Quebec provincial election campaign begins ahead of Oct. 5 vote

The Quebec provincial election campaign is officially underway, with voters heading to the polls on Oct. 5. 

Premier Christine Fréchette triggered the start of the campaign after meeting with the province’s lieutenant-governor in Quebec City.

Lt.-Gov. Manon Jeannotte signed two decrees to dissolve the current legislature and launch the campaign.

“I’m addressing all Quebecers: It’s the moment to exercise your right to vote,” said Jeannotte, who also thanked all the outgoing legislature members and wished the candidates good luck.

Under Quebec’s electoral system, the premier must symbolically ask the lieutenant-governor — who represents the King — to dissolve the legislature in order to call an election.

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) will be seeking another mandate after eight years in power. Fréchette took over party leadership in April after former premier François Legault stepped down amid poor polling numbers. 

The party will face challenges from the poll-leading Parti Québécois (PQ) as well as the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Québec solidaire (QS) and the Conservative Party of Quebec (CPQ).

The Parti Québécois has been leading in public opinion polls since 2023, and has won four straight byelections. 

However, that lead has shrunk in recent months, and analysts say issues such as resurgent referendum conversations and the U.S. trade war could shift the outcome of the campaign.

PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold a referendum on Quebec sovereignty in the next four years if his party forms government, although he said earlier this month that the vote would only happen after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House.

At dissolution, the CAQ holds 79 seats, compared to 18 for the PLQ, 11 for QS, and 7 for the PQ. The PCQ held one seat, and there were nine independent members.

Fréchette succeeded François Legault a few months ago to lead the CAQ in the election campaign. She will face Liberal candidate Charles Milliard, PQ candidate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, and QS spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, who is the party’s candidate for premier. Éric Duhaime is in the running for the Conservatives.

The trade war between Canada and the United States is likely to play a major role in the election campaign, given that the province is affected by the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. After the United States imposed new tariffs, Mark Carney’s Canadian government chose to retaliate with its own countermeasures against the Americans. Canada decided to walk away from the negotiating table with the United States last week.

Fréchette told reporters Thursday morning that she’d opted for a longer 39-day campaign in order to “meet as many Quebecers as possible.”

The legislature is scheduled to reconvene on Nov. 17. 

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews