So you want to know about ... Quebec's provincial election
It's election season in Quebec.
Just one month remains before Quebecers head to the polls, and it seems to be a very competitive election.
Let's break down the importance of this provincial election.
Who's running? What do the polls look like?
The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) enters this campaign as the incumbent, though they won't be led by François Legault. Instead, Christine Fréchette will take the party into the election.
The Parti Québecois enters the race as the current polling favourite, with Paul St-Pierre Plamondon at the helm as they look to return to power for the first time since 2014.
The Quebec Liberal Party has had their time at the front of the electoral race, though their advantage has once again dissipated. Charles Milliard took the reins of the party in February 2026, replacing former Justin Trudeau cabinet minister Pablo Rodriguez.
The Conservative Party of Quebec will be entering their fifth provincial campaign, and they'll be looking to win their first seat via election (the two occasions where the party held a seat in the National Assembly came from defections). Éric Duhaime will be leading the party into the fall vote.
Québec Solidaire will also enter the race behind the three front-runners, with Ruba Ghazal leading the party into a new era.
Current polling has the Parti Québecois out in front by a sizable margin, with recent polls putting Plamondon at around 30% support. The Liberals and CAQ are neck-and-neck for second in the polls, with the latter holding a slight advantage and experiencing a significant surge in recent times.
That surge has unlocked a three-way race for government. The Parti Québecois might have the lead in the popular vote, but it seems that the CAQ is making life miserable for Plamondon's party. 338Canada's popular vote projection established a 5% margin between the two parties, while the CAQ's seat range tops out just outside the projected total for the Parti Québecois. The Liberals are still second in the seat count, with 31 seats projected to go their way, but that is down from more than a week ago, when they were projected to bring home 39 seats and 25% of the vote.
What are the key issues?
The big one here is sovereignty.
Plamondon's Parti Québecois promised a third independence referendum if his party wins the provincial election. But given his recent decision to push that referendum until Trump is out of office, it's likely that vote won't come until 2029 at earliest.
But independence is still widely unpopular in Quebec, giving the Parti Québecois very little room to manoeuvre when it comes to flipping undecided voters.
Somewhat intertwined with that is the issue of trade and tariffs.
That's partially why Frechette's CAQ is surging in the polls and giving Plamondon a hard time up top. We saw this exact same trend with last year's federal election; Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives held a significant lead up until Donald Trump's return and Justin Trudeau's semi-subsequent resignation, but both factors combined to give the new Liberal leader - Mark Carney - and his party an election victory. It's possible to deduce that "safe voting" plays a role in both situations, but we will need to keep an eye on the polls in this regard.
It's also worth noting that Quebec's industries are among those facing the hardest blow from American tariffs. These include lumber, which comes from areas like the Boreal, and steel, which is made in areas like Contrecoeur.
I reside in Quebec. How can I vote?
Election polls will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m on Election Day, which is October 5.
Elections Quebec's website lists the ways in which citizens can vote in the provincial election. These are summarized below.
Advance polling will occur from September 27 to September 28. The hours of operation for both days are from 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; the list of official advance voting locations is available on Elections Quebec's website.
Voting with a returning officer will take place from September 25-26 and from September 29-October 1. The hours of operation are from 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on September 25, September 29, and September 30, the opening hours on September 26 are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the voting hours on October 1 are from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Voting is also open to children, though in a different capacity to that of the actual election. Any individual under the age of 18 is allowed to take part in what is called "small polling stations", which allow for them to learn about and take part in voting alongside their parents or accompanying adult. Elections Quebec's website lists the question that will be on the small polling ballot, as well as the specific procedure for the vote.
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