After being wiped off political map, what's next for the CAQ?

1 week ago 9

After securing dominant majority governments in back-to-back provincial elections, the Coalition Avenir Québec is now both without a seat in the National Assembly and without a leader, raising questions about the party's future and viability as a political entity.

Party's executive director says lots of people interested in becoming next leader

Antoni Nerestant · CBC News

· Posted: Oct 12, 2026 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

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After securing dominant majority governments in the 2018 and 2022 provincial elections, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is now both without a seat and without a leader, raising questions about the party's future and viability as a political entity.

Christine Fréchette resigned as party leader last Tuesday, the day after the election.

The CAQ, which was founded in 2011 with the goal of being a third alternative to sovereignty and federalism, was wiped off the political map, failing to pick up a single seat in the National Assembly despite receiving a little more than 572,000 votes.

The Parti Québécois, with 59 out of 127 seats, will form a minority government.

So what's next for the CAQ?

Here's a snapshot of where things stand as the party tries to pick up the pieces after a devastating election defeat.