{"id":4222,"date":"2026-04-14T08:09:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T08:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/4222\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T08:09:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T08:09:03","slug":"quebecs-new-premier-is-a-gen-xer-so-are-all-her-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/4222\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec’s new premier is a Gen-Xer. So are all her rivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quebec voters will face a strikingly different lineup of party leaders in the next provincial election.<\/p>\n

Three of the five main parties are led by newcomers \u2014 including two women \u2014 and polls suggest the political order that shaped the last election has shifted.<\/p>\n

The governing party that won two successive majorities is in steep decline, while two parties that once struggled in the polls are now locked in a tight race for first place. And vote-splitting could make the final result unpredictable.<\/p>\n

The Oct. 5 election will usher in a generational shift: all the leaders were born in the late 1960s or later, making them all Generation X.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at who is vying to lead the province.<\/p>\n

Christine Fr\u00e9chette, Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec<\/p>\n

\"ChristineChristine Fr\u00e9chette takes to the stage after being named the new leader of the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec and premier-designate in Drummondville on Sunday, April 12, 2026. She will be the second woman to hold the office of Quebec premier. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

Background: Born in Trois-Rivi\u00e8res in 1970, Christine Fr\u00e9chette is an international relations graduate who served as president of the Chambre de commerce de l\u2019Est de Montr\u00e9al.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Politics: On Sunday, Fr\u00e9chette was chosen to be the CAQ\u2019s new leader<\/a>, replacing Fran\u00e7ois Legault and automatically becoming premier-designate. She will be the second woman to hold the post, and the first premier from Gen X after many years of baby boomers. First elected in 2022, Fr\u00e9chette immediately joined the cabinet, holding several top portfolios, including economy and immigration. Before joining the CAQ, she was deputy chief of staff to Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois minister Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Lis\u00e9e. But she left that party over its proposed Charter of Values, championed by Bernard Drainville. Fr\u00e9chette has said she supports the CAQ\u2019s own secularism law, known as Bill 21.<\/p>\n

Polls: A recent L\u00e9ger survey found that the CAQ could improve its fortunes under Fr\u00e9chette, placing the party in third place rather than fifth.<\/p>\n

Policies: In the CAQ leadership campaign, Fr\u00e9chette framed herself as the fiscally credible candidate, backed by Finance Minister Eric Girard. Unlike Legault, she said she would oppose large subsidies for foreign multinationals. She promised to extend the Programme de l\u2019exp\u00e9rience qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise for two years as a transitional measure for workers already in Quebec.<\/p>\n

Language: Fr\u00e9chette says the Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Bill 101, should apply to adult education and vocational training, which would result in 10,000 more people graduating in French and \u201cmore inclined to live in French,\u201d she has said. Acknowledging that anglophones were unhappy with CAQ language policies, Fr\u00e9chette said she intends \u201cto have a discussion, a dialogue\u201d with English-speaking Quebecers. \u201cThey are part of Quebec.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referendum: Fr\u00e9chette has declined to say how she would vote in a Quebec referendum. \u201cI say we must prevent a referendum process from taking place in Quebec,\u201d she said last month. She said she sees herself as a Quebec nationalist within the Canadian federation. \u201cHating Canada is not a blueprint for a society. Being on our knees before the federal government is not, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/p>\n

\"PartiPaul St-Pierre Plamondon has led the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois since 2020, making him the longest-serving of the five leaders. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette files<\/p>\n

Background: Born in Trois-Rivi\u00e8res in 1977, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is a lawyer with degrees from McGill University and Oxford University in England.<\/p>\n

Politics: Once an adviser to Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois Leader Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Lis\u00e9e, St-Pierre Plamondon has led the PQ since 2020, making him the longest-serving of the five leaders. He was elected to the National Assembly in 2022 in an election that was devastating for the PQ. It came in fourth, with just three MNAs \u2014 its worst result in terms of seats.<\/p>\n

Polls: St-Pierre Plamondon has revived the PQ, with polls often placing the party in first place for more than two years as Quebecers soured on the CAQ. But the Liberals are now nipping at the PQ\u2019s heels. St-Pierre Plamondon\u2019s vow to hold a referendum has become a drag on support amid economic uncertainty fuelled by U.S. President Donald Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Policies: Since the fall, the PQ has focused heavily on building its case for sovereignty, releasing reports on how Quebec\u2019s currency and citizenship would work, and arguing that an independent Quebec would become \u201ca rich country.\u201d On immigration, the party wants to reduce levels and tighten French-language requirements, while maintaining limited temporary foreign labour in key sectors such as agriculture.<\/p>\n

Language: Protecting the French language is a core value for the PQ, which enacted the Charter of the French Language in 1977. The party has reached out to the overwhelmingly federalist anglophone community, going so far as to run English pro-independence TV ads<\/a> in 2024. \u201cI hope I will convince anglophones to be 100 per cent Quebecers,\u201d St-Pierre Plamondon said in November. \u201cWe are in the same boat, in the same society, and we\u2019re dealing with the same problems and we\u2019re dealing with the same absurd Canadian policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referendum: St-Pierre Plamondon has promised a referendum in his first mandate. He recently said he could wait until after Trump\u2019s term ends in January 2029 \u2014 by which point the PQ would have been in power for more than two years.<\/p>\n

Charles Milliard, Quebec Liberal Party<\/p>\n

\"CharlesThe least-known of the Quebec party leaders, Charles Milliard\u2019s arrival has helped revive Liberal fortunes. Pierre Obendrauf \/ Montreal Gazette files<\/p>\n

Background: Born in L\u00e9vis in 1979, Charles Milliard is a pharmacist and MBA holder who was an executive in the Uniprix pharmacy chain and led the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration des chambres de commerce du Qu\u00e9bec.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Politics: A Liberal since the 1990s, Milliard has no experience in public office. He was acclaimed Liberal leader in February after Pablo Rodriguez quit over allegations of questionable financing within the party. Milliard had narrowly lost to Rodriguez in the previous leadership race.<\/p>\n

Polls: The least-known leader, Milliard\u2019s arrival has helped revive Liberal fortunes, with some surveys suggesting the party is tied with the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois for first place. However, the PQ has broad support among francophones across Quebec, while Liberal support is still largely concentrated among non-francophones and in the Montreal region. Despite assertions the party would never recover among francophones, support in that segment of the population has grown to 23 per cent in a recent L\u00e9ger poll, up from six per cent under former leader Dominique Anglade.<\/p>\n

Policies: In his leadership campaigns, Milliard positioned himself as the economic candidate who would bolster Quebec\u2019s regions, reduce taxes for small and medium-size businesses and help his party reconnect with the francophone voters it would need to win government.<\/p>\n

Language: Milliard last year said he would \u201cchange some of the articles on Bill 96,\u201d the CAQ\u2019s overhaul of the Charter of the French Language. He has criticized the clause requiring immigrants to only communicate with the government in French six months after their arrival, and has complained that the law puts a burden on small and medium-size businesses. Milliard has also said he plans to \u201creconnect\u201d with anglos, \u201ctaken for granted for way too many years\u201d by the Liberals.<\/p>\n

Referendum: An unambiguous federalist, Milliard is the only leader who hasn\u2019t at one point worked with a separatist party. He says he would be ready to lead a No campaign. \u201cIf by chance there was a No-side bus to drive, the only person who has a licence to drive it, to lead the troops to safe harbour in a clear and reliable way, is me and the Liberal Party of Quebec,\u201d Milliard said in February.<\/p>\n

Ruba Ghazal, Qu\u00e9bec solidaire<\/p>\n

\"RubaQu\u00e9bec solidaire has chosen co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal to be its candidate for premier and to participate in leaders\u2019 debates. Jacques Boissinot \/ The Canadian Press files<\/p>\n

Background: Born in Lebanon in 1977, Ruba Ghazal has degrees in business administration and the environment.<\/p>\n

Politics: First elected in 2018, Ghazal is the MNA for the Montreal riding of Mercier for Qu\u00e9bec solidaire. She is the party\u2019s co-spokesperson with Sol Zanetti \u2014\u00a0and the party has chosen her to be its candidate for premier and to participate in leaders\u2019 debates.<\/p>\n

Polls: A pro-sovereignty party, Qu\u00e9bec solidaire won the third-most seats in the last election\u00a0\u2014 11, compared to just three for the PQ. But in the ensuing years, QS has lost momentum, with recent surveys placing it near the bottom of the pack even as the PQ soared.<\/p>\n

Policies: Decidedly left-wing, the party promotes an inclusive Quebec and has focused on the cost of living, housing, health care, education and social justice.<\/p>\n

Language: QS pledges to ensure the \u201creal predominance\u201d of French across collective life, with stricter workplace francization measures, while promising that this will not come at the expense of Indigenous languages and the anglophone community. The party says \u201chistoric anglophones\u201d are an \u201cintegral part of the Quebec nation and share its political destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referendum: The party promotes an \u201cinclusive nationalism.\u201d It says Quebec independence is necessary and federalism cannot be reformed. \u201cThe people of Quebec must choose: Submit to the Canadian majority and be subordinated and homogenized, or fully exercise their political sovereignty,\u201d says the party policy program adopted last year. However, a March L\u00e9ger survey found 61 per cent of QS supporters would vote No in a referendum.<\/p>\n

\u00c9ric Duhaime, Conservative Party of Quebec<\/p>\n

\"ConservativeIn the 2022 election, Conservative Party of Quebec Leader \u00c9ric Duhaime pledged to repeal Bill 96. John Kenney \/ Montreal Gazette files<\/p>\n

Background: Born in 1969 in Montreal, \u00c9ric Duhaime has degrees in political science and public administration and rose to prominence as a commentator on talk radio and a columnist at Le Journal de Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

Politics: Duhaime has never held elected office, but he has worked with many parties, including the PQ, the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois and the Canadian Alliance, which later merged with the federal Conservatives. He ran unsuccessfully for Action d\u00e9mocratique du Qu\u00e9bec, which eventually merged with the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec. As leader of the Quebec Conservatives since 2021, Duhaime has twice run, including in a byelection last year, and failed to win a seat. Last month, former CAQ MNA Ma\u00eft\u00e9 Blanchette V\u00e9zina joined the Conservatives, giving the party a seat in the National Assembly.<\/p>\n

Polls: Despite a strong showing, the Conservatives did not win any seats in the 2022 election. Duhaime has edged up in the surveys since then, with poll watchers suggesting he has a real chance at winning seats in the Quebec City and Beauce regions this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Policies: Duhaime promotes a market-driven economy and emphasizes fiscal discipline. He wants to cut the size of the public service and decrease red tape for entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

Language: In the 2022 election, Duhaime pledged to repeal Bill 96. He said the CAQ\u2019s comprehensive overhaul of the Charter of the French Language did little to protect French and divided francophones and anglophones. He is again appealing to anglophones, and polls suggest he is the second choice among non-francophones, though still far behind the Liberals.<\/p>\n

Referendum: Duhaime has vowed not to hold a sovereignty referendum, but he recently refused to say whether he would vote No should one be held in the coming years. That\u2019s in contrast to his position in 2022, when he told a crowd that he would \u201cabsolutely\u201d vote against sovereignty.<\/p>\n

ariga@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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