With 2026 nearly upon us, it’s traditionally a time for a fresh start and making New Year’s resolutions. After a tumultuous end to 2025, CTV News asked political analyst Raphaël Melançon what each of Quebec’s political parties should set as goals for the coming year. “It’s been a rough year for almost all parties,” Melançon said. “For everybody in Quebec City, the end of 2025 is something they probably want to forget and look forward to opening a new year.” Coalition Avenir Québec For the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), after seven years in power, Melançon says it’s normal Quebecers could be looking for change in the upcoming provincial election. Premier François Legault gave a nod to the famed quote by Pierre Elliott Trudeau at the end of the session, saying he went for a walk in the snow to think about his political future and decided he would again run for the top job in 2026. “I think for the New Year, he should go back for another walk and think twice about it,” Melançon said. With the premier’s popularity plummeting, Melançon says the party Legault founded could now be hindered by his staying on. “Do you really want that party to die with you in the next election because you insist on clinging as leader, or do you want to give this party a chance to survive the next election with a new leader?” Over the last four years, the party has seen several high-profile ministers — including Pierre Fitzgibbon, Lionel Carmant and Christian Dubé — step down from their roles and distance themselves from the party. Quebec Liberal Party Melançon says for the Quebec Liberal Party, the end of the year can’t come soon enough. Within about 10 months, the party went from electing a new leader to once again preparing to run a leadership race. For 2026, Melançon says the party needs to “change its internal culture because we have seen yet again a culture of ‘fling flang’ in the party this fall.” He adds the internal drama was especially ill-timed as the Liberals need to court candidates for the coming election. “Ahead of an election, you’re recruiting candidates, you’re holding fundraising events, and at this time nobody wants to be associated with the Liberals,” Melançon said. The party recently announced it will be holding its new leadership race in the coming months. Parti Québécois While the Parti Québécois (PQ) saw growing popularity in 2025, Melançon says there is work to be done in 2026. “The PQ’s New Year’s resolution, and the leader particularly, is to find a better way to manage his impulsivity and anger.” Melançon cited the recent spat between Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Quebec artists over a perceived lack of loyalty to the province as an example. “I think he projects the image of someone who knows better than everyone else,” Melançon said, referencing a common finding in political polling: that voters want a leader they would want to have a beer with. “I think he’s flying a bit too high at the moment, too close to the sun. He has to come down to earth a little bit.” Québec solidaire Québec solidaire elected a new co-spokesperson this past year. Sol Zanetti is now at the helm after Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois stepped down. “I would say Quebec solidaire’s New Year’s resolution should be to find a good balance between an activist party, a party that pushes an ideology first and foremost, and trying to appeal to a majority of voters, because right now they’re going to be way too far in the margins in the next election if they continue like that,” Melançon said. Quebec Conservative Party Finally, for Éric Duhaime and the Quebec Conservative Party, Melançon says the focus for the year is on building a credible slate of candidates. “It needs to stop being a one-man show,” he said. “He has to show that he can recruit star candidates and credible candidates.” Melançon adds Duhaime needs to distance himself from the image he projected during the pandemic of buying into conspiracy theories and supporting more fringe causes. As each of the parties sets out its resolutions for the year, it’s clear that with an election in 2026, there are still many questions to be resolved.
