Bolstering ships, forestry and the birthrate: Quebec leaders make campaign pledges

MONTREAL — Quebec party leaders are making various promises to boost shipping, forestry and the birthrate as the provincial election campaign ramps up for its final two-week stretch.

Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette is unveiling a maritime strategy that would furnish $300 million in investments for port infrastructure and the St. Lawrence River, as well as $90 million for the shipbuilding industry.

Liberal Leader Charles Milliard, speaking near the shores of Lac Saint-Jean in northern Quebec, says he would reform the province’s forestry regime after a volatile decade for the sector.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is pledging to shore up the province’s human resources by way of a higher birthrate — currently near historic lows — as he rolls out plans for a baby bonus of $700 for a family’s third and fourth children.

The PQ leader also pushed back Sunday against Fréchette’s assertion that Quebecers are warming up to fracking, citing a party-commissioned poll that found two-thirds of respondents would not want shale gas wells near their homes.

Meanwhile, Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal is promising to regulate the real estate industry by ending so-called blind bidding and capping brokers’ commissions.

Quebecers head to the polls for an election on Oct. 5.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2026.

The Canadian Press