PQ leads in Quebec voting intentions as CAQ loses more support: poll

Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon questions the government on immigration during question period, Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the legislature in Quebec City. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

The Parti Québécois (PQ) has grown its lead in voter intentions among Quebecers while the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has lost more support, according to a new poll.

The Léger/Quebecor poll released Wednesday shows that, if an election were to be held now, 35 per cent of Quebec voters would choose Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's PQ, which is an increase of three points since Oct. 8.

The future doesn't look as bright for Premier François Legault's party, however. The poll suggests that the CAQ would only get 24 per cent of the vote, a decrease of three points.

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Meanwhile, the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) remained stable at 17 per cent. Québec solidaire, co-led by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, was down by one percentage point at 13 per cent.

The Quebec Conservative Party came last at 11 per cent (down one point).

"It should also be noted that satisfaction with the Legault government has fallen by 6 points since last October" at 32 per cent, according to the poll.

Rodriguez has clear lead in Quebec Liberal leadership race, poll says

The Léger/Quebecor poll also surveyed Quebecers' interest in the PLQ's leadership race.

As of now, Pablo Rodriguez remains the preferred candidate. The longtime federal minister stepped down in September to run for the leadership spot.

The Léger/Quebecor poll found that he is the top candidate among the general population (25 per cent) and among Liberal voters in Quebec (28 per cent).

Coming in second in the leadership race is former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre, who has 11 per cent support among the general public and 13 per cent support among Liberal Quebec voters.

Far behind them are Marc Bélanger, Charles Milliard and Frédéric Beauchemin, with 4 per cent, 4 per cent, and 1 per cent support, respectively, among Quebec Liberal voters, according to the poll.

If Rodriguez were leader of the PLQ today, the party would win 26 per cent of the vote, putting him nine points ahead of the party's interim leader, Marc Tanguay. Meanwhile, Coderre would get 20 per cent of the vote if he were leader, a three-point lead ahead of Tanguay.

The Quebec Liberal leadership race will begin in January 2025, with the party choosing a leader in the summer of that year.

The Léger/Quebecor poll was conducted online between Nov. 8 and 11 and received responses from 1,010 eligible voters in Quebec who spoke either English or French. The poll says the maximum margin of error for a survey of this size is ± 3.08 per cent, 19 times out of 20.