Politics
Quebec premier-designate St-Pierre Plamondon meets Fréchette on economy and Churchill Falls as PQ prepares to take power
The Parti Québécois leader and the outgoing Coalition Avenir Québec premier held a nearly 50-minute handover meeting in Quebec City; PQ MNAs are to be sworn in Thursday and cabinet on Oct. 21.
Published: October 13, 2026 · Updated: October 13, 2026 · 1 min read
QUEBEC CITY — Premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon met outgoing Premier Christine Fréchette on Tuesday for a formal transition meeting that focused on the economy, jobs, relations with the United States and Quebec’s Churchill Falls hydroelectric agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador, CBC News reported.
The session at the Ministry of the Executive Council lasted a little under 50 minutes. The two leaders spoke to journalists afterward without taking questions. St-Pierre Plamondon said they had “touched on all types of urgent and sensitive topics,” including “the economy, the relationship with the U.S., information regarding certain businesses, jobs and Churchill Falls.”
“I want to emphasize that we’re looking at an orderly transition, one that encourages collaboration,” St-Pierre Plamondon said, according to CityNews Montreal. Fréchette said it was “important to ensure a co-ordinated and adequate transition.”
The meeting comes eight days after the Parti Québécois won a minority government on Oct. 5 while the Coalition Avenir Québec failed to win a single seat. Fréchette remains premier until St-Pierre Plamondon is sworn in, but she has already stepped down as CAQ leader. The CAQ’s executive board is expected to name an interim leader on Saturday and organize a leadership race with no timeline yet set.
PQ MNAs elected on Oct. 5 — 59 seats, subject to recount challenges in Champlain and Vachon — are to be sworn in at the National Assembly on Thursday. Liberal MNAs are scheduled for Oct. 19, Québec solidaire on Oct. 20 and Conservatives on Oct. 22. The PQ cabinet is expected to be sworn in on Oct. 21, with the Assembly reconvening in mid-November.
St-Pierre Plamondon has listed early priorities that include tackling homelessness, boosting food-bank funding, forming a team for U.S. trade talks and dismantling projects he has criticized under the CAQ, including SAAQclic. CityNews also noted pledges such as a special homelessness budget, exempting secondhand goods from the QST and cutting gasoline prices by seven cents a litre.
Sources: CBC News (Oct. 13, 2026); CityNews Montreal / Canadian Press (Oct. 13, 2026).
Sources
- CBC News · news
- CityNews Montreal / Canadian Press · news
- Le Soleil · news
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