Quebec's premier set to meet lieutenant-governor, kicking off election campaign

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Holly Cabrera

• PQ kicks off campaign in Montreal

  Sharon Yonan-Renold

  I’m Sharon Yonan-Renold and I’ll be travelling on the Parti Québécois bus for the next week. 

  The party is kicking off its campaign in eastern Montreal, in the Camille-Laurin riding, which party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon won in 2022. 

  While the PQ has consistently led in the polls, the CAQ and Quebec Liberals are hot on their tails. 

  The PQ will have to balance one of its key issues — Quebec independence — with the intensifying trade war between Canada and the U.S. 

  St-Pierre Plamondon has said that a PQ government would not hold a referendum as long as Donald Trump remains president. 

  According to a Léger survey in early August, 68 per cent of respondents were against the idea of holding a referendum in Quebec. That’s according to a survey of 998 people.

• Who can run in an election?

  Holly Cabrera

  

  The Quebec election is scheduled for Oct. 5 and people who want to run in a certain riding have until Sept. 17 to to submit their candidacy. (Martin Thibault/Radio-Canada)

  Potential candidates have until Sept. 17 to submit their nomination — so it's not too late to collect signatures and run for office.

  Generally speaking, if you have the right to vote, you are eligible to run as a candidate. 

  But on election day, candidates need to be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and have to have lived in the province for six months.

  No need to live in the riding where you plan to run. In fact, many candidates often don't.

• What's so special about this campaign?

  Holly Cabrera

  

  Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, right, was congratulated by outgoing premier Francois Legault after she was sworn in at the legislature in Quebec City on April 15, 2026 after winning the Coalition Avenir Québec Party's leadership race. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

  This is the first time since 2018 that Quebecers will elect a government not headed by François Legault. 

  He led the CAQ — a party he co-founded – to consecutive majority governments in 2018 and 2022. 

  Fréchette succeeded him in April after Legault announced his resignation in January. 

• Quebec's election campaign starts today

  Holly Cabrera

  Good morning!

  The countdown is on to the start of the provincial election campaign.

  Premier Christine Fréchette is expected to convene the cabinet before meeting with Quebec's lieutenant-governor at 10:30 a.m. ET to dissolve the National Assembly and officially launch the election campaign.

  The upcoming election is scheduled for Oct. 5, leaving just 39 days for candidates to go door knocking. 

  Here's a refresher on the five main party leaders vying to become Quebec's next premier: 

  • Christine Fréchette - Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ).
  • Ruba Ghazal - Québec Solidaire (QS).
  • Charles Milliard - Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ). 
  • Éric Duhaime - Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ). 
  • Paul St-Pierre Plamondon - Parti Québécois (PQ). 

  
  They'll be kicking off their campaigns across the province over the course of the day.