Premier Legault hanging on, despite unfavourable polls

Support for Quebec Premier Francois Legault has hit a new low as the PQ rise has slowed.

Battered by another poll, Premier François Legault said on Wednesday that he will hang on until the 2026 election, and ministers came to his defence, confident that he will bounce back.

“We’re going to have to talk a little,” said Environment Minister Bernard Drainville, supporting his leader.

A Léger opinion poll published by Quebecor media found that 61 per cent of those surveyed want the premier to resign. He also has a 71 per cent dissatisfaction rating.

What’s more, another devastating finding of the poll is that two-thirds of those surveyed (65 per cent) believe that the controversial reform of doctors’ compensation imposed by the government will deteriorate the quality of care or have no effect.

The trend seems to be discouraging, poll after poll, for the Legault government, which is constantly suffering setbacks.

But on Wednesday, all the elected officials of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) wanted to show a sign of unity and support: they jumped out of their seats and applauded their leader when he stood up for the first time during question period, which is prohibited at that point in the session.

In response to questions from reporters in the morning, Legault suggested that he would fight hard in the next election.

“Absolutely!” he said as he headed to question period.

“There are very powerful lobbies that oppose our changes, but I’m doing this for Quebecers,” he argued.

For their part, Ministers Drainville, Simon Jolin-Barrette, and Jean-François Roberge assured their leader of their loyalty.

Commenting on the latest unfavourable poll, Drainville pointed out that Legault nevertheless has “the courage” to change the way doctors are paid, defend secularism, and present a recovery plan to counter American protectionist measures.

“We are continuing to make the changes that Quebecers want, and at some point, we hope that Quebecers will realize that yes, it takes a lot of courage to do what we are doing right now, and I think that eventually, they will see that Legault is the right person with the economic expertise to lead us to safety in these difficult times.”

Jolin-Barrette also expressed his confidence that his party would win the next election. “I will be a candidate in the next election, alongside my leader, François Legault ... and we will seek a majority government,” he said.

His colleague, Roberge, believes that Legault’s popularity rating will rise again.

“I am really confident,” he said.

“We need an economic premier, and I think there is no better person to lead Quebec.”

The Léger web survey was conducted between last Friday and Monday among 1,031 Quebec adults.

Respondents were randomly recruited from an online panel. If this were a probabilistic sample, the poll would have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 12, 2025.

By Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press