Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
MONTREAL — The governing Coalition Avenir Québec has changed its official name to feature new leader Christine Fréchette ahead of the October general election.
According to a notice from Élections Québec dated July 9, the political party is now Équipe Christine Fréchette – Coalition avenir Québec.
“It was important to adjust the name of the party because I’m there now,” Fréchette told journalists at a news conference in Longueuil, Que. “We demonstrated the type of leadership we have and our priorities.”
The party’s official website no longer displays the Coalition Avenir Québec name, showing only Fréchette’s and a slightly altered logo.
Speaking the premier said the name change signals that the party is different under her leadership.
Under her predecessor, who resigned in January after tanking in the polls, the party was named Coalition avenir Québec – L’Équipe François Legault.
Legault had founded the party in 2011 and won two majority governments in the last two elections. But by the time he resigned, “the CAQ’s brand was devastated,” said Thierry Giasson, a political science professor at Université Laval with expertise on political marketing.
While political brands are fragile, they can be repositioned and reframed, he added.
“We want to distance ourselves from the brand associated with François Legault and try to recreate a narrative that’s more positive and more fitting. It’s more about who Christine Fréchette is, by putting her front and center,” he said.
Since Fréchette took the helm, her party went back up to third place, behind the Parti Québécois and the Quebec Liberals, in the polls.
With 32 elected officials in the party saying they won’t run in the next election and a flurry of announcements, Giasson said Fréchette is building up her track record as premier.
Université du Quebec à Montréal political science professor Danielle Pilette said Fréchette wants to show she has a strong grip on her party three months after becoming premier.
“The Coalition Avenir Québec was the name of a coalition — one with various factions, including those on the left, on the right, sovereigntist, federalist,” said Pilette. “Now, she wants to give the impression that she has absolute control over the party.”
Pilette added that politicians like Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Mark Carney have also branded their political parties with their own names. Giasson said former prime minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre have done the same.
It’s something Pilette was used to seeing in municipal elections, where voters choose a mayor, but she said it’s a relatively new phenomenon in provincial and federal politics where leaders are elected only in their own riding.
“I would say this is an Americanization of Canadian, Quebec, and provincial politics,” said Pilette. “In terms of public perception, we’re heavily influenced by what’s happening in the United States … so, of course, that rubs off on Canadian and Quebec politics.”
Giasson said he is waiting to see how far Fréchette’s rebrand will go once the electoral campaign officially kicks off, and whether the Coalition Avenir Québec will be featured on her posters.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2026.
Erika Morris, The Canadian Press
