Quebec’s immigration minister says he will fully collaborate with an investigation by the legislature’s ethics commissioner into whether he violated conflict of interest rules.
Jean-François Roberge is being investigated for allegedly sharing data produced by his department with the two Coalition Avenir Québec leadership candidates — Bernard Drainville and Christine Fréchette.
Drainville had boasted in a Journal de Montreal article and online that the Immigration Department had confirmed his policy would result in 18,000 temporary foreign workers being grandfathered into a fast-track residency program that had been closed.
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La Presse has reported that the analysis conducted by Roberge’s office indicated Fréchette’s plan would open permanent residency to between 123,00 and 126,800 immigrants.
The Liberals and Québec solidaire accused Roberge of violating the part of the ethic’s code that bars elected officials from disclosing information that is not generally available to the public to further the personal interests of themselves or others.
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In a statement to The Canadian Press, Roberge confirmed he was under investigation and planned to collaborate with the office of the ethics watchdog.
He did not say whether he shared the information with Drainville and Fréchette.
Drainville and Fréchette are squaring off in a race to replace outgoing Premier François Legault.
Voting is already underway and the winner is expected to be confirmed on April 12.
Three Quebec cabinet ministers are throwing their support behind Bernard Drainville with less than one week to go in the race to replace outgoing Premier François Legault.
Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, Health Minister Sonia Bélanger and Transport Minister Jonatan Julien announced Monday they’re endorsing Drainville in the Coalition Avenir Québec leadership race.
Drainville has positioned himself as the candidate best suited to defend Quebec identity and to adopt a stricter immigration policy.
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His only rival, Christine Fréchette, has campaigned as the more centrist candidate by focusing on economic issues.
Fréchette has been leading in the polls but Drainville says the polling companies don’t have access to the voters who matter in this race — the members of the CAQ party.
Julien says he was impressed by Drainville’s performance in the leadership debates and says others in the party feel the same way.
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Fréchette has the support of 16 cabinet ministers, including the current finance, immigration, public security, culture and environment ministers.
The CAQ is scheduled to choose a new leader on Sunday.
The Quebec Conservatives now have an elected member in the national assembly after a former cabinet minister with the Coalition Avenir Québec crossed the floor to join the party.
Maïté Blanchette Vézina, who had quit the CAQ to sit as an Independent in September, joined the Conservatives on Tuesday and announced she will run for the party in the October general election.
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Blanchette Vézina left the CAQ shortly after Premier François Legault shuffled her out of the natural resources portfolio.
Since then Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime had been courting Blanchette Vézina, who delivered a speech at the party’s convention in January.
With his new member Duhaime will now have access to the legislature — a similar situation to 2021 when he convinced former CAQ member Claire Samson to become his party’s sole elected representative.
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Duhaime’s Conservatives collected nearly 13 per cent of the vote during the 2022 provincial campaign but failed to win any seats.
In contrast the Liberals received roughly 14 per cent of the popular vote and won 21 seats.
Tensions flared Saturday in Quebec City as Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville faced off in the first debate to succeed Premier François Legault as leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec.
The proposed “third link” bridge connecting Quebec City and Lévis quickly moved to the centre of the clash.
Fréchette accused Drainville’s preferred route of serving his “ego,” while Drainville countered that she was blocking the project with too many conditions.
“To sum it up: I’ll do it, and Christine is putting it on hold because she’s imposing so many conditions that it won’t happen,” he said.
The “third link” refers to a long‑proposed transportation project to build a new highway link, likely a bridge‑tunnel, across the St. Lawrence River between Quebec City and Lévis — a city on the south shore of the river — to improve mobility and freight access and reduce pressure on the two existing inter‑river crossings.
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Fréchette, who proposes a corridor farther east in partnership with the private sector, said she had consulted local residents and found little support for Drainville’s route.
“I called people to consult them, and very quickly I was told that no one had ever been asked, even in Lévis,” she said. “The route is chosen for them, for the people here, not for you, not for your ego.”
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Drainville responded: “I don’t think it’s a good idea to get into personal attacks. I think we need to stay respectful because we’re going to have to work together afterward.”
Drainville and Fréchette are the only two candidates vying for the top role, which opened up when Legault announced in January he was stepping down as leader.
On shale gas, Drainville said he supported natural resource development but opposes hydraulic fracturing.
“If you ask me to choose between water and gas, I will always choose water,” he said.
Fréchette said she is open to reopening the discussion but would prioritize social acceptance and environmental standards.
“The proposal I made is to discuss it, to debate it. The context has changed a lot in recent months, even in recent days, with the conflict in Iran,” she said.
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Both candidates agreed on the need to shrink the size of government. Drainville said he would reduce the cabinet to 20 members, though he declined to say which ministers would be cut. Fréchette did not give a number but emphasized efficiency and promised that Drainville would have a role at the cabinet table if she won.
Drainville pledged to make Fréchette deputy premier if he became CAQ leader.
Both candidates outlined their broader plans. Fréchette said she aimed to build a “more sustainable and efficient public sector,” while Drainville highlighted his focus on reducing government bureaucracy and supporting regional development.
About 300 people attended the debate at the Espace Saint-Grégoire, a former church in Quebec City converted into an event hall. The event was also streamed online.
Just before the debate, Treasury Board president France-Élaine Duranceau endorsed Fréchette.
“We share the same vision of a more effective state, focused on its core missions. A government that fully leverages its tools, including public contracts, to support our (small and medium-sized enterprises) and our economy,” se said on social media.
This was the first of at least two debates in the CAQ leadership race, with the next scheduled for Laval next week. The party has just under 20,600 members eligible to vote in a party-wide membership vote.
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The deadline to join and secure the right to vote was March 13, and the new leader is expected to be announced on April 12.
The Parti Québécois is looking for its fourth consecutive byelection win today in the riding of Chicoutimi, north of Quebec City.
The riding had been a PQ stronghold before Andrée Laforest captured it twice for the Coalition Avenir Québec, first in 2018 and again in 2022.
Chicoutimi has been vacant since Laforest, a former cabinet minister, left provincial politics in September.
The Parti Québécois is high in the polls ahead of the provincial election in the fall, and leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon promises to hold a sovereignty referendum by 2030 if he’s elected premier.
CAQ leadership race takes shape as LeBel says she won’t run
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Francis Tremblay is attempting to the keep the riding for the CAQ, facing off against Marie-Karlynn Laflamme with the PQ.
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Catherine Morissette is running with the Conservative party, Jeanne Palardy is with Québec solidaire, and Tricia Murray is representing the Liberals.
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The byelection takes place with a leadership race underway for the CAQ, as Premier François Legault has announced he’s stepping down.
Meanwhile, the Quebec Liberals announced their new leader, Charles Milliard, on Feb. 13.
Polls will be open between 9:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. and early data from the province’s elections office indicated 11.67 per cent of electors had cast advanced ballots.
