Cost of living crisis, strikes, gag order, collapse in the polls: despite a difficult year 2023, marked by “a lot of controversies”, François Legault is hanging on and maintains that he will be in the running in 2026.
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“I want to be here in a third term,” announced the Prime Minister from the outset, before taking questions on his results at the end of the parliamentary session.
This ends with a gag order to force the adoption of Minister Christian Dubé’s imposing health reform. That of Bernard Drainville in education was adopted through the normal route on Thursday. In front of parliament, thousands of Common Front union members on strike at least until December 14 were still meeting to demonstrate loudly on Friday, while the threat of an unlimited general strike looms.
“It hasn’t been an easy year, politically,” admitted Mr. Legault. The Prime Minister nevertheless assures that he is “not discouraged overall”, even after a poll which confirms the drastic fall in his popularity rating and the rise of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s Parti Québécois, now in first place.
“I am not in politics to win a popularity contest,” he repeated.
“Exciting enough” to imagine
Motivated to defend French, excited by the relaunch of “major projects” with Hydro-Québec – including new dams – and by everything his government has accomplished, particularly for the battery sector, with GM, Ford and Northvolt, the CAQ leader is already planning to run again in three years.
This is also what he indicated during the electoral campaign, in 2022, but on two conditions: being in health, and feeling the support of Quebecers.
This last criterion no longer holds, he confirmed on Friday. “You know, I evolved,” he explained. I feel some support in my caucus, he said. There are people who have asked me to confirm it [qu’il allait rester chef] and stop putting conditions.”
To public service union members and voters angry with him, “you will judge me in 2026, we still have three years ahead of us,” says François Legault, convinced of the effects that his health and education reforms will have.
“We are more than owed to Quebec to make major changes which will be decisive for the future of the health and education networks,” insisted Mr. Legault.
Resistance
“There will be resistance from the unions, among others, but I think that at the end of the day, when we deliver the services, I am confident that we will regain confidence,” said the Prime Minister. “I am convinced that it will pay off in the end, […] to provide better services to Quebecers,” believes the head of the CAQ.
Asked about the issues with which his government had trouble, “I have no intention of returning to these controversies,” said Mr. Legault.
With the tram as for the third link between Quebec and Lévis, “I said everything I had to say on that,” he said.
“This is part of the mandate we gave to the Caisse de dépôt and we are giving ourselves six months to take stock with experts. And there, we will come back to you in June. […] Six months is not an eternity,” the Prime Minister put things into perspective.
Contrary to the previous end-of-session reports presented by François Legault since he came to power, Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault was not at his side on Friday. In the context of negotiations with the public sector, the Prime Minister was instead surrounded by the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, his parliamentary leader, Simon Jolin-Barrette, and the Ministers of Health and Education , Bernard Drainville and Christian Dubé.
Prime Minister François Legault, flanked by the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, the government parliamentary leader Simon Jolin-Barrette, the Minister of Education Bernard Drainville and the Minister of Health Christian Dubé.
Photo Marc-André Gagnon