![\"three](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768529531_270_default.jpg\")
Louis Garneau, centre, holds education minister Fran\u00e7ois Legault, left, and federal economic development minister Martin Cauchon in 1999. (Jacques Boissinot\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\nFran\u00e7ois Legault spent a lifetime climbing the rungs of Quebec\u2019s corporate and political ladders before stepping down Wednesday from a position that had become increasingly lonely \u2014 key members of his cabinet abandoning ship and his once staggering popularity plummeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaves behind a province reshaped by his brand of assertive nationalism that was popular enough to break a near 50-year political duopoly, yet controversial enough to draw international condemnation for policies that led to lengthy legal battles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Legault was born 68 years ago in the West Island, growing up in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., before moving on to his business studies at HEC Montr\u00e9al. <\/p>\n
He quickly found his way into the airline industry, starting first as the director of finance and administration of Nationair Canada, from 1984 to 1985. <\/p>\n
He later co-founded Air Transat alongside Jean-Marc Eustache and Philippe Sureau.<\/p>\n
As his international airline company took off with him in the CEO\u2019s seat, Legault went on to join boards of major companies like Provigo and Culinar.<\/p>\n
Air Transat became one of the largest airline companies in Canada, and Legault stepped down \u2014 making substantial gains by selling his shares \u2014 so he could dedicate his life to public service.<\/p>\n
Even before becoming an elected member of the National Assembly, Legault entered Lucien Bouchard\u2019s Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois (PQ) cabinet in 1998 as the minister of industry, commerce, science and technology.<\/p>\n
Louis Garneau, centre, holds education minister Fran\u00e7ois Legault, left, and federal economic development minister Martin Cauchon in 1999. (Jacques Boissinot\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n
He was officially elected in the Lanaudi\u00e8re riding of Rousseau during the general election on Nov. 30, 1998. Between then and 2003, he served as education minister under Bouchard and health minister under Bernard Landry.<\/p>\n
In 2005, Legault decided not to run for the PQ leadership. <\/p>\n
Following Jean Charest’s Liberal victory in 2003, Legault served on the opposition benches and was re-elected in 2007 and 2008.<\/p>\n
He then left political life for the first time in 2009.<\/p>\n
Launching a new party <\/p>\n
But two years later he was back, with a radical new idea and a new party<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n That idea was to reject the debate over federalism and Quebec independence to focus instead on building Quebec\u2019s economy and fighting for Quebec values.<\/p>\n His gamble eventually paid off. He co-founded the Coalition pour l\u2019avenir du Qu\u00e9bec in February 2011 with businessman Charles Sirois. <\/p>\n On Feb. 14, 2012, the party merged with the Action d\u00e9mocratique du Qu\u00e9bec (ADQ) \u2014 the former party of Mario Dumont and Jean Allaire \u2014 and was renamed the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec (CAQ).<\/p>\n Legault returned to the National Assembly in 2012, this time as MNA for L’Assomption<\/a>. <\/p>\n Now leader of the CAQ, he headed the second opposition group facing Pauline Marois’s PQ government.<\/p>\n From 19 seats and 27 per cent of the vote in 2012, the CAQ grew to 22 seats despite taking only 23 per cent of the vote in the 2014 general election.<\/p>\n The CAQ was again relegated to the rank of second opposition party, behind the PQ, as Philippe Couillard\u2019s Liberal government took power.<\/p>\n Above all, Legault wanted to see the wealth gap between Quebec and other provinces narrow. After decades of volleying power back and forth between the Liberals and PQ, Quebecers were looking for something new and Legault\u2019s voice rose above the two feuding parties.<\/p>\n CAQ takes power<\/p>\n The CAQ won in a landslide victory in 2018<\/a>, and Legault hit the ground running with an ambitious agenda, including the passing of Quebec\u2019s controversial secularism law known as Bill 21<\/a>, which prohibits some civil servants from wearing religious symbols at work.<\/p>\n While the legislation drew public outcry both locally and abroad, Legault stood his ground. <\/p>\n His strides were stopped in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic upended daily life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Legault embraced the challenge, becoming a reassuring presence for Quebecers with nearly daily news conferences, and initially at least, his management of the pandemic was widely praised. The CAQ government soared in the polls, and at one point, Legault was the most popular premier in Canada.<\/p>\n Towards the end of his first mandate, Legault shifted focus again to Quebec’s identity by making major changes<\/a> to the Charter of the French Language with a law known as Bill 96. <\/p>\n While the proposed changes drew plenty of outcry, Legault continued to do well in the polls. <\/p>\n WATCH | Looking back on Legault’s legacy in Quebec: Fran\u00e7ois Legault\u2019s rise and fall, and the legacy Quebec\u2019s first CAQ premier will leave behind<\/p>\n He rose from Quebec\u2019s business world to shatter the province\u2019s binary political dynamic of sovereignists and federalists. But Fran\u00e7ois Legault leaves behind a controversial legacy as he concludes his more than seven years as premier. CAQ maintains power\u00a0<\/p>\n In the October 2022<\/a> election, the CAQ garnered almost 41 per cent of the vote, electing 90 members to the National Assembly in another landslide victory.<\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t long before that popularity began to nosedive.<\/p>\n Just months after the election, Legault had to defend his government’s decision to spend up to $7 million on two NHL pre-season games as opposition parties decried what they called a poor use of public funds<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then there was the on-again off-again third link project in Quebec City, which Legault decided to revive<\/a> following a devastating loss to the PQ in a byelection in the Quebec City<\/a> riding of Jean-Talon. <\/p>\n But some feel it was the disastrous launch of the automobile insurance board\u2019s online platform SAAQclic<\/a> that upset residents across the province most.\u00a0<\/p>\n A public inquiry, called the Gallant commission, was launched last year because an auditor general report found the automobile insurance board’s digital transition was at least $500 million over budget. <\/p>\n The premier found himself testifying at that inquiry, denying having any prior knowledge of the cost overruns. <\/p>\n By that point, Legault’s right hand Pierre Fitzgibbon, former economy and energy minister, had resigned abruptly in September 2024. <\/p>\n From there, several others have stepped down, including former Health Minister Christian Dub\u00e9<\/a>, who cited difficult negotiations with the unions representing doctors in Quebec as a key reason for his resignation.<\/p>\n Popularity continues to plummet\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768529531_387_default.jpg\")
Former Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard, left, responds to a reporter’s question on Sept. 9, 1999, at a summit on youth in Quebec City as Education Minister Fran\u00e7ois Legault looks on. (Jacques Boissinot\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n![\"man\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768529531_393_default.jpg\")
Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault walks to a news conference to announce his resignation in Quebec City, on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n![\"men](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768529531_509_default.jpg\")
Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault, left, walks to question period at the legislature in Quebec City on Feb. 4, 2021, as press attach\u00e9 Ewan Sauves walks alongside. (Jacques Boissinot\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768529532_631_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768529532_229_default.jpg\")
Fran\u00e7ois Legault is greeted by his mother, Pauline Schetagne, during a campaign stop at his childhood home in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., on Aug. 8, 2012. (Graham Hughes\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n
![\"Man\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768529532_719_default.jpg\")
Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault announces his resignation during a news conference at his office in Quebec City on Jan. 14, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n