Quebec: outgoing CAQ minister is dropped from cabinet for attending the PQ victory party. A tribunal sets aside the CAQ's strike-limit law
Mathieu Lacombe, the outgoing culture minister, was removed from the Council of Ministers after attending the Parti Québécois election-night party, according to Radio-Canada, TVA Nouvelles, Le Journal de Montréal and Le Devoir. TVA reported that he lost his limousine, and he has apologised. Radio-Canada reported a first "constructive" call between PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Prime Minister Mark Carney, and that a tribunal declared the CAQ's Law 14 on strikes inoperative in a case involving a daycare. The PQ holds 59 of 127 seats, as earlier editions reported, and needs 64 for a majority.
A minority government depends on opposition votes, so early signals about tone and cooperation matter. The strike ruling, if it spreads beyond one case, could limit a law that unions fought.
Parents using subsidized daycare and public-sector workers are the ones most likely to feel the strike ruling. Everyone else will see the effects through the budget and any federal-provincial agreements.
The PQ has a mandate and a cordial federal call is a good start for a new government.
Rulings against government labour law and a minority position leave the incoming team with little room to act alone.
We have only Radio-Canada for the strike ruling and the Carney call. Watch whether the CAQ appeals, and which party commits to PQ budget votes.
DailyDrop Canada edition No. 6 · Morning · SAT., OCT. 10, 2026