The first week of Québec’s election campaign has quickly come and gone. While the parties have already made a long list of commitments, the more salient story is the political dynamic beginning to take shape. The race is tightening, economic issues are occupying more space than expected, and renewed trade tensions with the United States have given the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) an opportunity to regain momentum at a pivotal moment. The CAQ is back in contention The most si

It’s official: Québec is now in an election campaign. Over the course of the next month and a half, the Québec Now team will closely monitor key developments and bring you the most important updates each week. As the campaign buses get rolling, we’re starting with a look at the initial playing field. What the polls are saying With the campaign underway, the Parti Québécois (PQ) leads off as the frontrunner, with 30% of voting intentions. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is b

Québec’s provincial election campaign begins today in a political environment that has shifted dramatically over the past few days. The breakdown of trade negotiations between Canada and the United States, followed by the introduction of new U.S. tariffs, has pushed the economy, jobs and the relationship with Washington back to the centre of the political discourse. For Québec’s political parties setting out on the campaign trail, that could significantly alter their strategi

The LNG terminal project associated with Marinvest Energy has recently returned to the spotlight in Québec. On August 17, Marinvest Energy Canada and Kino Aski Inc. announced plans to jointly develop Kino Aski LNG, a project aimed at exporting liquefied natural gas from Baie-Comeau. Kino Aski, an Indigenous-led company, would hold a majority interest in the development company, with Marinvest as the minority partner. The announcement has brought the project back into the spot

On August 17, the governments of Québec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Canada announced a new agreement in principle involving Hydro-Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro for the future of Churchill Falls. The agreement revisits and considerably expands the deal first negotiated under former Québec premier François Legault in 2024. It includes the continued use and expansion of the existing Churchill Falls generating station, the development of the Gull Island hydroelec

Most Quebecers will be enjoying the construction holiday over the next two weeks. It will provide one last respite before what promises to be a colourful election season. With the campaign likely to begin in only a few weeks, Québec Now is providing an overview of the parties as they line up on the starting line: CAQ: An Incumbent Government Facing Political Extinction Christine Fréchette made a successful debut with an initial bump in the polls, but since then she has stru

Québec will not solve its housing crisis without making a genuine shift in favour of residential construction and development more broadly. The challenge is much like the one facing the rest of Canada: demand is outpacing supply, while projects remain too slow, too complex, and too costly to complete. Despite the urgency, Québec’s current approval system still makes it exceptionally difficult to advance new developments. Approval delays are often excessive, processes lack pre

Although Québec’s new Integrated Energy Resource Management Plan acknowledges that energy demand will grow significantly over the coming decades, it does not yet provide a sufficiently detailed and credible strategy for meeting that demand. In its current form, the plan places a disproportionate share of Québec’s energy future on Hydro-Québec. Electrification is presented not simply as an important part of the transition, but as its primary solution. By 2050, electricity dema

That’s it: in Québec, the final parliamentary session before the general election has concluded. MNAs are returning to their ridings to prepare for the election campaign, which is expected to officially launch in a matter of weeks. What has defined the final stretch of the CAQ’s second mandate? In this month’s issue of Québec Now, our team offers you a concise overview of the latest political developments in the province. A last-minute bill on energy drinks passes In recent

As the final pre-election parliamentary session concludes, it is abundantly clear that energy remains one of the major blind spots of the CAQ government’s record. Energy supply issues have rarely been at the forefront of public debate, yet they lie at the heart of almost every major economic challenge facing Québec. The warning signs are multiplying and show no signs of easing. For one, Hydro-Québec is dealing with low reservoir levels. Québec has been importing electricity

With the parliamentary session now behind them, Québec politicians are heading into the summer and back to their ridings with one mission: to be seen. Over the coming weeks, MNAs, ministers, candidates and party leaders will be making appearances at neighbourhood festivals, barbecues, local events and community gatherings across the province. As the October 5 election approaches, the race has become more fluid. The latest Synopsis-La Presse poll puts the Parti Québécois in fi

With MNAs back at the National Assembly and Premier Christine Fréchette now sworn in, Québec has entered the final stretch before the next election campaign. This month’s update highlights the key political developments shaping the months ahead. Parliamentary return: a soft landing for Christine Fréchette Observers were eagerly awaiting the resumption of parliamentary proceedings, as it marked the first real test for the newly installed CAQ Premier. Overall, the return to the

According to the latest Synopsis poll conducted for La Presse, Québec’s political landscape is no longer stagnant. With less than four months before the provincial election campaign begins, the poll found that Parti Québécois (PQ) and the Québec Liberal Party (PLQ) are tied at 30% in voting intentions after the distribution of undecided voters. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) follows at 18%, ahead of the Conservative Party of Québec (PCQ) at 13% and Québec solidaire (QS) at

The debate over Québec’s riding redistribution raises questions that go far beyond the redrawing of a few electoral districts; it directly challenges the credibility of the province’s democratic system. The independent Commission de la représentation électorale has established a new electoral map, which is set to come into force on July 15, 2026. This redrawn map of the province’s ridings is intended, among other things, to better reflect population shifts observed in Québec

Christine Fréchette was elected leader of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) on April 12, following a leadership race that proved more competitive than many observers had anticipated. Gathered in Drummondville for the announcement of the results, the party confirmed Ms. Fréchette’s victory with 5 7.9 % of the vote, besting h er opponent Bernard Drainville. The campaign, which began in an already politically charged environment, quickly took on a more combative tone t

Between the March Break, significant weather events, and the wait for the appointment of a new premier, Québec’s political ecosystem has slowed down over the past few weeks, but it hasn’t come to a full stop! Here is our latest roundup of Québec political news from the last month. CAQ: Leadership race overshadowed by Iran conflict, ice storm One might have expected that the very first leadership race of the CAQ, which will effectively determine the identity of the next premie

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has pushed gasoline prices in Québec up by about 25 cents per litre in just a few days, and for many Quebecers, that sort of leap is hard to ignore. But the reality is that this isn’t just the impact of a global shock; it’s a blow to a province already dealing with its own energy challenges. Québec is under pressure. Electricity demand is growing, major industrial projects are competing for limited capacity, and long-term planning is st

The CAQ Government presented the annual budget last Wednesday, and at moment of significant political and economic uncertainty, its cautious tone reflects both. With the Finance minister operating under a “caretaker government” following Premier François Legault’s resignation, and global instability weighing on growth, this year’s fiscal plan breaks from the traditionally ambitious nature of pre-election budgets. Instead, it offers a restrained approach shaped largely by the

Members of the National Assembly returned to their seats last week, amid the intensifying race for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) leadership. Although the legislative session is underway, it is no longer entirely clear who is actually governing Québec. On certain sensitive issues, there are now three distinct positions: that of François Legault – who intends to govern until the very end of his mandate – and those of the two leadership candidates, each seeking to distinguis

The leadership race unfolding within the Coalition Avenir Québec has quickly evolved beyond a simple internal contest. What was expected to be a controlled succession following the resignation of Premier François Legault has instead exposed deep tensions inside the governing party and raised broader questions about its direction — and about whether a change in leader can realistically alter the trajectory of Québec politics in the short term. Two candidates, two political app