In the elections held on Monday, the Coalition Avenir Québec, led by François Legault, secured a second straight majority mandate.
As the CAQ leader gets ready to appoint his new cabinet and start delivering on his party’s election pledges, there are five things to be on the lookout for.
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The Coalition Avenir Québec, led by François Legault, forms a new majority government.
The Coalition Avenir Québec has pledged to provide up to $600 in living assistance to Quebecers in December.
A one-time payment of $600 will be made to adults with annual incomes under $50,000, while a payment of $400 will be made to adults with annual incomes between $50,000 and $100,000. Additionally, Legault has pledged to reduce income taxes by a total of 2.5% over the following ten years, with the first reduction targeting the two lowest tax rates in 2023. Legault claims that adopting a law capping fees set by the government, like those for driver’s licences, is one of his administration’s top goals.
The CAQ has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37.
By 2030, the province hopes to cut emissions by 5% relative to 1990 levels, and by 2050, it wants to have no emissions at all. Legault claims that adding new hydroelectric dams is the only way to achieve these objectives, and he says he will direct the province’s hydro utility to determine which rivers can be dammed. However, the province fell short of its prior carbon reduction objective, and analysts claim that without a more aggressive strategy, Quebec won’t meet its current targets.
Legault has reneged on his pledge from last year to provide every Quebecer with access to a family doctor. Instead, he has pledged to create a digital health platform that will point consumers in the direction of a physician, nurse, or pharmacist.
Additionally, the CAQ has pledged to spend $400 million to hire 660 physicians and 5,000 other healthcare workers. The party has also stated that it plans to open two private medical facilities by 2025 in Montreal and Quebec City that will provide healthcare services that are subsidised by the public insurance system. Christian Dubé will continue to serve as the new cabinet’s health minister, according to Legault.
The CAQ has pledged to keep immigration at 50,000 newcomers annually and has claimed that the province lacks the resources to effectively integrate and educate more people in French. According to Legault, he will offer incentives to immigrants moving to Quebec City and other areas outside the Montreal region.
The CAQ struggled the most with the issue of immigration throughout the election campaign, and Legault’s opponents have charged him with fomenting anti-immigrant sentiment and separating Quebecers over it. Legault was forced to retract his statements linking immigration to “violence” and “extremism,” and his campaign took a hit when incumbent Immigration Minister Jean Boulet said that 80% of immigrants to Quebec “don’t vote” and “don’t speak French.”
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READ MORE: Live, real-time election results from Quebec for 2022
Legault praised the record number of women from all parties who were elected to the assembly on Monday night. In total, 58 of the 125 seats in the province were won by women. Kateri Champagne Jourdain, the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the legislature, was chosen by the CAQ to represent the riding of Duplessis in the Côte-Nord. She is one of the 41 women who were elected to the CAQ’s caucus.
Legault appointed 13 men and 13 women to positions in 2018, making good on his vow to create a gender-balanced government. However, such parity was only temporary, as MarieChantal Chassé abruptly resigned from her position as environment minister and was replaced by Benoit Charette barely three months later. Legault has not vowed to have a gender-balanced cabinet in his new position.
Five things to be on the lookout for with a new François Legault-led CAQ administration
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