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The provincial election campaign will kick off this week and all signs point to Thursday Aug. 27 being the official start date.
Although the campaign has yet to begin, the five main political parties have been in election mode for some time now.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s at stake, what you should know about the main party leaders and some key issues that could surface during the campaign.
What’s different about this election?
The election is scheduled to take place Oct. 5.
For the first time since 2018, Quebecers will elect a government not headed by François Legault.
Legault — who led his party to back-to-back majority governments in 2018 and 2022 — resigned earlier this year.
Christine Fréchette succeeded him as premier in April after winning the party’s leadership race.
Polls suggest this year’s race for premier is a tight one. According to an Aug. 11 Léger poll — commissioned by the Journal de Montréal and TVA — 48 per cent of voters have made up their minds while 49 per cent say they could still change their minds.
It’s part of why there’s chatter about the election producing a minority government, something that hasn’t happened since 2012 with a Pauline Marois PQ government.
Another thing to note: There are 127 ridings this year, not 125, which will increase the number of seats needed to secure a majority by one to 64 seats.
Who are the main party leaders?
- Christine Fréchette – Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ).
- Ruba Ghazal – Québec Solidaire (QS).
- Charles Milliard – Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ).
- Éric Duhaime – Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ).
- Paul St-Pierre Plamondon – Parti Québécois (PQ).
What ridings are they running in?
Fréchette (CAQ) became an MNA in 2022 in the Sanguinet riding on Montreal’s South Shore, but she’s decided to run in her hometown of Trois-Rivières this time.
St-Pierre Plamondon (PQ), also an MNA, will again run in the Camille-Laurin riding in eastern Montreal.
Charles Milliard (PLQ) doesn’t have a seat and is running in Orford in the Eastern Townships. Duhaime (PCQ), also without a seat, is running in Bellechasse in the Chaudière-Appalaches region south of Quebec City.
Ruba Ghazal (QS) is looking to win Montreal’s Mercier riding for a third consecutive election.
What’s at stake for each party?
The sovereignist PQ is currently leading in the polls, despite the fact polling shows Quebecers have very little appetite for a referendum — something the party has promised to hold during its first term.
The PQ is trying to complete a massive turnaround. It only won three of 125 seats in the 2022 election.
Since then, it’s won four consecutive byelection victories in ridings the CAQ previously held.
In a reversal of fortunes for those two parties, Legault’s time as premier ended with disastrous polling numbers, with pundits wondering if the party he founded would be wiped off the political map in this election.
Fréchette is trying to rejuvenate the party, even as at least 30 CAQ MNAs have announced plans to not seek re-election.
The Coalition Avenir Québec and Parti Québécois have launched pre-campaign ads, and analysts believe these messages provide a better idea of the parties’ priorities. Public relations consultant Victor Henriquez says a key focus for the CAQ is the economy, while the PQ is aiming to win back voters from the governing party.
The Liberals are also attempting a comeback of their own after crushing defeats in 2018 and 2022. Milliard became leader earlier this year after an alleged vote-buying scandal brought down former leader Pablo Rodriguez.
Quebec’s Conservative party holds one seat at the National Assembly and is hoping for a breakthrough, especially in the Quebec City region.
This will be party leader Duhaime’s third attempt at becoming an MNA, after finishing second both in the Quebec City area riding of Chauveau in 2022 and in a 2025 byelection in Arthabaska.
Québec Solidaire heads into the campaign without some of its most recognizable figures. Former party co-spokespersons and its last two candidates for premier Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Manon Massé are quitting politics.
Despite its challenges, the party experienced a positive bump in the Aug. 11 Léger poll.
Two decades since its creation, Québec Solidaire has had several landmark moments. But the progressive party’s support seems to have stalled in recent years.
What are some key campaign issues?
Just like in the lead-up to the last campaign, the Aug. 11 Léger poll shows health and social services, the cost of living, housing as well as the economy as the most top-of-mind issues for voters.
But with the PQ as the current favourites, expect many of its opponents to pounce on its plans to hold a referendum, just as they did after the sovereignist party announced that such plans will wait until U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House.
Trump’s term ends in 2029.
This past weekend’s escalation of the U.S.-Canada trade is certain to be a topic of discussion among all parties.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says the party would call a referendum in its first possible mandate, but only after the U.S. president leaves office in January 2029.
