Quebec votes 2026: Here is the latest news from the Quebec election
Posted October 5, 2026 7:29 pm.
Last Updated October 5, 2026 11:42 pm.
Votes are being counted across Quebec as polls have closed in ridings in the provincial general election.
The Coalition Avenir Québec had won majority governments in the last two elections, but polls heading into this vote suggested the separatist Parti Québécois was in the driver’s seat.
Here’s the latest on the race (All times Eastern):
11:29 p.m.
Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard says the new PQ minority government has responsibility to listen to other parties.
But he says, when it comes to a referendum, there will be no collaboration with the Liberals.
Milliard’s party will form the Official Opposition in the legislature.
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11:10 p.m.
Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says Quebec just wants to exist on its own like other countries of the world.
He says it’s a question of survival for a population of French-speaking people who represent such a small fraction of North America.
He says a referendum is about people making their own decision.
The PQ has pledged in the campaign to launch a referendum to separate Quebec from Canada, but not before U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House in 2029.
10:30 p.m.
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal says her party’s results prove that the left is still alive and well in the province.
The party is leading in nine seats and could hold the balance of power in a minority legislature.
Ghazal said her sovereigntist party is looking forward to building a country that doesn’t leave anyone behind, with the help of immigrants, Indigenous people and English-speakers.
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10:13 p.m.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is congratulating Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
Carney says he looks forward to building a stronger Quebec and Canada with the Parti Québécois leader.
He also thanked outgoing Premier Christine Fréchette, whose CAQ party was on track to not win any seats.
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10:08 p.m.
Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette has lost her seat in the provincial riding of Trois-Rivières.
Fréchette has been the premier of Quebec and leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec since she won the party’s leadership race in April.
She replaced former premier François Legault who led the party to two consecutive majority governments in 2018 and 2022.
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10 p.m.
The Canadian Press decision desk is projecting a Parti Québécois minority government.
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9:57 p.m.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has won his Montreal-area riding of Camille-Laurin.
St-Pierre Plamondon has represented the area in the Quebec legislature since 2022.
The riding was previously known as Bourget and is located in the east-end of Montreal.
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9:42 p.m.
CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette says Quebec voters have spoken and she respects the results no matter how difficult they are for her party.
Her party, which had won two consecutive majority governments, was in danger of not winning a single seat.
In her concession speech, she thanked party supporters and urged them to hold their heads high in defeat.
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9:40 p.m.
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Sol Zanetti has won his Quebec City area riding of Jean-Lesage.
He has held the riding since 2022.
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9:26 p.m.
It is shaping up to be a disastrous night for the Coalition Avenir Québec, with the party in danger of going from government to being wiped off the electoral map.
Prominent former cabinet members Simon Jolin-Barrette, Bernard Drainville, Sonia Bélanger and France-Élaine Duranceau have already been declared defeated.
CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette trails in the riding of Trois-Rivières.
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9:14 p.m.
Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard has won the Orford riding in the province’s Eastern Townships region.
This was Milliard’s first election as leader and his first attempt at winning a seat in the Quebec legislature.
The pharmacist turned politician was acclaimed as leader of the Quebec Liberals in February.
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9:02 p.m.
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal has won her Montreal-area riding of Mercier.
Ghazal was a founding member of the left wing sovereigntist party in 2006, alongside Françoise David and Amir Khadir.
She first entered the legislature when she won the riding in 2018 and she was re-elected in 2022.
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8:42 p.m.
The Canadian Press decision desk is projecting the Parti Québécois will form the next government in Quebec.
It is unclear if the government will be a majority or minority.
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8:24 p.m.
Conservative Party of Québec Leader Éric Duhaime has won his riding of Bellechasse, south of Quebec City.
Duhaime has been leader of the party since 2021.
It the first time a member of Quebec’s Conservatives has been elected to the legislature since 1935.
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8:15 p.m.
The mood is festive at the PQ headquarters in Montreal.
The party jumped out to an early lead in several seats as the initial tallies came in.
Many supporters are decked out in blue and white and candidates are pumping up the crowd with speeches.
8 p.m.
The polls have closed in the Quebec election. Élections Québec says the voter participation rate was 68.72 per cent, beating the 66 per cent rate in the last two provincial elections.
Securing a majority government requires winning 64 out of the 127 seats in the legislature.
When the election was called, the CAQ held 79 seats, the Liberals had 18, Québec solidaire 11 and the PQ held seven seats. There were nine Independents and one Conservative.
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7 p.m.
Polls have closed in îles-de-la-Madeleine. In the rest of the province, voters have less than an hour to cast their ballots.
A boisterous group of protesters gathered outside the PQ’s main watch party in Montreal as voting entered its final hour.
They chanted slogans critical of police, racism, transphobia and what the PQ’s plans to separate would mean for First Nations.
Security was tight with several police officers keeping watch over the crowd.
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5:11 p.m.
Élections Québec pegged the preliminary voter participation rate at slightly over 45 per cent as of 5 p.m.
