‘We will not be like the PQ who only want to argue,’ incumbent CAQ Premier tells supporters
Coalition Avenir Québec MNA for Sainte-Rose Christopher Skeete, who is seeking a third term in the upcoming provincial election, says the people of Laval will have an important choice to make on October 5.
“Do they want someone we can hardly find – Où est Charles?” – he declared sarcastically last week in an interview with The Laval News, referring to Quebec Liberal Party leader Charles Milliard, who has been lagging second to last in decided voter intentions in recent polls.
The choice is clear, claims Skeete
“Or do they want to have some predictability and stability?” Skeete added. “I think our government is the one offering stability and the predictability that Quebecers are looking for.”
Skeete, who holds a number of portfolios in the CAQ cabinet including International Relations and Francophonie, made the comments during a pre-election gathering of CAQ supporters held in Laval’s Vieux Sainte-Rose neighborhood.
They were marking the beginning of the election campaign with a visit by incumbent Quebec Premier and CAQ leader Christine Fréchette at a rally and BBQ event.
Skeete and incumbent CAQ candidate in Vimont-Auteuil Valérie Schmaltz are the party’s only current MNAs from Laval in the Quebec National Assembly vying for re-election. (Alice Abou-Khalil [Fabre] and Céline Haytayan [Laval-des-Rapides] decided not to seek second terms.)
Laval as electoral battleground
While Skeete acknowledged that Laval’s six provincial ridings are almost always hotly contested and have changed allegiances numerous times over the past decades, Schmaltz suggested that Laval is no more an electoral battleground than anywhere else in Quebec.
“It’s the same thing everywhere,” she said. “When you’re in the midst of an election campaign, everybody has their own ideas. That being said, everybody is working towards the target date of October 5 when the results will be known. But as for me in my riding up to now, I have received nothing but a positive response.”
For her part, Fréchette defended her party’s record in the past four years, despite the fact the CAQ was overseen for a large part of that time by another leader – namely former Premier François Legault.
Among other things, she pointed out during a vivid address to more than 50 party loyalists that the CAQ government had a quick response to the first wave of tariffs imposed a year-and-a-half ago by U.S. president Donald Trump.
Quick response to tariffs, said Fréchette
“We were among the fastest in Canada to implement aid programs,” she said. “And now we’re learning about the new wave of tariffs from around a week ago and there again our response is rapid.
“We are going to have to remain very focused, because we want to help businesses build and get through this,” she added. “And I am confident that we will be able to do this without help from the federal government. Our own assistance will not only help them get through this crisis, but also come out stronger than ever.”
Fréchette also talked about the needs of the province’s families and parents, especially in the context of the impact the second wave of Trump tariffs stands to have on them.
Leading into the election, the incumbent CAQ government is proposing modifications to the Régime québécois d’assurance parentale (Quebec Parental Insurance Plan), which delivers benefits to eligible workers during pregnancy or childbirth, during the adoption of a child or during a parental surrogacy.
Proposed parental insurance changes
According to Fréchette, the changes would allow accumulated hours to be used not only in the months immediately after the birth of a child, but for up to five years.
“And so, parents will be able to use as they see fit these banked hours over the course of years,” said Fréchette, adding that parents might even be able to use part of the benefits to compensate grandparents or other caregivers who provide assistance to parents.
Fréchette also took shots at some of the leading contenders in the 2026 electoral race. Regarding the Quebec Liberals, she said: “We know them don’t we. They are unable to defend the language; they are unable to defend our culture.
“They give in to the federal. As for us, we will continue standing up, we will be respected for our jurisdictions. But at the same time, when something is good for Quebec, we will sign onto partnerships.
“We will not be like the PQ who only want to argue,” she continued. “For whatever it’s worth, we always seek out what’s best in Ottawa. The PQ they’re always looking for trouble.” She dismissed the Quebec Liberals as not even knowing what to look for.
