After being greeted by a raucous crowd of supporters and protesters, the leaders of Quebec’s five major political parties dove into their third and final debate of the election campaign, hosted by Radio-Canada on Wednesday evening.
asserted
leaders → greet → evening
Here are five takeaways from a debate featuring Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette, Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard, Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime.
1.
asserted
takeaways → feature → Fréchette
The leaders discussed five major themes during Wednesday’s debate.
asserted
leaders → discuss → debate
But voters watching at home had to wait until the second hour to hear one of the evening’s most animated exchanges — during a segment about the future of Quebec.
asserted
voters → watch → Quebec
Ruba Ghazal promoted her plan to get Indigenous people and English-speaking Quebecers to buy into a campaign to make the province a country.
asserted
province → promote → campaign
This was the only mention of Quebec’s English-speaking population in the entire debate.
asserted
This → speak → debate
St-Pierre Plamondon quickly found himself on the defensive over his recent pledge to wait until after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House before triggering a referendum.
asserted
Trump → find → referendum
Milliard pressed St-Pierre Plamondon on whether this delay was an admission a referendum would weaken Quebec — a theory, the PQ leader dismissed.
asserted
leader → press → Quebec
“It’s proof that we are living a very unusual moment with the Americans that is unacceptable on the part of the Trump administration,” St-Pierre Plamondon said in French.
asserted
Plamondon → ’ → French
“It’s not a serene climate (while Trump is president) to reflect on our future.”
asserted
Trump → ’ → future
The PQ leader has pledged to spend $130 million in government to organize a referendum.
asserted
leader → pledge → referendum
This would include money for a roving commission to hold consultations on the issue in the years leading up to a vote after January 2029.
asserted
commission → include → January
Milliard said his rivals all support sovereignty or would have supported it in the past and argued his party was the only federalist option.
asserted
party → say → past
Fréchette and Duhaime have said Quebecers are not interested in a referendum.
2.
asserted
Quebecers → say → referendum
Fréchette found herself on the defensive early in the debate after being challenged by her rivals from the Liberals and Parti Québécois about broken health-care promises and long wait times in hospitals after her party’s eight years in government.
asserted
Fréchette → find → government
Milliard said Quebecers had been betrayed by the Coalition Avenir Québec’s promises to reduce emergency room wait times and ensure every Quebecer had a doctor.
asserted
Quebecer → say → doctor
St-Pierre Plamondon agreed, saying the latter promise was “disrespectful of people’s intelligence.”
asserted
promise → agree → intelligence
Fréchette acknowledged there was still work to do, but said her party had made improvements, including in increasing the number of surgeries performed and signing up hundreds of thousands of Quebecers for groups of family doctors.
asserted
party → acknowledge → doctors
St-Pierre Plamondon talked a lot.
asserted
Plamondon → talk → ?
Radio-Canada tracked how long each leader spoke during the debate.
asserted
leader → track → debate
By the end of the evening, the moderator, Radio-Canada journalist Patrice Roy, allowed the PQ leader to speak for nearly 24 minutes, while the Liberal and Conservative leaders got less than 18 minutes of airtime to talk about their policies and ideas.
asserted
leaders → allow → policies
Québec solidaire’s Ghazal spoke for a little more than 20 minutes, while Fréchette spoke for close to 21 minutes.
4.
asserted
Fréchette → speak → minutes
The baby that shook the campaign landed in debate.
asserted
that → shake → debate
A baby found at a homeless encampment in east Montreal in mid-September became the topic of one of the opening segments of the debate.
asserted
baby → find → debate
Police say the discovery triggered an investigation and the intervention of social services and youth protection workers.
asserted
discovery → say → services
The story has brought the plight of unhoused people and affordability issues to the forefront of the Quebec campaign, with the leaders expressing shock and pledging to address them.
asserted
leaders → bring → them
Each leader was asked about the incident and had a few seconds to respond before moving on to the next topic.
asserted
leader → ask → topic
Political analysts have said Quebec voters are fragmented in a tight race that could lead to a minority government when ballots are cast Oct. 5.
uncertain
ballots → say → government
That dynamic was evident on stage as each leader tried to make their points, with multiple voices in the background.
asserted
leader → try → background
There was limited opportunity for anyone to take specific aim at a rival before others interrupted or tried to change the topic.
asserted
others → be → topic
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2026
asserted
report → publish → Press
The Aporia
