Analysis: Fréchette tries to breathe life into an old government. Will it fly with voters?
QUEBEC — Premier Christine Fréchette Tuesday promised to breathe “new life,” into an aging Coalition Avenir Québec government by focusing on the need for better government services and defending Quebec’s language and culture.
Presenting a new 29-member cabinet — a combination of familiar veterans and five fresh new faces — Fréchette said the last thing Quebecers need in these “uncertain times” is to go backwards.
The remark is a reference to what she believes the Liberals and Parti Québécois want to do by reviving the federalism versus independence debate in time for the October election.
Fréchette’s line, reflected in the cabinet, goes the other way, selling government action on bread-and-butter issues; in other words her vision of a third way between the two other parties.
“I heard what Quebecers told me,” Fréchette said, standing in the Agora of the National Assembly after the swearing-in ceremony. “I have taken note of their worries but also their hopes, which were expressed all over.”
“That’s why the team I am presenting you today carries a new life. It is a solid team, composed of devoted women and men; a team representing all our regions, ready to serve Quebec.
“Despite the storm, I have chosen to build our future and advance.”
As has been her habit since becoming Quebec’s 33rd premier last week and with the clock ticking to the election, Fréchette rapidly doled out the work.
The tasks and the people she has chosen to deliver the goods reflect the dual purpose of the new cabinet, which is selling “stability with change” at the same time.
Fréchette believes that is the winning formula Quebecers crave.
To her new immigration minister, François Bonnardel, who makes a triumphant return to cabinet after being dumped in the wake of the SAAQclic fiasco, Fréchette gives the job of patching relations with immigrants.
He has the job of reopening the cancelled Programme de l’expérience Québécois (PEQ), after its cancellation made the CAQ government appear insensitive.
Fréchette took a different tone than her predecessor, Premier François Legault.
“From now on we must have a more human approach to immigration matters,” Fréchette said.
It was a sweet return for Bonnardel, who got a long standing ovation from the crowd when he entered the hall.
He also becomes house leader, replacing the hyper-partisan and acerbic Simon Jolin-Barrette, a move seen as Fréchette’s attempt to improve the tone of the debate in the legislature.
The symbolism of the return of Bonnardel, who was first elected in 2007 under the banner of the defunct Action démocratique du Québec party, escaped nobody.
The bonus for Fréchette is that it solidifies her right-wing nationalist flank in much the same way as giving her leadership rival Bernard Drainville the prestigious post of super minister of the economy and energy.
Drainville was entitled to a longer hug from the premier than some others after signing the big cabinet book with lieutenant-governor Manon Jeannotte (who also got a long ovation).
Another on the way up in the new government is Vachon MNA Ian Lafrenière, who becomes Quebec’s new deputy premier as well as the minister of a whole new ministry to be called internal security.
Already in charge of the government’s law-and-order agenda, which voters appreciate, Lafrenière has been given the job of curbing domestic violence in Quebec.
Fréchette has asked Lafrenière to present a Quebec version of a Clare’s law, which allows individuals who feel at risk of domestic violence to ask police for information about a partner’s violence or abusive history.
In her speech, Fréchette noted since the beginning of 2026, Quebec has experienced nine femicides. On Tuesday a coalition of groups called on the government to take action to prevent future femicides.
“Think about it,” Fréchette as the crowd hushed. “As a woman, as the woman premier of Quebec, I am saying clearly: this has to stop.”
Her choice of Jean Boulet as her minister for Canadian relations is also strategic. Soft-spoken and known for his pragmatic nature as the labour minister, Fréchette sees him as the right person to maintain good relations with the federal government.
Quebec and Ottawa in fact are in the midst of delicate negotiations over shared program funding and Fréchette wants the cash.
That explains her rapid visit last week to the most popular politician in Quebec these days: Prime Minister Mark Carney. Again, Fréchette is banking that Quebecers believe co-operation with Ottawa is more productive than war.
But she made it clear in her remarks that Quebec is sticking to its right to preventively use the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to shield laws like Bill 21 and 96.
“We must remain masters in our own house,” Fréchette said. “After all (the clause is) the most democratic tool we have to defend who we are and what we want to become.”
Fréchette, nevertheless, faces a challenge in spinning that her cabinet and government are shiny and new after nearly eight years in office. (All three opposition parties Tuesday called the new cabinet a retread of an old tire).
Unwilling to risk placing a newcomers in key positions with only five months to go before the election, Fréchette on many fronts played it safe with her cabinet re-naming 14 ministers to the same jobs.
That means cabinet stalwarts remain in position. That includes Eric Girard in finance, France-Élaine Duranceau at Treasury Board, Sonia Bélanger in health and Sonia LeBel in education, even if she has said she is not going to run in the 2026 election.
Also not moving are Christopher Skeete in international relations (he retains the job of relations with English-speaking Quebecers), Jean François-Roberge on language and secularism, Mathieu Lacombe in culture and Jolin-Barrette in justice.
Roberge does get the job of presenting yet another overhaul of the Charter of the French Language to extend French requirements to adult and vocational education.
Girard has the job of coming up with more ways to ease the financial crunch being felt by Quebecers.
“From now on, we are going to do everything possible so Quebecers have more money in their pockets,” Fréchette said. “Quebecers pay enough taxes. They have the right to better services.”
Finally, the cabinet signals another significant shift in the name of the looming election.
Moving to tap into the CAQ’s traditional pool of voters in the regions, Fréchette announced the creation of a council of regions.
Heading up the body, which will represent Quebec’s 17 regions in government, is Outaouais MNA Mathieu Lévesque.
A premier in a hurry, Fréchette convened her first cabinet meeting an hour after the swearing-in ceremony. On Wednesday, she meets Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada.
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