Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette is scheduled to commence the provincial election campaign on Thursday morning by meeting with Lieutenant-Governor Manon Jeannotte. The day’s agenda includes a cabinet meeting at 10 a.m. in Quebec City, followed by Fréchette’s meeting with Jeannotte at 10:30 a.m. A news conference is set to take place at 11 a.m. following the meeting.
To initiate the election campaign, the Quebec electoral system mandates that the head of the government requests the lieutenant-governor, who represents the King, to dissolve the National Assembly. The campaign will span 39 days, culminating in the election day on Monday, Oct. 5.
After the campaign launch, party leaders will embark on their campaign buses. This election will feature 127 ridings instead of the usual 125, requiring 64 seats for a majority, as opposed to the previous 63.
For the first time since 2018, Quebecers will elect a government not led by François Legault, who secured consecutive majority governments in 2018 and 2022. The five main party leaders in the upcoming election include Christine Fréchette for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon for the Parti Québécois (PQ), Charles Milliard for the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Éric Duhaime for the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), and Ruba Ghazal for Québec Solidaire (QS).
Despite the Parti Québécois leading in the polls, there is minimal public support for a referendum, which the party has pledged to hold if elected for a first term.