François Legault resigns
New thread for the resignation of François Legault.
He’s staying on till the CAQ can elect a new chief.
La Presse has a list of possible successors. I laughed out loud at the thought of Bernard Drainville, but Simon Jolin‑Barrette gives me froid dans le dos.
It also offers ten viral moments in Legault’s time as premier. I was hoping to see the time in 2021 when he claimed that an apartment costs $500 or $600 per month, but no.
Hamza 13:52 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
It must be like the end of return of the Jedi out there
Ian 14:00 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Bummer, i was at the CSN offices yesterday. Wish i could have been there today!
Bert 14:48 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Hamza – are you suggesting should we be expecting a Jar Jar?
Kate 14:54 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
And featuring Bernard Drainville as Jar-Jar Binks
Ian 19:41 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
It’s interesting, though. Even one month ago Legault was still putting on a brave face with the same wrting on the same wall … I wonder what happened in the last month to snap him out of it?
GC 19:48 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Drainville, Jolin‑Barrette, and Guilbault all make me cringe. But so does Plamondon.
CE 20:01 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
It was the same with Biden and Trudeau. I guess you have to say you’re all in right up until the moment that you’re not. As soon as you start to waver, the sharks start circling and it’s over.
Kevin 20:37 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
In December, Legault did his end-of-year sitdown interviews with select media, and he frequently brought up the message that created the CAQ 15 years ago: the separation debate is old and tired and will cost us billions.
His team was sharing that message frequently on social media even last week.
But the Pallas poll done this past weekend showed that effort didn’t change opinions at all. Quebecers don’t like any of the leaders being offered, but they like Legault the least.
Joey 14:18 on 2026-01-15 Permalink
Yeah, he was adamant about quitting when he did the holiday rounds. The latest poll is what it is, but a big majority of Quebecers were already done with Legault/the CAQ last summer – *before* he picked a hugely unpopular fight with the doctors. I have two theories as to why he’s quitting now. The first is that he hung in because he was on the cusp of ‘beating’ the physicians, which I gather has been a personal project for the premier dating back to his time in the PQ government around the turn of the century. The second is that the Gallant report will be out within the next four weeks and its conclusions will be severe enough that there would be no way he could run again in October. Quitting now creates some distance before the report is released so the sting will be less severe when it’s public. La Presse is already reporting today that the report will come down hard on Minister Guilbault and her team – so information is already leaking and one gets the impression there will be a lot of shit to go around.
Hamza 10:19 on 2026-01-16 Permalink
@bert did they put him in ? I haven’t seen the latest revisions.
Jean charest ‘s time to ‘somehow return’ is nigh