Quebec Premier François Legault Resigns

Photo Credit: Jacques Boissinot via Yahoo News

On Jan. 14, Quebec Premier François Legault announced his resignation as Premier of Quebec and leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party. He will remain as premier and party leader until a replacement is found. Finding a replacement could take months and may leave the CAQ with little time to prepare for the provincial election, which will be held in October.

“I can see that, right now, a lot of Quebecers want change first and foremost, and among other things, a change in premier,” Legault said in a news conference after his resignation. His announcement came after poor public polling numbers for the CAQ, several resignations within the party, and union pressures, according to CBC.

A Jan. 21 Pallas Data poll placed the premier and his party at just 11 per cent in voter intentions. More than 50 per cent of respondents chose "very unfavorable" when asked for their opinion of Legault. 

In August 2025, the CAQ claimed it would ban public prayers, which, according to The Guardian, caused outrage from many groups. Many civil rights activists called it an infringement on religious freedom and an attempt to target minority religious groups, as per The Guardian.

However, the CAQ has also passed many French language and culture protection laws. In 2022, Legault proclaimed that he was “proud to be a francophone nation in North America,” noting that it was his government’s “duty to protect our common language,” as reported by The Guardian.

When Legault resigned, many politicians reacted with praise for his contribution to Quebec politics. “From startups in business and politics, François Legault has demonstrated the value of thinking big, taking risks, and working hard,” Prime Minister Mark Carney commented on X.

PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon shared that the premier should be recognized for having served the public for more than 25 years. “Despite our profound disagreements on the reasons behind our current collective difficulties and on the future of Quebec, François Legault has always been sincere in his desire to improve the fate of the Quebec nation,” PQ Leader St-Pierre Plamondon wrote on X.

However, Leagault’s critics have given a different opinion on his sudden exit as a politician, especially during Quebec’s ongoing hospital crisis.

“François Legault has left staff and the public to bear the consequences of his inaction, prioritizing populist rhetoric over taking action where the need is most pressing. Overcrowded emergency rooms, exhausted staff, and dilapidated infrastructure were not accidents, but the result of reactive management and a persistent lack of planning,” Julie Bouchard, the president of Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, Quebec’s largest healthcare union, said in a statement after the premier resigned.

Additionally, some Indigenous leaders in Quebec were pleased to see the premier go, as they say his government failed to recognize the existence of systemic racism in Quebec.

"This is really good news, especially for relations between the government and First Nations," Manawan Chief Sipi Flamand announced on Radio Canada. “It was necessary that he make a decision worthy of [this office], especially since the CAQ government never recognized the existence of systemic racism.”