This year has brought no shortage of political milestones. Mark Carney became Canada’s prime minister. Montreal elected Soraya Martínez Ferrada as its first political refugee and Latina mayor. And Ottawa found itself locked in a trade standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
It was also the year when Quebec Premier François Legault emerged, and remained, the least-popular premier in Canada.
The 68-year-old, who was first elected in 2018, “continues to be Canada’s least approved provincial leader, garnering praise from just 25 per cent of Quebec residents,” wrote the Angus Reid Institute, which tracks premier approval ratings across the year and released its latest data on Friday.
Among the most popular were Manitoba’s Wab Kinew and New Brunswick’s Susan Holt. At the rear, alongside Legault, was Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who placed second-last.
In 2020, Legault had been among the most-popular premiers, with a 77 per cent approval rating. That has since fallen. In March this year, his approval sat at 38 per cent, the lowest in the country. It then slid further into the mid-20s for the remainder of the year.
Angus Reid said in its analysis Legault’s government “outraged” physicians in the province after adopting Bill 2, which will change how doctors are compensated by tying pay to performance targets.
That backlash, the institute added, is on top of the frustration over the glitch-ridden rollout of SAAQclic, Quebec’s new online automobile-insurance platform and the province’s budget deficit, which has spiralled over the past three years.
In November, the latest Léger poll for Québecor placed Legault and the CAQ in third place at 18 per cent.
The Parti Québécois, led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, sits on 39 per cent support, followed by the Quebec Liberal Party, under Pablo Rodriguez, at 21 per cent, though the Liberals are down six points since the last poll.
Plamondon remains well ahead in the polls even as he promises a referendum on Quebec independence, despite Quebecers so far showing little appetite for it. Rodriguez, meanwhile, has become embroiled in a crisis over allegations of vote-buying in the Liberal leadership race and a public feud with Saint-Laurent MNA Marwah Rizqy.
But as his rivals jostle for position, Legault remains grappling with his standing. The premier has insisted he would “continue to fight for Quebecers.”
“In October 2026, it will no longer be: ‘Do I like or don’t like the government?’” Legault said in October. “It will be: ‘Who do I choose? Do I choose Pablo Rodriguez? Do I choose Paul St-Pierre Plamondon?’ It will be up to Quebecers to choose a premier and their government in October 2026.”
Quebecers are set to vote in October 2026, though the election could come sooner.