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As the Parti Québécois emerges from Quebec’s 2026 provincial election with a minority government, the results in the Outaouais tell a different story.
The region saw a major shift in its political map and the start of a historic new chapter in one particular riding following Monday’s vote.
The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) swept most of the region, taking four of five seats from the outgoing Coalition Avenir Québec, while the Parti Québécois (PQ) took Papineau for the first time since 1976.
“It will be nice to have more members standing with me to defend the region, to defend our needs that are sometimes a little different from the rest of Quebec, and to defend the ideas that we put forward,” said Liberal MNA André Fortin, the incumbent who has held Pontiac since 2014.
After 50 years without a seat in the region, the PQ’s Isabelle Millette was declared winner in Papineau after a tight race against the PLQ’s Isabelle Sabourin.
“When we speak of symbols for [PQ Leader] Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, this is a really interesting symbol,” said Félix Mathieu, political scientist and law professor at l’Université du Québec en Outaouais.
Félix Mathieu, a political scientist and law professor at l’Université du Québec en Outaouais, said Monday’s election results in the Outaouais are good news for the region. (CBC)
Mathieu points out that St-Pierre Plamondon made a campaign stop in Papineau just one week before election day, and said that may have made a difference in the final outcome.
Overall, Mathieu says the election results in the Outaouais are good news for the region.
“Not only do we have in the Outaouais one member of the National Assembly that will be a member of the governing party … but also, because there are four other representatives from the Quebec Liberal Party, we know that the PQ will need to forge alliances here and there,” he said.
Gatineau ready to work with PQ
Mathieu says the PLQ and PQ wins in the Outaouais present an opportunity for both parties to collaborate on issues affecting the region.
Specifically, he points to the state of Highway 50, chronic underfunding in health care and poor access to social services, issues Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette has been vocal about.
Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette. (Olivier Plante/Radio-Canada)
“This might emerge as a good opportunity to say yes to the mayor here, who is an important political actor in the overall Quebec political landscape,” said Mathieu.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Marquis-Bissonnette congratulated St-Pierre Plamondon on his party’s win.
“I think we have a common challenge … to make sure that all the new members of [the National Assembly] know Gatineau, know the Outaouais region,” she said.
Talk of a referendum
St-Pierre Plamondon has said he won’t hold a referendum until after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office in January 2029, but he’s also said he’s planning to lay the groundwork before then.
To Mathieu, pushing for a referendum should not be at the top of the party’s priorities after winning just 28 per cent of the popular vote.
“The legitimacy to move forward with the [sovereigntist] agenda, I think it’s too fragile right now,” he said.
Speaking at his party’s headquarters on election night, PLQ Leader Charles Milliard firmly shut down any talk of a referendum.
“There is no way we will collaborate on a potential referendum,” he said.
Liberal candidates in the Outaouais including Pontiac MNA André Fortin and Hull’s Sacha Cannon also spoke out on election night against the idea of a referendum.
WATCH | Here’s how the historic Quebec election results may impact the Outaouais:
Here’s how the historic Quebec election results may impact the Outaouais
The Parti Québécois scored a historic win in the western Quebec riding of Papineau while the Liberals took the other four seats in the Outaouais. The CBC’s David Fraser reports.A local voice in the PQ cabinet?
St-Pierre Plamondon has yet to form his cabinet, but Mathieu said he can see Millette making it in, or at least holding a significant position in the new government.
“She represents a region that’s very hard for the PQ to represent,” he said. “When you form a government, you need to make sure you have representatives from all over the place, geographically speaking.”
He adds that the new cabinet will need “intergenerational equilibrium” as well as “gender balance.”
“Because of these three factors, I think [it’s] quite possible that Isabelle Millette makes her way up into the cabinet,” Mathieu said.