Quebec’s incoming, outgoing premiers meet as transition of power begins

Quebec’s transition of power is underway, with outgoing premier Christine Fréchette and premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon meeting Tuesday to discuss some of the major issues facing the province as the Parti Québécois prepares to take office.

The two leaders met for just under 50 minutes at the premier’s office in Quebec City, where they discussed the economy, employment, relations with the United States and the Churchill Falls hydroelectric agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador.

“We touched on all kinds of urgent and sensitive issues,” St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters in French after the meeting.

He said he was satisfied with the talks and thanked Fréchette’s team for its co-operation.

“We are looking at an orderly transition, marked by collaboration,” he said.

Fréchette also stressed the importance of a smooth handover. “It’s important to ensure a co-ordinated, proper transition,” she said. “Our teams will exchange information on the next steps.”

The transition comes eight days after Quebecers elected a minority Parti Québécois government in the Oct. 5 provincial election, returning the sovereigntist party to power for the first time since 2014.

The PQ won 59 seats, while the Quebec Liberals secured 40 to form the official Opposition. The Conservatives won 19 seats and Québec solidaire took nine. The Coalition Avenir Québec, which had governed since 2018, failed to elect a single member.

While the transition is underway, St-Pierre Plamondon is already signalling a different approach as he prepares to lead a minority government.

Newly elected PQ members are scheduled to be sworn in as members of the national assembly on Thursday, though it remains unclear whether St-Pierre Plamondon will pledge allegiance to the King, an issue that is facing a legal challenge.

Daniel Béland of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada said the issue itself is not new, but questioned how prominently it will figure in the incoming government’s agenda.

“It’s not anything new,” Béland told Global on Tuesday. “At the same time, the question is to know whether he will really focus on this because he said his priorities are homelessness, the cost of living, government spending and so forth.”

A bigger challenge could be governing with a minority.

With 59 seats, the PQ will need support from other parties to pass legislation, requiring St-Pierre Plamondon’s government to find common ground with its political opponents.

Béland said the PQ could turn to different opposition parties depending on the issue.

“In terms of some issues related to government spending, reducing the size of public services, that is something they can do with the Conservatives,” he said. “When we need social issues or homelessness and so forth, certainly Québec solidaire is keen on social spending.”

The incoming government will also face a learning curve, with more than 50 PQ MNAs new to provincial politics and limited representation in Montreal and the Quebec City area.

“It’s a challenge for any new government, but when you’re in minority territory you have to be especially disciplined,” Béland said.

“And on top of it, when most of your MNAs are rookies, at least to provincial politics as elected MNAs to the national assembly, I think that this adds to the challenges that this government is facing.”

St-Pierre Plamondon and his cabinet are scheduled to be sworn in Oct. 21, when he will be able to officially move into the premier’s office.

Fréchette, meanwhile, announced the day after the election that she was resigning as CAQ leader after taking “full responsibility” for the party’s defeat.

The transition is unfolding as the PQ also challenges results in two closely contested ridings.

A party source said Tuesday the PQ is seeking a judicial recount in Champlain, in the Mauricie region, where Conservative Adriana Szalontai defeated PQ candidate René Branchaud by 191 votes.

The source said alleged irregularities were identified during the counting of ballots, with approximately 80 ballots missing from one ballot box and another 30 from a second.

Quebec election law allows a recount to be requested when the margin between the top two candidates is less than one-thousandth of the votes cast. While the margin in Champlain does not meet that threshold, the PQ official said the party believes it has sufficient grounds to convince the Court of Quebec to grant the request.

The Court of Quebec has already granted the PQ’s request for a recount in Vachon, where Liberal Affine Lwalalika defeated PQ candidate Stephan Fogaing by 10 votes.

That recount is scheduled to begin Oct. 19 and is expected to last three days.

St-Pierre Plamondon is expected to unveil his cabinet next week.

–with files from The Canadian Press