Quicksketch: A look at Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette

MONTREAL — Christine Fréchette is asking Quebecers for her first electoral mandate as premier, less than six months after taking over the Coalition Avenir Québec from party founder François Legault.

Fréchette, who became premier in April after winning the CAQ leadership race, has spent her first provincial campaign as leader emphasizing economic uncertainty and the trade dispute with the United States. She has also sought to position the CAQ as an alternative to another sovereignty referendum, while campaigning on affordability, health care and support for families and seniors.

Age: 56 years old

Hometown: Trois-Rivières, Que.

Early years: Fréchette was a member of the executive committee of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec in 1995 and 1996. The federation represented university students in the province. She later served on the board of the Conseil du statut de la femme, a Quebec government advisory body focused on women’s rights and gender equality, from 1996 to 2005. Between 2008 and 2012, she was featured as an expert on American politics for several broadcast media outlets in Quebec.

Before politics: Fréchette worked as director of external and institutional relations at Montréal International, an economic development agency that works to attract foreign investment, international organizations and talent to the Montreal region. She later served as president and CEO of the Chambre de commerce de l’Est de Montréal, a business organization representing companies in eastern Montreal.

Education: Fréchette holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, specializing in economics and international trade, from HEC Montréal, and a master’s degree in international relations from Université Laval.

Family: Her partner is financier Guy Nadeau; she has one son.

Political record: Fréchette was deputy chief of staff to former Parti Québécois minister Jean-François Lisée from 2012 to 2014. Years later, Fréchette was elected as the CAQ member for Sanguinet, a riding on Montreal’s South Shore in 2022 and served as immigration minister before being appointed economy and energy minister in September 2024, replacing Pierre Fitzgibbon. She oversaw major legislative changes on energy policy, adopted in June 2025.

Fréchette ran to succeed Legault as CAQ leader and defeated Bernard Drainville last April with 57.9 per cent of members’ votes, compared with 42.1 per cent for Drainville. She became Quebec’s 33rd premier and the second woman to hold the office, after Pauline Marois. As premier, Fréchette has made affordability a key short-term priority.

Riding: Trois-Rivières. Fréchette will run in her hometown riding in the Oct. 5 election. The riding was previously held by outgoing CAQ MNA Jean Boulet.

Quote: “My opponent is Donald Trump; he is the real opponent,” said Fréchette on Aug. 27, in Quebec City, adding, “I’m asking for a mandate to move forward through a storm.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2026.

The Canadian Press