Quebec's Final Leaders' Debate: Five Issues Before the Oct. 5 Vote
Quebec's five party leaders meet Wednesday evening for their third and final debate, 12 days before the Oct. 5 vote.
Radio-Canada hosts the debate at 8 p.m. All five leaders will take part: Coalition avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette, Quebec Liberal Party Leader Charles Milliard, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, Quebec Conservatives Leader Eric Duhaime and provincial party leader Ruba Ghazal. Anne-Marie Dussault, Sébastien Bovet and Alec Castonguay will ask the questions on the program 'Cinq chefs, une élection' Radio-Canada. Radio-Canada will also offer the program in Quebec Sign Language (LSQ).
The final debate will cover five topics: the future of Quebec, the economy, cuts to taxes and public services, child care and health The Globe and Mail. Health, child care and taxes involve both levels of government, with Quebec City deciding how to spend and Ottawa sending money through transfers. The future of Quebec refers to sovereignty, the question of whether Quebec should become an independent country.
The 2026 campaign includes three leaders' debates. The second debate took place last Wednesday night, a French-language exchange in Montreal. TVA hosted its Face-à-Face debate in the same week. Across those two debates, the leaders discussed the economy, immigration and health care. Sovereignty, affordability and the trade war with the U.S. have been among the main campaign issues.
Poll aggregator Qc125 — a site that combines results from several polls — puts the Parti Québécois in the lead, with a minority result as the most likely outcome. In a minority, the leading party wins the most seats but not more than half. The leaders have been asked about possible alliances if no party wins a majority. Plamondon said Monday an alliance was "out of the question."
The election calendar is fixed. Nomination papers were due Sept. 17 at 2 p.m. Advance polls will be held Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, according to Elections Québec Elections Québec. Changes to the list of electors could be made until Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.
The broader context here is a late debate with limited room to change how votes turn into seats. A PQ result with the most seats but no majority would produce a minority legislature, where opposition parties control confidence votes that keep a government in office and supply votes that approve budgets. Plamondon's rejection of an early alliance keeps his options open after election day while telling soft nationalist voters that a PQ vote is not a vote for a coalition deal. For the other four leaders, the goal on Wednesday is to stand out to their own supporters. Fréchette must defend her government's record on services and taxes, Milliard must bring together federalist voters who want Quebec to stay in Canada, Duhaime must turn concern over taxes and the cost of government into seats, and Ghazal must keep progressive voters focused on child care and health. With advance polls opening four days after the debate, this French-language television appearance still matters for turnout and final results.
