Lection Quebec News Today

François Legault will seemingly serve a second term as premier, with all major news outlets officially projecting that his Coalition Avenir Québec party will win a majority of seats in the October 3 Quebec election.

The Parti Québécois, for decades the political engine of Quebec's sovereignty movement, has suffered a substantial defeat in the October 3 provincial elections, with their projected seat total of three.

As the October 3 election approaches, Quebec political parties are outlining their campaign aesthetics — the bright colours, glittering graphics and often generous headshot filters they'll use to attract voters like crows drawn to shiny garbage. In a province where four major parties and a handful of smaller organizations are competing for attention, perhaps no campaign element comes with higher stakes than the slogan.

Less than a week before the Quebec election, the CAQ is still on track to crush its opponents even though its support is slipping, according to the latest poll by Léger and Québecor.

Ahead of the Quebec election, Premier François Legault is less popular than any other point since he entered the post in 2018, according to the latest Angus Reid Institute (ARI) poll of premier approval ratings. Only 43% of Quebecers polled in the September survey said they either approved (23%) or strongly approved (20%) of Legault's performance.

Quebec's election is ramping up all right. A home video of a Conservative candidate cussing out and flipping off Legault during a televised press conference is making the rounds on social media. Leaked footage of Yves Beaulieu shows him sitting on his couch yelling obscenities and making rude gestures at his TV, before walking over to the screen, ramping up the insults and lifting his shirt.

Ontario slaps a $0.18475 tax on each cigarette. In Quebec, it's only $0.149 — which, for a carton of 200 cigarettes, amounts to the lowest tobacco tax in Canada. A league of health advocacy groups led by the Coalition québécoise pour le contrôle du tabac (CQCT) wants to close that gap. They're calling on political parties to take up the cause ahead of the Quebec election in October.

Québec solidaire has released an ambitious proposal for transit expansion in the Montreal area, including a new "purple" metro line from Laval to Ville-Marie via Montréal-Nord, Rosemont and the Plateau Mont-Royal. The party says it would invest a whopping $47 billion to put the plan into action by 2030 if it's able to form a government after the 2022 Quebec election.

After sending $600 to every adult resident who makes $100,000 or less earlier this year, the CAQ is promising another round of payments — but only if it stays in power after the Quebec election in October. As with the first payments, the party says the measure would counter the effects of inflation on household finances.

Quebec election season is upon us and with it a host of big claims, ambitious promises and audacious moves to bring more acclaim — and voter turnout — for the province's competing political parties. While some parties promise an out-of-towner tax on travel and others offer payouts for Quebecers, Québec solidaire is busy hawking $20 socks.