This weekend the Coalition Avenir Québec picked a new leader and Premier, with Christine Fréchette beating Bernard Drainville. Quebec’s political landscape is in flux, with lots of moving pieces in recent months, and a provincial election scheduled for October 2026.
This week, MBP’s contributors assess the state of play: Meredith on Fréchette’s narrow path to relevance through economic alignment with Ottawa, Boessenkool on what Quebec’s sovereignty experience tells us about the costs of Alberta’s referendum gambit, and Woodfinden on why the francophone vote share is the only number that matters in determining whether Plamondon forms government:
- MEREDITH: Fréchette has only one shot and that is to try to bring the CAQ closer to Carney
- BOESSENKOOL: Alberta's Quebec Moment
- WOODFINDEN: The polls have tightened, but the francophone firewall is the only thing that matters
