The next CAQ leader would vote ‘Yes’ in a third referendum, says interim Liberal leader

Quebec Liberal Party interim Leader Marc Tanguay at the legislature in Quebec City on Friday, June 6, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Regardless of who becomes the new CAQ leader, interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay believes that person would support Quebec separation in the event of a third referendum on sovereignty.

“Mr. Legault, Ms. Fréchette, and Mr. Drainville are sovereignists. They were PQ members and would vote ‘Yes’ in a referendum,” Tanguay insisted at a news conference Thursday morning at the National Assembly.

Premier François Legault announced his resignation two weeks ago. A leadership race to replace him began almost immediately.

For now, the two candidates in the race are Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville, both of whom were members of the PQ before joining the CAQ.

Meantime, the PQ is leading in the polls, and its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is standing firm: he will hold a referendum in his first term, even if the ‘Yes’ option doesn’t win over a majority of Quebecers.

Over the weekend, at his party’s convention, the PQ leader claimed that the referendum campaign for Quebec independence was triggered by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with his speech on the Plains of Abraham.

“All Paul St-Pierre Plamondon wants is to build on François Legault’s eight years. He’s going to up the ante on identity. He will clearly say that English is a threat, that immigration is also a threat. He will build on that to push it a little further. The only thing that differentiates the CAQ and the PQ is a date for a referendum,” Tanguay said.

“We are the only party on the political scene in Quebec that can clearly say, ‘We are federalists because we want to embrace a form of Quebec nationalism within the Canadian federation that will allow us to flourish,’” he added.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 29, 2026.