Quebec unions respond sharply to CAQ’s reform

Quebec's Coalition Avenir Québec says it wants to reform the province’s union system.

Representatives from Quebec’s nine main unions have responded sharply to François Legault’s government’s desire to reform the province’s union system.

During a news conference on Sunday, they accused the government and Labour Minister Jean Boulet of trying to create a diversion and of not wanting to tackle the real issues facing Quebecers, such as housing, health, social services and education.

This statement comes just days after Quebec Solidaire leaked a document revealing Boulet’s desire to make union dues optional for purposes not related to the defence of workers’ rights.

“The unions are not at war with the government; it is François Legault who is looking for a super villain,” said Éric Gingras, president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ). “The government should be a true leader, Mr. Legault should be a true premier and tackle the priorities (namely) uniting Quebecers instead of dividing them.”

Earlier in the day, Boulet told reporters at the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) convention in Gatineau that the excesses and abuses of certain labour organizations had sparked “public anger,” while asserting that he had the support of union members in his desire to reform the labour system.

The tone was set when Legault presented his new cabinet, during which he asked Boulet to “have the courage to modernize the union system”.

“What we have been witnessing for months, and particularly in recent weeks, is so deplorable on so many levels,” said Caroline Senneville, president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), on Sunday afternoon. “Mr. Legault keeps harping on about the famous shock treatment he wants to inflict on the civil service, public services and workers through the unions, but (...) it is Mr. Legault who needs shock treatment, because he is not on the same planet as us.”

Senneville went so far as to compare Legault to Maurice Duplessis for his lack of affection for unions.

“Fortunately for us, when we look at voting intentions and the election deadline, fortunately, there is a light at the end of this great darkness,” she added.

More information to follow.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 28, 2025.