Quebec

Thursday December 18, 2025

Quebec politics is set for upheaval in 2026 with the CAQ's decline, Liberal turmoil, and the PQ's resurgence.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 18, 2025

Published in The Toronto Star. 

A Resurgence of Intrigue and Uncertainty

A distracted and weakened federal government has created a leadership vacuum, forcing the provinces to step up in addressing the existential challenges posed by a potential second Trump presidency.

December 18, 2024

Quebec politics has long been a source of both intrigue and entertainment, characterized by its unique cultural dynamics and frequent shifts in public sentiment. As we approach the provincial election in 2026, the landscape is once again charged with excitement and unpredictability.

Recent events, including the resignation of Quebec Liberal Party leader Pablo Rodriguez amid corruption allegations, have thrown the party into disarray. Once a bastion of federalism, the Liberals are struggling to find their footing, reminiscent of the spent and unpopular state of Robert Bourassa’s Liberals in 1975. This turmoil, detailed in recent articles from Le Devoir and CBC, highlights a party grappling with internal crises and a loss of public confidence.

News: Quebec Liberal leader has decided to resign after weeks of turmoil: sources

July 12, 2019

Meanwhile, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), led by François Legault, finds itself in a precarious position. After dominating Quebec politics for nearly a decade, voter fatigue and dissatisfaction have set in. The CAQ’s struggles mirror those of past governments, facing challenges such as the contentious issues of pipelines, secularism laws like Bill 21, and the push for a Quebec constitution. These debates have reignited passions across the province, drawing attention to Quebec’s place within Canada and its cultural identity.

October 5, 2022

Enter the Parti Québécois (PQ), under the leadership of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. The PQ is experiencing a resurgence, capturing the imagination of voters with renewed discussions of sovereignty and independence. While the prospect of another referendum is met with skepticism by many, the PQ’s rise in the polls indicates a significant shift in public mood. This echoes the party’s historic ascent in the 1970s, when they challenged the status quo and altered Quebec’s political trajectory.

News: PQ lead in polls won’t last, referendum promise will turn off Quebecers, Legault says

May 7, 2021

Commentary from various sources, including reader responses, underscores the complexity of Quebec’s political climate. The province is restless, with many feeling that politics has been dormant for too long. The potential for change is palpable, as parties vie for influence and attempt to address the diverse concerns of Quebecers.

As we approach the 2026 election, Quebec’s political scene seems poised for a dramatic transformation. The end of Legault’s era and the potential return of the PQ signify a province on the verge of a political explosion. In true Quebec fashion, the stage is set for a captivating and unpredictable journey, reminding us that Quebec politics never fails to deliver intrigue.

The 2026 Unity Crisis Drama

Yesterday morning, the unexpected resignation of Liberal leader Pablo Rodriguez jolted me awake from my apathy towards Quebec politics. For years, the political scene in Quebec has felt stagnant, with uninspiring leaders at the helm. In the past 25 years, the Parti Québécois has cycled through 13 leaders, with only three serving as premiers, while the Liberals have seen seven leaders and just two premiers.

François Legault, the two-term Premier, has been the only leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec to govern, emerging as a protest against the traditional politics dominated by the Liberals and PQ. Despite controversies, particularly his fixation on secularism, Legault managed to steer Quebec away from its nationalist, separatist tendencies. However, Quebecers are growing weary of the CAQ and Legault, as reflected in plummeting poll numbers, signaling a hunger for change.

This yearning for transformation is refreshing. It’s been too long since Quebec politics has seen the likes of dynamic figures such as Jean Charest, Bernard Landry, Lucien Bouchard, Jacques Parizeau, and the incomparable René Lévesque. Although I don’t see a new René Lévesque in the current PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whom I just discovered today, I remain a staunch federalist committed to Quebec’s place within Canada.

Yet, I welcome the prospect of renewed debates on unity. It’s an integral part of our history and offers a rich platform to discuss Quebec’s role within the broader Canadian context.

Friday March 3, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 3, 2023

Bused out of Quebec, francophone asylum seekers struggle to get medical services

Over the phone, the woman’s voice is regretful but hurried — she says she’s sorry, but if the French-speaking migrant on the other end of the line cannot find someone to translate English, the doctor won’t see him for the medical exam he needs in order to claim asylum in Canada.

March 24, 2022

CBC News obtained a recording of the phone conversation the man says took place Wednesday in Niagara Falls, Ont. 

“It’s not possible to speak with the doctor if you can’t speak English,” the woman tells him in French. “You have to find someone at your hotel to help you.” 

“I don’t know anyone here,” Guirlin — whose last name CBC News has agreed to withhold because of his precarious immigration status — replies.

Guirlin and his family are among the more than 5,500 asylum seekers who have been bused by Canada’s government from Quebec’s border with the U.S. to cities in Ontario, including Windsor, Cornwall and Niagara Falls. 

They are also among a number of those — mostly francophones from Haiti or countries in Africa — for whom the transfer happened against their wishes since they could not afford to find a place to stay immediately. Their plan all along was to live in Quebec.

February 17, 2023

Guirlin, his wife, who is six months pregnant, and their four-year-old son ended up in Niagara Falls on Feb. 14. Originally from Haiti, the family had been struggling to make ends meet in Brazil, when they decided to travel north through a dozen countries to make their way to Canada. 

When they arrived on Feb. 11 via Roxham Road, the popular irregular border crossing south of Montreal, they were asked by immigration officers where they planned to live in Canada.

“I said we want to stay in Montreal because I don’t speak English and my wife doesn’t either, and she needs to have medical appointments for the pregnancy,” Guirlin said in a phone interview Thursday. 

He says they were told in the following days there was no space for them in Montreal, and that they were being sent to Ontario. They boarded a bus with roughly 40 other asylum seekers from a number of other countries last Tuesday. For now, the government has put them up in a hotel. (CBC) 

 

Wednesday October 5, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 5, 2022

Legault’s tense relationship with Ottawa likely to now continue

Francois Legault’s re-election in Quebec Monday night means an already frosty relationship between his government and Ottawa will likely continue, experts say.

August 5, 2022

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Legault after the Quebec premier’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) was projected to form a second majority government, vowing to work together moving forward. But court challenges and a looming fight over immigration are bound to test that promise.

“I don’t think that these tensions will ease as long as the Liberals remain in power in Ottawa and Legault and the CAQ remain in power in Quebec City,” said Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University.

“There are simply fundamental differences between them in the way they see the federation.”

Legault’s first term saw his nationalist agenda clash with Trudeau’s Liberal government a number of times — most notably when the prime minister and members of his cabinet openly criticized Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, and Bill 96, which bolsters protections for the French language.

July 12, 2019

Both bills are currently before the courts in Quebec, and Ottawa has promised to join a legal challenge to Bill 21 if it reaches the Supreme Court of Canada.

Legault has also been one of the most vocal premiers calling on Trudeau to increase federal funding for health care, which has been met with resistance by the Liberals. Legault has gone further by insisting that any health transfer top-up must also respect Quebec’s ability to govern its own health-care system without federal interference.

Now that Legault is set to be premier through the rest of Trudeau’s current mandate, more fights are expected in the years ahead.

September 14, 2013

Most crucially, Legault has caught attention with his push for further immigration powers over family reunification — a responsibility currently shared between the provincial and federal governments — in order to limit non-French-speaking migration into Quebec.

Last spring, when Legault promised to make the dispute a campaign issue, Trudeau said he had no intention of relinquishing any of those powers.

“It’s clear that a country must have a say in its immigration,” he told reporters then, assuring the protection of French and francophone immigration was “very important” to his government.

According to Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University, Legault could also cause headaches for the federal Liberals by continuing to align with other right-leaning premiers across the country like Ontario Premier Doug Ford on not just immigration, but also health-care funding and economic issues.

March 23, 2022

Ford was quick to congratulate “my friend” Legault on his election win Monday night on Twitter. Fellow right-leaning premiers Scott Moe of Saskatchewan and Heather Stefanson of Manitoba also celebrated Legault’s victory.

Although Trudeau and his government have pushed back on some of Legault’s more nationalistic moves, Beland adds the Liberals have to be careful about not starting an intergovernmental war with the strongly-supported premier of a vote-rich province.

“So long as Legault remains popular, there will be a strong incentive for Trudeau and the Liberals to … meet in the middle and remain diplomatic on some issues,” he said. (Global News)

 

Thursday January 13, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 13, 2022

Quebec to impose a tax on people who are unvaccinated from COVID-19

June 17, 2021

Quebec is announcing it will impose a health tax on Quebecers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Quebec Premier François Legault made the announcement in Montreal on Tuesday afternoon, as the number of pandemic-related hospitalizations continues to climb.

“A health contribution will be charged to all adults that don’t want to get vaccinated. We are there now,” he said.

Legault said he felt the ire of the vaccinated towards the unvaccinated, whom he blamed for clogging up the province’s hospitals.

Only 10 per cent of the population is unvaccinated but they make up 50 per cent of patients in intensive care beds, according to the premier.

On Tuesday the province reported an increase of 188 patients with COVID-19 for a total of 2,742. Of those, 255 are in intensive care.

Saturday December 18, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 18, 2021

Toronto city council votes to help fight Quebec’s Bill 21 in court after Brampton calls for support

September 17, 2019

Toronto city council unanimously voted in support of helping to fund a legal fight against Quebec’s law restricting religious symbols Thursday, after Brampton called on other Canadian cities to join in the initiative.

John Tory, the mayor of Canada’s largest city, said in a tweet he would put the request to council Thursday, repeating that both he and city council have repeatedly voiced opposition to Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21.

On Thursday, city council unanimously voted in favour of the motion to reaffirm the city’s opposition to the bill. City council will also contribute $100,000 to support the joint legal challenge to the bill being brought by the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the World Sikh Organization and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“Today, city council made it very clear that Toronto stands with municipalities from across Canada in opposition to Bill 21 and in support of the legal challenge against this bill,” Tory said in a news release Thursday. 

October 3, 2019

“We cannot simply stand by as Torontonians and Canadians and see a law like this diminish the protection and respect accorded religious and other basic freedoms by our Canadian Charter of Rights of Freedoms.”

He also  encouraged other cities to join the fight to “uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Tory was adding his voice to an initiative from Brampton city council, which also voted Wednesday to contribute $100,000 to challenging the Quebec law and encouraged other cities to donate.

Adopted in June 2019, Bill 21 prohibits the wearing of religious symbols such as hijabs, kippas and turbans by teachers and other government employees deemed to be in positions of authority. Debate over the law was revived this month with news that a teacher in Chelsea, Que., had been reassigned because of her hijab.

Patrick Brown Retrospective

Brampton calls itself one of the most diverse communities in Canada and says it wants to show its support for what diversity brings to local communities and Canada as a whole.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown calls Bill 21 discriminatory and says freedom of religion is a fundamental principle that must be upheld.

Since Brown called on other cities to get involved, several communities across the country have indicated their support for his initiative and will put requests for funding to their respective councils.

By late Wednesday afternoon, the motion had already won the support of Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. (CBC)