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Christine Frechette has been sworn into office as Quebec's second female premier

  • The Canadian Press

  • Canadian Press

  • April 15, 2026

Christine Frechette, newly elected Coalition Avenir Quebec leader and Quebec premier, speaks at a news conference in Quebec City, on Monday, April 13, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

QUEBEC -- Christine Frechette has officially been sworn in as Quebec's premier, the second woman to hold the job in the province's history.

In a speech at the legislature, Frechette promised to focus on growing Quebec's economy and to govern as a nationalist.

The 55-year-old follows in the footsteps of the Parti Quebecois' Pauline Marois who was Quebec's first female premier from 2012 to 2014.

Frechette, who positioned herself as a centrist economic candidate, defeated Bernard Drainville in the race to replace Francois Legault, who created the Coalition Avenir Quebec in 2011 and had been premier since 2018.

The new premier says she will name a cabinet next week and intends to make at least one announcement in the coming days related to the cost of living.

She now faces the task of boosting the fortunes of the CAQ, which is polling behind the Liberals, the PQ and the Conservatives ahead of the Oct. 5 election.

First elected in 2022 in the Sanguinet riding south of Montreal, Frechette held the economy and immigration portfolios in Legault's cabinet.

This report by was first published April 15, 2026.