Fréchette to be Quebec’s next premier

Coalition Avenir Québec members have named Christine Fréchette as the new party leader and Quebec’s 33rd premier. 

She will be sworn in before the Quebec legislature resumes on May 5.

Fréchette will be the second woman to hold the post after the Parti Québécois’ Pauline Marois from 2012 to 2014.

“I am so happy and proud that you put your trust in me,” Fréchette told party faithful at the CAQ convention. 

“Today we’re moving on to a new step. You voted for a new kind of leadership … you have chosen a woman and a style of leadership that brings people together,” she said.

Fréchette, a former PQ staffer, focused her leadership campaign on economic issues, including on reopening the debate around shale gas and hydraulic fracturing. 

During her victory speech, she promised to be a sound leader with a more streamlined government and a focus on a strong economy. 

She said she wants to invest in the province’s hydroelectricity, natural resources, technology and culture, as well as protect the French language.

“You deserve a government that will make your life easier,” she said. “We’re going to tackle the cost of living. We’re going to give Quebec families some breathing space. And not just with words, but with action.”

She added that growing up in the aftermath of failed referendums, tense negotiations with the federal government and high youth unemployment rates formed her experience as a Quebecer. 

“It made us resilient, pragmatic and capable of transforming challenges into concrete solutions,” she said, adding it’s what will inform her leadership style.

Fréchette and Bernard Drainvile were the only two to run after outgoing Quebec Premier François Legault announced he was stepping down in January as polls showed his party was deeply unpopular.

Recent Léger polls show the CAQ trailing far behind the PQ, Quebec Liberals and Conservatives.

CAQ leadership candidate Bernard Drainville gives remarks at the CAQ leadership convention in Drummondville, Que., on Sunday, April 12, 2026.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Drainville, a former Parti Québécois minister, leaned on conservative ideas and positioned himself as the candidate best suited to defend Quebec’s identity and to adopt a stricter immigration policy.

Drainville said he campaigned across every region of Quebec and put forward “a program for change, even if it meant stirring things up a little.”

Fréchette thanked her opponent for a leadership race based on strong ideas and said he made her a better candidate.

Both hopefuls promised during the leadership race to limit immigration, improve access to housing and health care, and reduce the size of the government.

About 15,800 of the 20,500 eligible CAQ members voted in the leadership race.

Fréchette received 57.9 per cent of the vote while Drainville got 42.1 per cent. 

Several groups protested outside the convention, including unions representing paramedics and an organization pushing for the restoration of a program that fast-tracks permanent residency.

While campaigning, Fréchette said she was open to bringing the program back for two years.

CAQ members also took the time to say goodbye to the outgoing premier. Legault’s voice wavered as he gave a speech, saying he was ready to hand off the reigns of the party he’s led since 2011.

Quebec premier Francois Legault is overcome with emotion while giving remarks at the CAQ leadership convention, in Drummondville, Que., on Sunday, April 12, 2026.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

“There are issues at stake in Quebec that are far too important. There are issues that go beyond me personally. We need an economic and nationalist party now more than ever,” he said.

The CAQ won two back-to-back majority governments in 2018 and 2022, but poll aggregator Qc125 predicts that the party will win zero seats in the next election.

“If there’s one message I want to leave you with today, it’s this: never, ever let anyone reduce those two terms in office to a few bad decisions — never!” he said. 

He added that whatever comes next, he hopes to see the party remain united. 

Fréchette said she hopes to lead the CAQ to victory in the general election this fall, saying Quebec does not want to slide back into old debates on separatism.

The Parti Québécois, which is neck-and-neck with the Liberals in the polls, has promised a referendum in its first term if elected. 

“It’s still yes versus no,” she said. “Let me make this clear straight away: I won’t let you set Quebec back by a decade.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2026.

By Erika Morris | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.