Political discontent: Labour Day protests aim to ‘send a clear message’ to Legault government

Critics of the Legault government protested in Quebec City and Montreal on Labour Day calling for early elections and to voice opposition to government bills.

Critics of the François Legault government took to the streets in Quebec City and Montreal on Labour Day Monday to call for early elections and to voice their opposition to recent government bills.

In the provincial capital, hundreds of protesters outside the National Assembly took direct aim at the Quebec premier, Noovo Info reported.

“It’s time to send a clear message demanding an immediate election. Since coming to power in 2018, the Legault government has divided Quebecers,” shouted event organizer Matthieu Brien.

The next provincial election is scheduled for October 2026.

Monday’s demonstration was organized by a grassroots movement with support from unions such as the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Quebec.

Among the issues causing discontent among the group were Bill 89, which could restrict workers’ right to strike, and Bill 93, which would allow the expansion of the landfill site of the American company Stablex in Blainville.

“I know that the citizens don’t agree with all those decisions,” Brien said in an interview with CTV News on Sunday before the event. “It’s to send a clear message from right to left, passing by the people in the centre.”

Legault is ‘out of touch’ with Quebecers: protest organizer

Legault is “out of touch” with Quebecers and has damaged the “social contract,” he added.

Having been an employee of Hydro-Québec for nearly 20 years, the ”partial privatization" of the Crown corporation was, in a way, the spark that motivated him to take action, Brien explained.

“To attack René Lévesque’s legacy in this way by partially privatizing Hydro-Québec, I found it completely despicable and thought it deserved a very strong response from the public,” he said, in reference to Bill 69, passed last June under closure.

A cabinet shuffle, expected to take place later this week, is not enough, Brien said, noting that a recent qc125 poll suggested that if an election were held now, the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party under Legault would win zero seats. Other recent polls show the Parti Québécois (PQ) leading by a wide margin in terms of voting intentions.

Brien said this is the beginning of a movement that is expected to grow with more demonstrations.

Citizens’ demands are not in vain, said Martine Ouellet, former PQ MNA and now head of Climat Québec, in an interview with The Canadian Press. She was at the demonstration, which she believes serves to send a message to the Legault government.

Ouellet also confirmed that she intends to run again in the next provincial election under the banner of the party she created: Climat Québec.

Montreal protest against Bill 97

In Montreal, protesters held a Labour Day demonstration to voice their support for Indigenous communities who are calling for the complete withdrawal of the province’s proposed forestry legislation.

First Nations and environmental groups accuse Bill 97, An Act mainly to modernize the forest regime, of overriding treaty rights and giving carte blanche to exploit the natural resource without proper consultation with Indigenous people.

Protesters held signs that said “Bill 97: The Legault government must be held accountable” and “Save our forests. In solidarity with First Nations.”

With files from CTV News Montreal’s Jack Richardson, Noovo Info, and The Canadian Press