Two CAQ ministers not running for re-election

A new poll shows Francois Legault's CAQ slipping to fourth place with the PQ remaining well ahead.

Two days before a cabinet reshuffle, two ministers have announced that they will run for re-election.

Meanwhile, another poll suggests devastating results for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ).

Family Minister and Verchères MNA Suzanne Roy confirmed that she will not be running in the 2026 election.

Agriculture Minister André Lamontagne has also reportedly announced that he will not be seeking re-election next year.

This frees up two more seats for the new cabinet Premier François Legault will present on Wednesday afternoon as he tries to revive his government, which is at an all-time low in the polls.

The latest opinion poll released on Monday by L’Actualité magazine suggests that the CAQ would suffer a disastrous defeat if elections were held today.

It would finish fourth, with 11 per cent of voting intentions, behind the Parti Québécois (PQ), at 38 per cent, which has been dominating for several months, followed by the Liberals at 27 per cent, and then the Conservatives, who now stand at 15 per cent.

The Pallas Data/L’Actualité/Qc125 poll was conducted last Saturday, Sept. 6, among 1,187 respondents, two days after the premier’s testimony before the Gallant Commission.

Over the past few weeks, Legault reportedly asked his ministers if they would run again in next year’s general election. Roy and Lamontagne reportedly said no.

Last week, Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest announced her resignation to run for mayor of Saguenay.

There will be at least three ministerial positions to fill with newcomers from the CAQ’s caucus of 84 elected officials.

Roy announced her departure on Monday morning in a message posted on Facebook to the citizens of her riding. She said she made the decision after much reflection and informed Legault in early July.

She said she would remain in office until the October 2026 elections and would then retire. She will have served only one term in the National Assembly, from 2022 to 2026.

Before being elected under the banner of the Coalition Avenir Québec, Roy was mayor of Sainte-Julie from 2005 to 2021. She also served two terms as president of the Union des municipalités du Québec.

In addition to being Minister of Families, Roy was also Minister responsible for the Montérégie region.

Lamontagne was first elected in 2014 as the CAQ member for Johnson.

When the CAQ formed the government for the first time in 2018, he was promoted to Minister of Agriculture. He was reappointed after the 2022 election and will have served as Minister of Agriculture until Wednesday, for almost seven years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French Sept. 8, 2025.