Christine Fréchette

Christine Fréchette ( ; ; born August 15, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 33rd premier of Quebec and leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) since 2026. She was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2022 general election, representing the electoral district of Sanguinet.

Before politics, Fréchette was a businesswoman, political staffer, and political analyst. In the Legault ministry, she served in several positions, including as Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration and Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy. Elected leader of the CAQ in April 2026 following her predecessor François Legault's resignation, she became the second female premier of the province, after Pauline Marois.

Life and education Christine Fréchette was born in 1970 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Her mother's family is originally from La Baie, a bourough in Saguenay, Quebec. She spent her youth in the Mauricie region, where she attended high school at École secondaire Chavigny and college at Cégep de Trois-Rivières. She then obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration (Economics and International Trade) from HEC Montréal in 1992 and a Master's degree in International Relations from Université Laval in 1994.

Professional career From 1995 to 1996, Fréchette was research and information coordinator at the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec. In 1996, she represented university students during a summit on the social and economic future of Quebec. The same year, she began working for the National Assembly as international affairs advisor to the parliamentary conference of the Americas, and as administrative secretary to the Franco-Quebec interparliamentary commission.

From 2000 to 2002, Fréchette was a consultant to the Conseil supérieur de la langue française. She continued her work as a public affairs consultant in private practice from 2002 to 2008. In 2002, she founded the North American Forum on Integration and was president of this organization until 2011. From 2007 to 2012, Fréchette worked for the Centre d'études et de recherches internationales de l'Université de Montréal (CÉRIUM) as coordinator of the study centers of the United States and Mexico.

From 2008 to 2012, Fréchette was a political analyst in the media, working for Groupe TVA, Société Radio-Canada, RDI, Radio 98,5 FM and Radio 93,3 FM. In 2012, Fréchette joined the office of the Parti Québécois's (PQ) Jean-François Lisée, who was minister for international relations, as a press attachée and deputy chief of staff.

She left the PQ after it introduced the Quebec Charter of Values. Fréchette later pursued her career with Montréal International as director of external and institutional relations until 2016. Subsequently, from 2016 to 2021, she was president of the Eastern Montreal Chamber of Commerce.

Early political career In 2021, Fréchette considered running in the Montreal borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles with Denis Coderre's Ensemble Montréal, but she decided against it. She previously ran for Vision Montreal in the 2009 Montreal municipal election, placing second to Carl Boileau of Projet Montreal.

In August 2022, Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) leader François Legault announced Fréchette as his party's candidate in the electoral district of Sanguinet in the 2022 general election. She was considered a high-profile candidate for the party. She was elected, receiving 48.8% of the vote and defeating Daphnée Paquin-Auger of the PQ.

Legault ministry Following her election as an MNA, Fréchette was appointed to the Legault ministry as Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration. On December 13, 2023, Fréchette and Miller were served with formal legal notices following her implementation of quotas on family reunification. These quotas resulted in processing wait times of 42 months in Quebec, compared to 10 to 12 months in the rest of Canada, and created a record backlog in the family reunification category, reaching over 38,000 applications, mostly involving spouses and children. The legal notice argues, on one hand, that the provincial government does not have the authority to impose quotas on family reunification, and on the other hand, that the federal government should not comply with these quotas, as they violate the Canada–Quebec Agreement on immigration. According to Miller, the delays are directly linked to the quotas imposed by Quebec. On February 29, 2024, an application for judicial review was filed in Superior Court against Fréchette, as no solution had been found 60 days after the legal notice.

In September 2024, she succeeded Pierre Fitzgibbon as Minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montreal region, Minister responsible for Regional Economic Development, and Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy. In 2025, she was relieved of the two former roles and gained the position of Minister responsible for the Montérégie region later that year following Lionel Carmant's resignation.

2026 Coalition Avenir Québec leadership campaign Following the resignation of François Legault, Fréchette announced her candidacy in the 2026 Coalition Avenir Québec leadership election at an event in Trois-Rivières on January 25, 2026. She relinquished her Cabinet positions after announcing her campaign. During the announcement, Fréchette said she would defend the values of the party by describing them as for "an effective state, a strong economy, and a well-defined identity" in Quebec.

Fréchette has been described as a synthesis between the economic and nationalist factions of the CAQ. She also received the most caucus endorsements of any candidate during the race. During the campaign, she stated her support for the cancelled Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) and for shale gas exploration in the province. Fréchette also promised to increase education budget inline with inflation.

On April 12, she was elected leader of the party, with 57.9% of the vote, defeating Bernard Drainville. Fréchette is the first female and second overall CAQ leader.

Premier of Quebec (2026–present)

After winning the CAQ leadership election, she was sworn in on April 15, 2026. She is also the first Generation X premier of the province. Her first acts as premier included a meeting with prime minister Mark Carney, cost-of-living measures, support for first-time homebuyers and small and medium enterprises, maintaining a ban on the sale, purchase, and distribution of American alcoholic beverages, healthcare announcements, and renewing the notwithstanding clause protections around Bill 96. Her ministry was sworn-in on April 21, including multiple changes from the previous government and Ian Lafrenière as deputy premier. In August 2026, she announced an updated Churchill Falls Generating Station agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador premier Tony Wakeham and prime minister Carney, renegotiating the 1969 agreement and the scrapped 2024 memorandum of understanding. If ratified, the deal would be valued at nearly $70 billion.

2026 general election Since becoming party leader and premier, the CAQ has seen a jump in popularity according to most opinion polls.

Rather than seeking re-election in Sanguinet, Fréchette announced in July 2026 that she would stand as a candidate in Trois-Rivières instead. On August 27, Fréchette advised the lieutenant governor to dissolve the national assembly and call a general election for October 5, 2026.

Personal life Fréchette is married to financier Guy Nadeau and has a son.

Electoral history Provincial elections

Leadership elections First Ballot Candidate Vote share Christine Fréchette 57.9% Bernard Drainville 42.1% Totals100.0%

Municipal elections