Drainville wants to prevent non-citizens from being able to vote for the CAQ leader

Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville responds to the Opposition during question period at the legislature in Quebec City, Oct. 22, 2024. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Bernard Drainville wants to ban non-citizens from voting on April 12 to elect the new leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), who will become the de facto premier of Quebec.

“In my opinion, there is no question about it: you should have to be a citizen to be able to vote,” said the candidate to succeed François Legault on social media.

At a press scrum at the National Assembly on Thursday, Economy Minister Samuel Poulin — who supports Bernard Drainville in the race — also called on the party to change the rules.

This request comes amid a debate on immigration, with Drainville’s opponent, Christine Fréchette, promising this week to bring back the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) for two years.

For now, those who wish to vote for Legault’s successor need only be a CAQ member, which requires they be at least 16 years old and have lived in Quebec for six months.

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“There is growing unease within the political party (...) that people will be able to choose the next premier without being registered on the electoral roll,” said Poulin.

“We are asking the political party to review our rules. (...) I want Canadian citizens to vote, it’s super important,” he added.

Poulin suggested that temporary immigrants, perhaps thinking they could improve their lot, were preparing to infiltrate the leadership race.

“We have seen people on social media lately who have, yes, implied that taking out their membership card could change their situation,” said the minister.

In his post, Drainville invited Fréchette to “take a stand on this issue.”

Meantime, Justice Minister and government leader Simon Jolin-Barrette quickly made it known on Thursday that he was in favour of Drainville’s proposal.

“It’s a good proposal,” he commented briefly at a press scrum.

The CAQ has specified that the rules can only be changed at a membership convention.

“However, we have a very rigorous compliance validation process,” communications director Claude Potvin assured The Canadian Press.

“If we are talking, for example, about a temporary foreign worker who only has a contract for a few months, there is automatically a refund and the application is refused,” she explained.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 11, 2026.