Mathieu Lévesque named interim leader of the Coalition avenir Québec, a party with no seats in the National Assembly
The Coalition avenir Québec named Mathieu Lévesque interim leader over the weekend, Radio-Canada, La Presse and Les Affaires reported. Radio-Canada said he will earn $200,000 a year, paid by the party. He was the member for Chapleau from 2018 and lost the seat on 5 October. He was briefly minister responsible for youth and minister delegate for the regions, La Presse reported. Christine Fréchette resigned on 6 October, the day after the party elected no members, The Globe and Mail and CTV News reported. La Presse reported Lévesque called the CAQ the real third way and called for an internal review. Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the premier-designate, congratulated him, Radio-Canada reported.
A party without a seat in the National Assembly has no parliamentary platform, so its leader and its internal review are the only ways it can stay visible. The choice of a defeated minister signals the party wants continuity while it decides on a permanent leader.
If you follow Quebec politics, the CAQ now has no voice in the Assembly, so debates there will be between the Parti Québécois government, the Liberals and other opposition parties.
Party figures such as former premier François Legault and Fréchette praised the choice, saying Lévesque embodies the party's future and is the right person to lead it through a rebuilding period.
Observers could note that the party's collapse leaves it with no members, and that an interim leader without a seat cannot question the government in the Assembly. Critics of the CAQ see the choice as an attempt to manage decline rather than answer why voters left.
Confirmed: Lévesque is interim leader, Fréchette resigned and the CAQ has no seat. Not confirmed: how long he will serve or when a leadership race will start. Watch for a timetable for a leadership vote and whether the party names a spokesperson in the Assembly.
DailyDrop Canada edition No. 15 · Morning · MON., OCT. 19, 2026