The leaders of the five main provincial parties are back on the road after back-to-back interviews on prime-time television Wednesday night. Talk about the trade war with the United States and Quebec sovereignty dominated the first high-profile event of the provincial election campaign. While some public opinion polls have favoured the Parti Québécois (PQ), recent surveys suggest the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is gaining momentum. Polls also show voters are paying close attention to how leaders are addressing affordability, which has become a central theme on the campaign trail. Party leaders now have to prepare for a series of debates, starting Sept. 15 on TVA. Quebec voters go to the polls Oct. 5. Key details: Follow along for the latest updates: High-speed rail must come to agreement with farmers: CAQ CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette says she wants the consortium behind the controversial Alto high-speed rail project to agree on a route with farmers and municipalities and ensure the economic benefits are substantial. She says she supports the project despite opposition from farmers and other groups. The project is expected to cross agricultural land in the Outaouais and Lower Laurentians regions. Farmers right to be concerned about high-speed rail: QS Quebec Solidaire says it believes farmers are raising legitimate concerns about farmland when it comes to a high-speed rail line between Quebec City and Toronto. The Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) has expressed opposition to the project by federal company Alto. Québec Solidaire says it supports the high-speed rail project, but believes Alto could be more receptive to the farmers’ concerns. - The Canadian Press. QS proposes universal school meal program If elected on Oct. 5, a Quebec Solidaire government says it would implement a universal school meal program, a proposal it first suggested in 2024. Spokesperson Ruba Ghazal said the program would be gradually introduced in schools through to 2031 and would be voluntary, meaning parents could opt out or make a voluntary contribution of $0 to $7. School service centres would manage the program in collaboration with public institutions and food security organizations. The left-wing party estimates the cost at $480 million per year. “Fixing public schools means renovating schools and hiring more staff, but it also means making schools a living environment where young people can have access to everything they need to succeed,” said Ghazal. “It’s also a very concrete way to ease the mental burden on parents, who will no longer have to worry every evening about the next day’s lunch.” - The Canadian Press. Fréchette insists her opinion on sovereignty is irrelevant CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette is arguing that her personal opinion on sovereignty is irrelevant. Thursday, she refused to say whether she supported independence, despite being asked repeatedly about her personal views on Quebec’s future. Fréchette previously worked in Pauline Marois’ Parti Québécois (PQ) cabinet but now limits herself to repeating that this would be the worst possible time to hold a referendum. When asked if, in the long term, she remained a sovereignist, she stated that her personal position was irrelevant. - The Canadian Press. Éric Duhaime ‘totally’ opposed to ‘all forms of high-speed rail’ Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime says he opposes a high-speed rail line between Quebec City and Toronto, citing a lack of public acceptance. Thursday morning, Duhaime met with representatives of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), which opposes the project because the route could run through farmland. - The Canadian Press. CAQ wants to invest $400M in short-term vocational training The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is pledging to increase funding for short-term vocational training by $400 million over four years to enable workers to retrain in the context of the trade war with the United States. CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette says if reelected, a CAQ government would aim to help 25,000 people acquire the skills needed in sectors facing labour shortages. The current program trains workers in construction, educational child care services, metalworking, engineering and information technology, agriculture and other fields. - The Canadian Press. Day 15 Here is where the party leaders are planning to start their day, in order of first appearance: Éric Duhaime (Quebec Conservative Party) Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime is meeting with the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) general council at 8:30 a.m. and holding a press briefing at 9:45 a.m. at the Maison de l’UPA. In the afternoon, he is expected to travel to the Mauricie region to hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. at the L’autre côté de l’ombre centre in Bécancour and visit the Domaine de la Vigne Noble at 5 p.m. Christine Fréchette (Coalition Avenir Québec) CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette is set to begin her day with a press conference at 8:45 a.m. at Canam-Ponts. She will then head to the L’Étape rest stop in the municipality of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region at 11:15 a.m. In the afternoon, she will meet with residents at Saint-Crème in Alma at 1:25 p.m. before visiting the Hydrep Hydraulic Centre in Jonquière at 3:15 p.m. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (Parti Québécois) PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will be in the Centre-du-Québec region and on Montreal’s South Shore. He is set to begin the day in Manseau with a visit to the Valpierre farm at 8:50 a.m., followed by a press briefing on agriculture at 9:50 a.m. alongside candidates Jérôme Gagnon (Nicolet-Bécancour) and Alex Boissonneault (Arthabaska-L’Érable). In the afternoon, he will be in Longueuil to meet with the UPA at 1 p.m., followed by a press briefing at 2:30 p.m. Charles Milliard (Quebec Liberal Party) Liberal Leader Charles Milliard will be in the Greater Montreal area. He is meeting the general council of the UPA at 10:30 a.m. and holding a press briefing at the Maison de l’UPA at 11:45 a.m. Around noon, he is expected to attend a luncheon at Pacini restaurant in Longueuil before heading to Cathcart at Place Ville-Marie in Montreal for a happy hour at 5:30 p.m. Ruba Ghazal (Québec Solidaire) QS Spokesperson Ruba Ghazal will be on the South Shore of Montreal, holding a press briefing on education at 11:30 a.m. at the intersection of Desaulniers Boulevard and Cartier Street. At 3 p.m., she will meet with the UPA in Longueuil and hold a press briefing at 4:15 p.m. The party’s co-spokesperson, Sol Zanetti, will be in Quebec City to hold a press briefing on transportation in the provincial capital at 9 a.m. on the Samuel-De Champlain Promenade. The leaders
