The Coalition Avenir Québec (, , CAQ) is a Quebec nationalist,. Le Soleil autonomist, secularist and conservative provincial political party in Quebec.
The party was founded by former Parti Québécois (PQ) cabinet minister, François Legault, and businessman Charles Sirois. Not long after its formation, the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) merged into the CAQ. Party membership includes both Quebec nationalists and federalists. The party has stated that it will never endorse a referendum on sovereignty; it also does not explicitly support Quebec independence, but will seek more autonomy within Canada if necessary.
In 2018, the CAQ won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, allowing it to form a government for the first time under the leadership of Legault. It increased its majority in the 2022 election. The Legault government passed Bill 21 on secularism, strengthened French-language laws through Bill 96, reduced immigration levels, reformed school governance, implemented measures to combat COVID-19, sought to promote economic growth, and saw controversies related to its handling of public services, minority rights, and religious freedom. Legault was succeeded as leader and premier by Christine Fréchette in 2026. The party lost all its seats in that year's general election.
Members and supporters of the party are referred to as , derived from the French pronunciation of the party's initials. However, the party has requested that the term be used instead.
History Foundation and 2012 provincial election
In February 2011, François Legault and Charles Sirois held a press conference to announce the formation of a movement called the ().
In September 2011, the CAQ began discussions with the ADQ on the possibility of a merger between the two groups. The two parties were very similar ideologically.
On 14 November 2011, Legault held a press conference to launch the movement as a political party under the slightly modified name of , unveiling a new logo at the same time. The actual registration of the party with the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec had already taken place on 4 November. The party was registered with the Director-General of Elections in Quebec under the name ().
On 13 December 2011, the CAQ and the ADQ announced an agreement in principle to merge, pending final approval with the ADQ membership.
On 19 December 2011, two former PQ MNAs (Benoit Charette and Daniel Ratthé) and two former ADQ MNAs (Éric Caire and Marc Picard) who had earlier left their respective parties to sit as independents announced that they were joining the CAQ, becoming the new party's first sitting members. In January 2012, PQ MNA François Rebello switched party affiliation to the CAQ, becoming its fifth sitting member.
On 21 January 2012, the results of the ADQ's mail-in vote were announced: of the 54% of members who voted, 70% approved the merger with the CAQ. The ADQ's four remaining MNAs—Sylvie Roy of Lotbinière, Janvier Grondin of Beauce-Nord, François Bonnardel of Shefford, and leader Gérard Deltell of Chauveau—joined the CAQ, boosting its caucus to nine.
On 23 January 2012, it was announced that the CAQ's first president, Dominique Anglade, would also be a candidate for the party in the 2012 election. She would later serve as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. On 4 September 2012, the CAQ won 19 seats in the 2012 provincial election. Legault himself was elected as an MNA from L'Assomption.
2014 provincial election and aftermath
In the 2014 provincial election held on 7 April, the CAQ won 22 seats, a gain of three seats. The TVA-sponsored second televised debate was noted as a turning point in the campaign, and party leader François Legault's performance reflected positively on the CAQ's standing. Therefore, early voting results revealed a disastrous outcome for the party, while ballots cast on Election Day were much more favourable.
Also, overall returns marked a significant geographic shift in the CAQ electoral base. In the Capitale-Nationale area, reputed for its conservative leaning and the influence of its talk-radio hosts, the Quebec Liberal Party won four of the six seats previously held by the CAQ. A strategic vote of the anti-PQ electorate, as well as a pledge by Legault to spend no public money on projects dear to Mayor Régis Labeaume, such as the construction of a $97.5 million covered ice rink, the completion of the $60 million theatre Le Diamant, promoted by Robert Lepage, and the $20 million revitalization of the French colonial era new barracks, are possible causes for the backlash. However, the CAQ losses in the Capitale-Nationale area were largely compensated for with a significant breakthrough in the "450 area" (Laurentides, Lanaudière and Montérégie), where it ended up with seven more seats. Meanwhile, the CAQ support in Chaudière-Appalaches and Centre-du-Québec remained steady.
On 15 August 2014, CAQ MNA for Lévis Christian Dubé resigned his seat to take a job at the Caisse de dépôt et placement.
The subsequent 20 October 2014 by-election was won by CAQ candidate François Paradis with 47 percent of the popular vote.
Following much speculation, Gérard Deltell announced on 7 April 2015 that he would be running for the federal Conservative Party of Canada in the riding of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the upcoming 2015 federal election. His resignation as MNA for Chauveau took effect the same day.
On 26 August 2015, CAQ MNA Sylvie Roy resigned to sit as an independent following personal issues with party leadership.
On 2 October 2017, Geneviève Guilbault won a byelection in the riding of Louis-Hébert that had long been held by the Quebec Liberal Party, winning over 51 percent of the vote. She would later become deputy premier of Quebec.
Legault government (2018–2026) On 1 October 2018, the CAQ (as Coalition Avenir Quebec - L’Équipe Francois Legault) won 74 seats, a gain of 53 seats compared to their performance in 2014, propelling them from third place to a strong majority government. The CAQ won 37.4 percent of the vote, four percentage points fewer than what the Liberals tallied four years earlier, and the lowest vote share on record for a party winning an outright majority. However, the CAQ dominated its traditional heartlands and also scored sweeps or near-sweeps in Mauricie, Estrie, Lanaudière, Montérégie, the Laurentides and northern Quebec. The first-past-the-post system awards power solely based on seats won, making it possible for a party to run up its seat count if it has large concentrations of support in certain areas, as opposed to a large number of votes. This is especially true of provincial elections in Quebec, which have historically seen large discrepancies between raw vote and seat count. In the CAQ's case, its support was concentrated enough in the regions it dominated that it was able to net a strong majority of 11 seats.
This marked the first time since the 1966 election, which was won by the now-defunct Union Nationale, that a party other than the Quebec Liberals or the Parti Québécois formed government in Quebec. It was also the first time since then that a centre-right party had won government in the province.
The CAQ picked up support from several former PQ supporters who had come to believe there was no realistic chance of becoming independent from Canada. For instance, Patrick Légaré, a longtime PQ supporter from the longstanding sovereigntist stronghold of Terrebonne, told The Guardian that he decided to vote for the CAQ because he believed "the dream of a separate Quebec is dead." His main concern was finding "someone who can beat the Liberals–and it isn't the PQ." As it turned out, most of the CAQ's gains came at the expense of the PQ. The CAQ took dozens of ridings that had been in PQ hands for four decades or more, some falling by landslide margins. One such riding was Terrebonne, which is largely coextensive with its namesake city. It had been held by a "Péquiste" for all but one term since 1976, although the CAQ had narrowed the gap in the last two elections. In 2018, however, the CAQ took the seat by a margin of almost 14 points.
The CAQ then took the seat vacated by the resignation of former premier Philippe Couillard in a by-election held on 10 December 2018, increasing its total to 75 seats.
In December 2019, the party won the by-election in Jean-Talon and in April 2022 won the by-election in Marie-Victorin, both of which had been Liberal and Parti Québécois strongholds, raising its seat total to 76.
The party won another majority government in the 2022 elections, raising their seat count to 90.
Since late 2023, the Legault government has been one of the most unpopular provincial governments in Canada, suffering from poor opinion polling throughout the 43rd Quebec Legislature. The party also lost the Jean-Talon, Terrebonne, Arthabaska, and Chicoutimi by-elections to the Parti Québécois, while losing 8 other MNAs due to either expulsions or resignations from caucus. On 14 January 2026, Legault announced his pending resignation as leader of the CAQ and premier of Quebec; the 2026 Coalition Avenir Québec leadership election, the party's first, was on 12 April to elect a successor.
Fréchette leadership (2026)
In the leadership election, former Cabinet minister Christine Fréchette was elected CAQ leader, defeating Bernard Drainville with 57.9% of the vote. Fréchette's campaign mostly focused on economic issues, while Drainville focused on identity and immigration issues.
She is the party's first female leader. She appointed Ian Lafrenière as deputy premier in her ministry, succeeding Éric Girard as vice-president of the executive council.
Prior to the 2026 Quebec general election, the party changed its logo and official name for the election to Équipe Christine Frechette – Coalition Avenir Quebec.
In one of the worst defeats for a sitting government in Canadian history, the CAQ lost all its seats in the 2026 general election. The day following the election, Fréchette announced she would step down as leader of the party.
Ideology and policies
The party has been described as right-wing populist and conservative nationalist, as well as anti-immigration and skeptical of multiculturalism.
The party self-described itself as being neither of the left nor the right: it is not particularly economically conservative, with economic policies similar to the Quebec Liberal Party and social policies to their right. However, its politics have been described in the press as centre-right and populist. From the time the CAQ's merger with the ADQ until the Conservative Party of Quebec gained its first MNA in 2021, the CAQ was the most right-wing party in the National Assembly.
The party includes former federal Conservatives, former provincial Liberals and ex-péquistes.
Economy, healthcare and education The party proposes government investment in education and partial decentralization of the healthcare system. They promise "to further develop the entrepreneurial culture in Québec" and provide government resources for the private sector. The party also supports austerity "to provide the government with the flexibility it needs to adapt to the ongoing changes in the economy"; one measure specifically mentioned is leaving 6,000 open Hydro-Québec employment positions unfilled.
The party supports abolishing school boards and increasing the autonomy of principals and their governing boards.
Immigration