MONTREAL -- Quebec party leaders are making various promises to boost shipping, forestry and the birthrate as the provincial election campaign ramps up for its final two-week stretch.
Coalition Avenir Quebec Leader Christine Frechette is unveiling a maritime strategy that would furnish $300 million in investments for port infrastructure and the St. Lawrence River, as well as $90 million for the shipbuilding industry.
Liberal Leader Charles Milliard, speaking near the shores of Lac Saint-Jean in northern Quebec, says he would reform the province's forestry regime after a volatile decade for the sector.
Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is pledging to shore up the province's human resources by way of a higher birthrate -- currently near historic lows -- as he rolls out plans for a baby bonus of $700 for a family's third and fourth children.
The PQ leader also pushed back Sunday against Frechette's assertion that Quebecers are warming up to fracking, citing a party-commissioned poll that found two-thirds of respondents would not want shale gas wells near their homes.
Meanwhile, Quebec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal is promising to regulate the real estate industry by ending so-called blind bidding and capping brokers' commissions.
Quebecers head to the polls for an election on Oct. 5.
This report by was first published Sept. 20, 2026.