CUPE calls on candidates from all parties to opposing privatization ahead of fall election

Hydro-Québec’s head office in Montreal, photographed on 14 November 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

As the election campaign approaches, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is calling on candidates from all parties to commit to opposing privatization and to sign a declaration in support of public services.

As part of its “Save Our Public Services” campaign, CUPE is calling on candidates from all political parties to sign a declaration in which they commit, in particular, to “resisting the siren call of privatization.”

The major trade union, which has 143,000 members in Quebec, specifically calls on candidates to defend the public nature of institutions, “whether they be our state-owned enterprises, such as Hydro-Québec, or our public transport companies,” and to oppose ”all forms of privatization or outsourcing.”

CUPE, which is affiliated to the FTQ, itself represents tens of thousands of union members at Hydro-Québec, in local authorities, in public transport, as well as in health and education. It is also active in the private sector.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is also calling on candidates to commit to “resisting the temptation to balance budgets by undermining the state’s essential functions.”

“Services to the public must not become the adjustment variable in government budgetary decisions,” states the declaration that candidates – and even members of the public – are invited to sign.

The third commitment candidates are asked to make is to “respect public service workers.”

The authors of the declaration call for safe working environments and note that incidents of workplace violence are “increasingly worrying,” particularly within the education system.

CUPE is also inviting the public to show their support for public services by endorsing this declaration on the servicespublics.org website.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 29, 2026.

Lia Lévesque, The Canadian Press