More than 20,500 members are eligible to vote for their next leader, according to figures provided by the CAQ last month. Voters can cast a ballot until April 12 at 3 p.m. <\/p>\n
The provincial election is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2026 \u2014 though the CAQ could decide to call an election sooner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That isn\u2019t likely, given that opinion polls show the party far behind the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois (PQ) and Liberals.\u00a0The National Assembly was prorogued earlier this week until May 5 to give the new leader time to make the transition, Legault’s office said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legault told Radio-Canada earlier this week he plans to vote in the leadership race \u2014 but wouldn\u2019t say for whom.\u00a0<\/p>\n He will stay on as an MNA until the end of the term. But he is planning to spend more time in his home riding of L\u2019Assomption rather than the National Assembly.<\/p>\n WATCH | What is Legault’s legacy when it comes to Anglos?: To anglophone Quebecers, was Fran\u00e7ois Legault an enemy or a friend? <\/p>\n When Fran\u00e7ois Legault\u2019s relatively new political party took power for the first time back in 2018, he wanted to seduce English-speaking Quebecers. But after some legislative efforts during eight years in power left the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec government at odds with anglophone interests, his legacy with the English-speaking community is a difficult one, to say the least. 2. Drainville goes hard on immigration, language\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps the clearest divide between the two candidates during the leadership race was around questions of immigration and language.<\/p>\n Drainville, a 62-year-old former PQ cabinet minister, took a harder line on those issues than his leadership rival.<\/p>\n The cancelled immigration pathway known as the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) was among the points of disagreement.<\/p>\n Fr\u00e9chette said she would temporarily reinstate the program for two years to allow up to 45,000 “PEQ orphans” to settle in the province. Drainville, for his part, said he would grant exemptions to only about 18,000 working in targeted sectors like construction and education to stay in Quebec.\u00a0<\/p>\n He argued temporary immigration levels were part of the reason for overflowing schools and strained infrastructure.<\/p>\n “The choice is as follows: yet more immigration, or do we protect public services?” he said during the final debate. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775832609_175_default.jpg\")
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