Premier Christine Fréchette is scheduled to commence the provincial election campaign by meeting with Quebec’s lieutenant-governor on Thursday morning. The day’s agenda includes a cabinet meeting in Quebec City at 10 a.m., followed by Fréchette’s meeting with Lieutenant-Governor Manon Jeannotte at 10:30 a.m. A news conference is set to follow at 11 a.m.
To kick off the election campaign in Quebec, the provincial electoral system mandates that the head of government requests the lieutenant-governor — who represents the King — to dissolve the National Assembly. The campaign is slated to run for 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 cycle features 127 ridings instead of the previous 125, necessitating 64 seats for a majority, up by one.
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 include Christine Fréchette, who succeeded Legault as premier in April, representing the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party and running in Trois-Rivières, Que. She faces opposition from Parti Québécois’s (PQ) Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, Quebec Liberal Party’s (PLQ) Charles Milliard, Conservative Party of Quebec’s (PCQ) Éric Duhaime, and Québec Solidaire’s (QS) Ruba Ghazal.
Despite leading in the polls, the PQ is advocating for a referendum, which many Quebecers are hesitant about, according to recent polling data.