Quebec news — With 15 days to go until the October 5 Quebec Election 2026, the Parti Québécois still holds first place in the polls after two French-language leaders’ debates, and the final showdown — the Radio-Canada debate on Wednesday, September 23 — is the last big chance for five leaders to move an electorate that remains stubbornly undecided.
By Maplestime News Desk | Quebec City, Quebec | September 20, 2026
Sources: Policy Magazine (The Writ poll tracker), The Canadian Press, Élections Québec | Last updated: September 20, 2026
Key Takeaways
- The Parti Québécois leads the Quebec Election 2026 with 28.5% support, ahead of the CAQ (21.9%) and Liberals (21.6%), according to the latest poll tracker.
- The final Radio-Canada leaders’ debate airs Wednesday, September 23, from 8 to 10 p.m. — no English-language debate will be held after the PQ and CAQ refused.
- Roughly 40% of Quebecers remain undecided, making the last debate the campaign’s real battleground.
- 908 nominations were accepted across 127 ridings, about seven candidates per riding, with Verdun fielding a high of 13.
Polls Keep the PQ in Front of the Quebec Election 2026
The numbers have barely budged. With two weeks and one debate to go, the Quebec Election 2026 picture is remarkably stable: the Parti Québécois of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon sits at 28.5%, the governing Coalition Avenir Québec of Premier Christine Fréchette at 21.9%, and the Liberals under Charles Milliard at 21.6%. The Conservatives (Éric Duhaime) trail at 16.5%, with Québec Solidaire’s Ruba Ghazal at 10.1%.
That PQ lead has survived the first two debates. And here’s the thing the parties won’t say out loud: with roughly 40% of voters still undecided, the September 23 Radio-Canada debate is essentially the campaign. A clean two hours in front of the whole province, or a wasted chance nobody takes back.
What Happened in the First Two Debates
The first clash, TVA’s two-hour “Face-à-face Québec 2026” on September 15, was where CAQ leader Christine Fréchette tried to plant her flag. She came in as premier but as a successor, not the founder — and she said it plainly:
“I am not François Legault. I am Christine Fréchette and I arrive with my own way of doing things.”
It was a line aimed straight at voters who soured on Legault but haven’t settled on anyone else. The second debate, a 90-minute Noovo/Crave affair on September 16 targeting younger voters, got rowdier. When Fréchette blamed past Liberal budget cuts for the province’s health-care problems, Liberal leader Charles Milliard fired back:
“You attended about 150 cabinet meetings since you’ve been in politics. Stop blaming Pierre, Jean and his sister for all of the problems in health care.”
Québec Solidaire’s Ruba Ghazal, meanwhile, used the tariff-war anxiety hanging over the campaign to defend an activist state, pushing back on her opponents’ plans to trim government:
“When we’re in a crisis because of the tariff war, everyone including big businesses, who do they turn to? They turn to the state.”
Referendum talk and sovereignty — the PQ’s core question — also featured, as The Canadian Press reported from the second debate. The PQ leader has kept a referendum pledge on the table, and his opponents keep trying to make that the ballot question.
Why the Radio-Canada Debate Is the Real Showdown
The September 23 debate is the one every campaign war room has circled. Radio-Canada’s two-hour broadcast is the traditional heavyweight slot: the biggest audience, the toughest questions, and the last look before advance voting and the October 5 election day.
It also stands out for what it isn’t. There will be no English-language debate in this campaign. The PQ and CAQ refused one, just as they did in 2022 — a decision the Liberals and Québec Solidaire criticized as shutting out a big chunk of the electorate. For anglophone Quebecers, this Quebec Election 2026 will be fought entirely in French, at least on the debate stage.
The Race by the Numbers
- CAQ: 79 seats at dissolution — a commanding position to defend, now polling third.
- Liberals: 18 seats, nipping at the CAQ’s heels in the popular vote.
- Québec Solidaire: 11 seats.
- PQ: 7 seats — a small caucus chasing the lead in the polls.
- Conservatives: 1 seat, but 16.5% in the polls — a vote-to-seat mismatch that could reshape the right.
- Independents: 9.
And the candidate lists are stuffed. Élections Québec confirmed on September 17 that 908 nominations were accepted across the 127 ridings — roughly seven candidates per race. Verdun is the most crowded, with 13 candidates.
Related: Carney Rallies Liberal Caucus Ahead of Fall Session
What to Watch on September 23
Three things. First: does Fréchette land the “I’m not Legault” pivot, or does Milliard’s cabinet-meeting jab keep sticking to her? Second: can St-Pierre Plamondon convert a polling lead into momentum without scaring off federalist-leaning undecideds on the referendum question? And third: with 40% of Quebecers still on the fence, does anyone actually break through — or does this Quebec Election 2026 stay a muddle right up to October 5?
Two debates down, one to go. The campaign starts for real on Wednesday.
Maplestime will provide updates from the Quebec election as announcements are made.
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