term idealized date, but in a few years — before the end of the decade. We will indeed experience a third referendum,” he said at the Parti Québécois’ national council in 2024.

Charles Milliard

Charles Milliard heads into Quebec’s Oct. 5 provincial election leading the Liberal party as it tries to rebuild from a poor 2022 showing and scandals surrounding the previous leader. Milliard, who has never held elected office, became leader in February 2026 by acclamation after Pablo Rodriguez stepped down amid allegations around leadership campaign financing.

Age: 46

Hometown: Lévis, Que.

Before politics: A pharmacist by training, Milliard worked as an executive at pharmacy chain Uniprix and at public relations firm National before becoming president and CEO in 2020 of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, an organization advocating for economic growth and supporting businesses.

Education: He obtained a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Université Laval in 2002 and a master’s from HEC Montréal in 2007.

Family: Milliard is openly gay and has a partner.

Political record: Milliard joined the party in 2010 and announced a bid for the Quebec Liberal leadership in 2024, saying he was committing himself to Quebec politics for the next decade. He finished a close second to Rodriguez in the 2025 vote, taking 47.7 per cent of the points on the second ballot compared with Rodriguez’s 52.3 per cent.

After Rodriguez resigned in December 2025, Milliard entered the race to replace him and was crowned the party’s 17th leader on Feb. 13, 2026, after no other candidate qualified. He has described himself as a nationalist, regionalist and federalist and has made the economy, public services, regions, culture and housing his main priorities.

Milliard had also been approached by the federal Liberals to run in a 2024 byelection in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun but declined to focus on provincial politics.

Riding: Orford, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships.

Quote: “The plan I have in mind is a 10-year plan, so it’s a long-term project,” he said in 2025 ahead of the Liberal leadership race. “No matter what happens in the leadership race, although I intend to win it, and then in the general elections of 2026 and 2030, we don’t know what lies ahead, but I’ll definitely be there.”

Éric Duhaime

Former political commentator Éric Duhaime has led the Conservative Party of Quebec for five years. Duhaime has never held a political office, and the Conservatives did not win any seats at the last general elections, despite collecting close to 13 per cent of the popular vote.

Age: 57

Hometown: Montreal

Early years: Duhaime is an only child and grew up in the Montreal suburb of Laval. His mother was a bus driver and his father worked at a factory. Duhaime began to follow the news in primary school, reading the daily newspaper and watching nightly news broadcasts.

Before politics: Duhaime worked as a talk radio host, political commentator, newspaper columnist and author. He has also worked for the National Democratic Institute, a United States-based non-governmental organization that promotes democratic institutions.

Education: Duhaime studied political science at Université de Montréal for his bachelor’s degree and got a master’s degree in public administration from École nationale d’administration publique.

Family: Duhaime is openly gay and has been in a relationship for many years.

Political record: In the 1990s, Duhaime was a parliamentary aide and researcher for the Bloc Québécois and an adviser to the party’s leader. From 2000 to 2002, he was an adviser to the federal Canadian Alliance leader, Stockwell Day.

In 2003, Duhaime ran for provincial office in a Montreal-area riding as a member of the right-of-centre Action démocratique du Québec, coming third. He then worked as an adviser to the party’s leader until 2008.

Duhaime became the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec in 2021, winning nearly 96 per cent of the vote in the leadership race.

His party did not win any seats in the 2022 general election.

Duhaime had another shot at a seat at the Quebec National Assembly in the 2025 Arthabaska riding byelection, but lost to the Parti Québécois candidate.

Riding: Bellechasse, south of Quebec City.

Quote: “It’s almost a miracle what we did,” he said after a Conservative candidate came in second place at a byelection in a riding north of Quebec City in February. “A party that has no member in the National Assembly beating badly the government and the official Opposition two (byelections) in a row.”

Ruba Ghazal

Ruba Ghazal is entering her first campaign as spokesperson for of Québec solidaire. She’s at the head of a brand-new slate, as veterans Manon Massé and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois have been replaced by Ghazal and Sol Zanetti. The party has a male and female spokesperson instead of a leader, but has chosen Ghazal to become premier if the party forms government.

Age: 48

Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon

Early years: Ghazal was born to a Palestinian family in Lebanon. She immigrated to Quebec when she was 10 years old.

Before politics: Ghazal worked in environmental management for manufacturing companies including Bombardier and Church & Dwight. When she was elected for Québec solidaire, she was director of health, security and environment for American glass-manufacturing company O-I.

Education: Ghazal studied business administration at HEC Montréal for her bachelor’s degree, which she obtained in 2000. In 2003, she got a master’s degree in environment at the Université de Sherbrooke.

Family: Ruba Ghazal has been in a relationship with actor Hubert Proulx for around five years.

Political record: Ghazal was a founding member of Québec solidaire in 2006. She was elected in the Montreal electoral division of Mercier in 2018. 

She became co-spokesperson of the party on Nov. 16, 2024, when she was the only candidate in the race to replace Émilise Lessard-Therrien, who resigned months after replacing Manon Massé in the role. 

Ghazal became the party’s parliamentary leader on March 21, 2025, after her co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, resigned. She is going into the elections alongside Sol Zanetti, who replaced Nadeau-Dubois. 

Riding: Mercier, in Montreal

Quote: “We have the right to demand that the country we are building be feminist, inclusive, and supported by a green economy,” she said when she was announced to be the party’s choice for premier of Quebec. “If the Parti Québécois bus is too small, … at Québec Solidaire, we’ll rent orange trains. There’s room on our orange trains for everyone!”