One year from election, Quebec premier to shuffle cabinet amid scandals, dismal polls

Political analyst Victor Henriquez speaks about Francois Bonnardel's exit from the CAQ cabinet and what's next for Francois Legault's government.

Quebec premier François Legault is scheduled to announce a major cabinet shuffle on Wednesday, hoping that new blood can help turn around his party’s fortunes with the next provincial election just over a year away.

The cabinet shuffle and Legault’s decision to prorogue the legislature for two weeks until the end of September are attempts to flip the script on his party’s lagging popularity.

“This will be an opportunity to give new momentum to the government team and make room for new ideas to advance the government’s priorities,” the premier’s office told reporters last week.

Details of the cabinet changes have been largely kept under wraps, but some veterans announced of their own accord this week they wouldn’t be returning.

On Tuesday, Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said he would be left out of cabinet despite wanting to remain and intending to run for re-election in 2026.

Bonnardel has represented the riding of Granby since 2007, first as a member of the defunct Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ), and then with Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) after the parties merged in 2012.

Éric Caire, the province’s former cybersecurity minister, ousted earlier this year, and Bonnardel are the only former members of the right-of-centre ADQ left in the party.

Bonnardel’s time as transport minister, between 2018 and 2022, put him in the media spotlight in recent weeks because he was at the helm of the transport department when a project at the auto insurance board started incurring cost overruns that would eventually hit $500 million.

Legault recently testified at the public inquiry into the cost overrun scandal and said Bonnardel and current Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault should have asked more questions about the creation of the online platform on which Quebecers can schedule driving tests.

The results of that inquiry are due in mid-December and could provide more fodder for the government’s opponents ahead of the October 2026 election.

The Legault government has also been dealing with the fallout of the failure of Northvolt battery plant deal.

The Swedish manufacturer was to build a $7-billion battery “gigafactory” near Montreal, but the company declared bankruptcy in March. Construction on the plant never moved past preparatory stages.

The Quebec government lost its $270-million investment in Northvolt, but was able to recover $200 million of a $240-million loan given to the embattled manufacturer by freezing its bank accounts.

Meanwhile, polls are showing Legault’s CAQ is at risk of disappearing from the electoral map, well behind the surging sovereigntist Parti Québécois, which has won a series of recent byelections.

The change of fortunes comes after Legault’s party in 2022 won a whopping 90 of the province’s 125 legislature seats.

Agriculture Minister André Lamontagne and Families Minister Suzanne Roy announced on Monday that they would not be returning to cabinet.

Roy confirmed that she will not be a candidate in the 2026 election and Lamontagne said she also does not intend to seek re-election.

Andrée Laforest recently stepped down as municipal affairs minister and as a legislature member for the Chicoutimi riding to run for mayor of Saguenay in the November municipal election.

Currently, the Coalition Avenir Québec holds 84 seats, followed by the Quebec Liberals (PLQ) at 20 seats, Québec solidaire at 12 seats, the Parti Québécois (PQ) with six seats, and there are two Independents.

Laforest’s seat is now vacant, and Legault must call a byelection within six months.

Quebec’s National Assembly had been scheduled to resume on Sept. 16, but will now be prorogued until Sept. 30 to give the new ministers time to familiarize themselves with their new portfolios.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2025.