CAQ MNA apologizes after criticizing his own government

Quebec Premier François Legault speaks at a press conference at the Quebec National Assembly, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) MNA Daniel Bernard has apologized to his party’s leader after criticizing his own government in an interview on Radio-Canada.

“He has apologized. So I accept his apology. We’re turning the page,” Premier François Legault said in the National Assembly on Thursday.

In a radio interview on Radio-Canada’s Des matins en or, the MNA for Abitibi-Témiscamingue deplored the fact that no elected representatives from the region were represented in cabinet.

“The weight of the cabinet is in the south of the province,” he said.

The Minister of Labour and MNA for Trois-Rivières, Jean Boulet, is currently responsible for the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region in addition to having responsibility for the Mauricie and Nord-du-Québec regions.

“I’m in favour of working as a team. It’s important to maintain cohesion, and I remain convinced that this is the best way to achieve results,” Boulet said at a press scrum on Wednesday.

Bernard also indicated that he was in favour of maintaining the health placement agencies because of the lack of staff in his region, and criticized the fact that the government was reserving Hydro-Québec’s energy blocks for the south of the province.

“They’re taking our resources, and they’re going to turn them down in Bécancour,” he said at the time.

Before joining the CAQ in Rouyn-Noranda-Témiscamingue, Bernard was a Liberal MNA for the same riding.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 22, 2025.

By Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press