Quebec’s incoming and outgoing premiers meet ahead of transition of power
Outgoing Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette stressed the importance of collaboration on Tuesday after meeting with Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to discuss the transition of power.
The two leaders said they discussed the economy, unemployment, relations with the United States, and the Churchill Falls hydroelectric agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador during a meeting that lasted just under 50 minutes in Quebec City.
Both leaders emerged from the meeting side-by-side, delivering brief statements to reporters, without taking questions.
“We touched on all kinds of urgent and sensitive issues,” said St-Pierre Plamondon, who will lead a minority government in the Quebec legislature.
“I leave this meeting very satisfied,” he added, thanking Fréchette’s team for its co-operation. “We are looking at an orderly transition, marked by collaboration.”
Fréchette also stressed the importance of ensuring a smooth handover of power.
“It’s important to ensure a co-ordinated, proper transition,” she said. “Our teams will exchange information on the next steps.”
The meeting took place at the premier’s office in Quebec City’s Honoré-Mercier building. St-Pierre Plamondon will be able to officially move into the office after he and his cabinet are sworn in on Oct. 21.
Before then, newly elected Parti Québécois politicians are scheduled to be sworn in as members of Quebec's national assembly on Thursday.
The meeting between Fréchette and St-Pierre Plamondon comes eight days after Quebecers elected a minority Parti Québécois government in the Oct. 5 provincial election, bringing the sovereigntist party back to power for the first time since 2014.
The PQ won 59 seats, while the Quebec Liberals secured 40 seats to form the official Opposition. The Conservatives won 19 seats and Québec solidaire took nine.
The Coalition Avenir Québec, which had governed the province since 2018, failed to elect a single member.
On election night, Fréchette said she took “full responsibility” for her party’s defeat. She announced the following day that she was resigning as CAQ leader.
Meanwhile, a source within the Parti Québécois said Tuesday it is seeking a judicial recount in the riding of Champlain, in Quebec’s Mauricie region, where its candidate lost by 191 votes to a Conservative candidate.
The Canadian Press agreed not to identify the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.
The party official said alleged irregularities had been identified during the counting of ballots on Oct. 5; approximately 80 ballots were missing from one ballot box and another 30 from a second box.
Conservative Adriana Szalontai defeated PQ candidate René Branchaud in the riding.
Quebec’s election law allows a recount to be requested when the margin between the top two candidates is less than one-thousandth of the votes cast.
Although the margin in Champlain does not meet that threshold, the PQ official said it believes it has sufficient grounds to convince the Court of Quebec to grant its request.
The Court of Quebec confirmed Tuesday that it had granted the PQ's request for a recount in Vachon, a riding in Longueuil, on the south shore of Montreal, where Liberal Affine Lwalalika defeated PQ candidate Stephan Fogaing by just 10 votes.
The recount for the Vachon riding is scheduled to begin Oct. 19 and is expected to last three days.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2026.
— with files by Caroline Plante from Quebec City
By Patrice Bergeron | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
