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Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette speaks during a press conference alongside local candidates during a campaign stop, in Montreal, on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
By The Canadian Press

CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette expresses regret as Quebec election campaign ends

Oct 4, 2026 | 12:04 PM

MONTREAL — With hours left in Quebec’s provincial election campaign, Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette acknowledged Sunday that there are things she would have done differently.

During a stop in Shawinigan, Fréchette said she was proud of the campaign she had run, but said she should have put a greater emphasis on the consequences of a referendum on sovereignty promised by Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s.

Fréchette argued the prospect of a referendum would create uncertainty for Quebec’s economy almost immediately after the election if the PQ forms government, even though the PQ leader has pledged to delay a referendum, if he forms a government, until after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House in 2029.

”It’s important for people to realize this, because it’s not just a decision that could affect Quebec in three years”, she said, adding, “There will be impacts because uncertainty will become part of Quebec’s political and economic calendar.”

She rejected St-Pierre Plamondon’s previous accusation that the CAQ was engaging in a fear campaign by raising the possible economic consequences of another referendum.

But the referendum was not the only thing Fréchette said she would handle differently.

She said her team may have spent too much time detailing their party’s promises and not enough time laying out the broader differences between the CAQ and its opponents.

Fréchette also said she would have emphasized the party’s economic record and experience in government earlier in the campaign and acknowledged she was sometimes too reactive when she came under attack during the leaders’ debates.

Her reflections came as the CAQ entered the final hours of a campaign that could put an end to the party’s eight years in power after winning two consecutive majority governments under former premier François Legault.

Despite her regrets, Fréchette reiterated Sunday that she intends to remain CAQ leader regardless of the outcome of Monday’s vote.

She also returned to her central message: that the CAQ represents a “third way” between federalism and sovereignty.

Fréchette said she was worried Quebec politics was going back to the long-standing divide between those who want the province to remain in Canada and those who want it to become an independent country.

“Systematically taking refuge either in the Yes or in the No is too limiting,” she said.

She argued the CAQ’s alternative must continue to be offered “with strength and vigour” to Quebecers.

“I think every riding in Quebec has the possibility of becoming a cradle of the coalition to keep the third way active, and we’re working toward that,” she said.

Fréchette also used her final pitch to highlight a platform focused on reducing the cost of living, improving public services and protecting Quebec’s economy and identity.

She was scheduled to spend part of the final hours of the campaign going door-to-door in Trois-Rivières, where she is running for a seat in the legislature.

Quebecers head to the polls Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press