François Legault will experience his last moments as premier in the House on Thursday.
He will answer questions from the opposition, after which he will deliver a ten-minute speech. Speeches from the leaders of the other parties will follow, then the session will be adjourned for a week’s parliamentary recess.
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Legault will hand over his seat to either Christine Fréchette or Bernard Drainville on April 12 at a party convention to be held in Drummondville. He will, however, continue to serve as the MNA for L’Assomption until the general election.
Legault is the longest-serving member of the National Assembly. Appointed Minister of Industry by Lucien Bouchard 28 years ago, in 1998, he founded the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in 2011 and realized his dream of becoming Premier in 2018.
He experienced a true love affair with Quebecers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and up until 2023, when his party began to accumulate blunders and sink in the polls.
The latest Léger poll conducted for Quebecor media and published this week places the CAQ on par with Québec solidaire (QS), far behind the Parti québécois (PQ) and the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ).
On Thursday morning, Legault’s political opponents paid tribute to him, highlighting his resilience. “What I remember is a public service of nearly 30 years,” commented PQ MNA Alex Boissonneault at a press conference.
“Politics is hard, it’s thankless, it’s unpredictable, so to do this job, which perhaps few people want to do, is still a credit to François Legault,” added QS leader Ruba Ghazal.
“I want to highlight François Legault’s 28 years of public commitment. Whether we agree or not with the decisions he has made, (…) 28 years of public service comes with significant personal sacrifices,” said PLQ parliamentary leader André Fortin.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
