Fréchette and Drainville say they won't water down Quebec's secularism laws
QUEBEC — Both Coalition Avenir Québec leadership candidates say they will maintain Quebec’s laws barring certain employees from wearing religious symbols in the workplace even if it means a loss of much needed labour.
And while candidate
Christine Fréchette
pledged to maintain what she called the CAQ’s essential “DNA” of nationalism and economic development, candidate
Bernard Drainville
said he thinks the party needs a shake-up.
In a first event pitting the two candidates against each other — a virtual encounter where they fielded questions from the CAQ’s youth wing — Fréchette and Drainville politely laid out their vision for Quebec. It was so civil the session ended with each saying goodbye using the other’s first names.
And on the key issue of state secularism legislation adopted by the CAQ government over the last eight years in office, neither saw any need to water down the laws or ease up on the way they are being applied.
The youth wing, known as the Commission de la Relève de la Coalition Avenir Québec, asked both whether they were concerned dozens of Montreal school staff have already been fired or resigned over the expanded religious ban included in Bill 94.
The news was reported by Radio-Canada.
Adopted in October 2025, Bill 94 extended the ban
on religious symbols from only teachers and and principals to everyone who interacts with students in schools — from janitors to library volunteers.
Quebec included a grandfather clause allowing existing employees to keep their symbols, but that protection retroactively ended when the the bill was tabled.
“I maintain the idea and the fact that people who do not respect this rule, unfortunately, will not be able to continue their professional activities,” Fréchette said when asked whether Quebec should soften application of the law given the pressure of worker shortages.
“It’s important that this (law) be respected. Laicity is part of Quebec’s values, which must continue, and the application of Law 94 is part of it. I will maintain my position because the information (on the rules) was given a year ago and acquired rights are respected.”
Noting he was the minister who presented Bill 94, Drainville said the workers losing their jobs have made a choice.
“We voted for laws,” Drainville said. “Now it’s important to ensure they are respected. You saw this week. Some women went public saying they were fired because they refused to withdraw their religious symbols.
“I say it’s a personal decision they took. They were not fired. They chose to lose their jobs.”
Asked if the job losses could make him back away from the rule, Drainville answered: “I have never backed away from anything under pressure.”
The encounter, which lasted about an hour, was hosted by Dimitri Soudas, a political analyst and former communications director of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.
The leadership race kicked off in January following
Premier François Legault’s announcement he would be stepping down
. The new leader will be picked April 12. The winner of the race automatically becomes the new premier.
Of the CAQ’s estimated 15,000 members, about 900 are age 30 and under. One of the first questions was how the candidates would help young Quebecers purchase a first home.
Fréchette answered saying if she becomes premier, a
CAQ government would refund the welcome tax for first-time home buyers,
while Drainville said his government would help young people with their down payments.
Relève president William Denis asked both candidates if they would promise a cabinet post for a person under 30, to which both said yes.
Both Fréchette and Drainville were asked what they think the ballot box question would be in the October general election.
“Do we want a nationalist government or an economic government,” Fréchette answered? “I think we need both at the same time. The only party which incarnates this is the CAQ.”
Drainville said he thinks the theme will be “stability” in the face of the uncertainty sparked by politicians in the United States.
“I think it takes someone who has already faced storms, who can stay calm when things heat up and I have show I can on a number of issues,” he said.
As for the future of the CAQ, which is down in the polls, Fréchette said the party needs to be more united than ever and faithful to its roots as a pragmatic, nationalist economic party.
“I am committed to sticking to the DNA of the CAQ,” Fréchette said.
“We have to shake things up,” Drainville countered. “We can’t continue like before. We lost the confidence of many Quebecers and we need to shake things up.”
In an interview, Denis said while the youth wing organized the event it has no plans to endorse one candidate over the other.
“The members of the Relève have the right to vote and can do so as they wish,” Denis said. “The Rèleve commission as an entity will not take a position.”
Fréchette will continue campaigning this weekend with an appearance Sunday on the popular Radio-Canada talk show Tout le monde en parle.
To date, Fréchette, the former super minister of the economy, has dominated the race over Drainville, the former environment minister.
The most recent poll, by
Pallas-Data-Qc125-L’Actualité
, showed 51 per cent of CAQ members have a favourable opinion of Fréchette and 24 per cent unfavourable.
The opposite is true for Drainville: 24 per cent of the sample have a favourable opinion of him and 55 per cent unfavourable.
Two other more traditional debates are in the works, one March 21 in Quebec City and a second March 28 in Laval.