Premier Christine Fréchette is scheduled to kick off Quebec’s provincial election campaign by meeting with Lieutenant-Governor Manon Jeannotte on Thursday morning. The campaign initiation process in Quebec requires the head of government to request the lieutenant-governor to dissolve the National Assembly, as per the electoral system. Following a cabinet meeting at 10 a.m. in Quebec City, Fréchette will meet with Jeannotte at 10:30 a.m., followed by a news conference at 11 a.m.
The election campaign is set to span 39 days, culminating in Election Day on Monday, October 5th. This year, there will be 127 electoral districts, two more than in previous elections, raising the majority seat threshold to 64 seats. This election marks a significant change as François Legault, who led consecutive majority governments in 2018 and 2022, will not be leading the government this time around.
Christine Fréchette, who assumed office as premier in April after winning the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) leadership race, will be contesting in Trois-Rivières, her hometown, after becoming an MNA in 2022. She will face off against Parti Québécois’s (PQ) Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in the Camille-Laurin district. Charles Milliard of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) is contesting in Orford, while Éric Duhaime of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) is running in Bellechasse. Québec Solidaire’s (QS) Ruba Ghazal aims to secure Montreal’s Mercier district for the third consecutive election.
Despite the Parti Québécois leading in current polls, there is limited public support for a referendum, a key promise of the party’s platform.
