(Quebec) A personnel reshuffle is underway in the cabinets of François Legault’s government after a tumultuous year which led to his fall in public opinion. However, we are witnessing more of a game of musical chairs than a sweeping sweep.
Special advisor and speechwriter to François Legault, Stéphane Gobeil becomes the new director of strategic planning in the Prime Minister’s office. It is a key position, among other things, for the definition and implementation of government priorities.
Stéphane Gobeil, former speechwriter for Gilles Duceppe and Pauline Marois who joined the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in 2016, is already part of François Legault’s close guard. He will continue to work alongside the Director and Deputy Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Martin Koskinen and Claude Laflamme. As director of strategic planning, he will now intervene more directly in ministers’ priority files.
A former journalist from The Press passes to the Ministry of Family
Stéphane Gobeil replaces Pascale Breton, former journalist at The Press and former director of communications for the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS).
After having been a political advisor during the first CAQ mandate, Pascale Breton became director of strategic planning after the re-election of the Legault government in the fall of 2022. She then succeeded Pascal Mailhot, who occupied this important position throughout the first CAQ mandate; he is now vice-president of the public relations firm TACT.
Pascale Breton now finds herself chief of staff to the Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy.
The holder of this position until now, Alex Perreault, will head the office of Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette. He replaces Pierre-Yves Boivin, who became vice-president of VIA TGF, a subsidiary of VIA Rail responsible for piloting the federal government’s high-frequency train project.
At the center of a controversy with her housing bill, the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, has a new chief of staff: Marie-Claude Lavigne, who has worked in public relations firms, but also in cabinets of the Charest government. She succeeds Simon Therrien-Denis. The latter becomes chief of staff to the minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, replacing Jérémie Casavant-Dubois who is leaving the government.
The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, loses his chief of staff, Alexis Aubry, new father. They had worked together since the CAQ came to power in 2018. Sébastien Daviault, who was Mr. Aubry’s deputy, now heads the cabinet.