CAQ government house leader François Bonnardel leaving politics

Long-serving CAQ minister Francois Bonnardel said he will be leaving politics after a nearly 20-year career. (Francois Bonardel/Facebook)

Current government house leader and prominent voice in the National Assembly, François Bonnardel, is leaving politics.

Bonnardel is the current Immigration, Francization and Integration Minister and has held a plethora of other posts, including public security and transportation. He was unceremoniously excluded from former premier François Legault’s cabinet in 2025 during a reshuffle, but was brought back into the fold by Premier Christine Frechette.

“It is with a big heart that I am writing to you today, because the time has come for me to close the book of my political life with you,” he wrote on social media. “Since 2007, I have had the great privilege of representing you in the National Assembly. You put your trust in me six times, and I never took it for granted.”

The Granby MNA was first elected under the now-defunct Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) party in 2007.

He was one of the original members of Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) party in 2012 and won his seat in that year. He has held the riding ever since.

“I have always carried out my duties with humility, loyalty, and a deep respect for the role entrusted to me with the people,” he said. “All these years, I wanted to make you proud and give my best.”

As Transport Minister, Bonnardel found himself in the middle of the SAACclic fiasco, which saw costs at the auto insurance board skyrocket during its digital transition.

He insisted last August that he received incomplete and inaccurate information about the costs.

“It hasn’t been a perfect course, but I’m deeply proud of what we have accomplished together for Granby and our entire region,” Bonnardel said in his farewell note.

“It is with great emotion and gratitude, but also with a sense of duty fulfilled after almost 20 years representing you, that I announce my departure.”