Premier Christine Fréchette is expected to meet with Quebec’s lieutenant governor on Thursday morning, paving the way for the official start of the election campaign. According to the premier’s schedule released Wednesday at noon, a cabinet meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m., after which Ms. Fréchette is set to meet with Manon Jeannotte, the lieutenant governor. Under Quebec’s electoral system, the head of the Quebec government must symbolically ask the lieutenant governor—who represents the King—to dissolve the National Assembly to trigger the election campaign. The Quebec election is scheduled for October 5, which means the election campaign will last 39 days. On the eve of the dissolution, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) holds 79 seats, compared to 18 for the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), 11 for Québec solidaire (QS), and 7 for the Parti Québécois (PQ). The Quebec Conservative Party held one seat. There were nine independent members. Fréchette succeeded François Legault a few months ago to lead the CAQ in the election campaign. She will face Liberal candidate Charles Milliard, PQ candidate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, and QS spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, who is the party’s candidate for premier. Éric Duhaime is in the running for the Conservatives. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 26, 2026.
