Quebec Health Minister Dube may not seek another term

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube said it is not intention to run in the next provincial election, but that no official decision has been made yet. (Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press)

One of the Coalition Avenir Quebec’s (CAQ) most visible and vocal ministers may not be on the ballot in the next election.

Health Minister Christian Dube repeated to CTV News what he said on Radio-Canada’s Tout le Monde en Parle that he does not intend to run in the 2026 provincial election.

“The minister answered a question on TLMEP, being very honest as usual and saying that this was not his intention for the moment, that things can happen in two years, but that for the moment he is concentrating on getting things done in health,” his office said.

Dube was first elected as the MNA for Levis in 2012. He is currently the MNA for La Prarie and took over the health portfolio in 2020.

The minister said on the program that he is focusing on the upcoming negotiations with the Quebec medical specialists (FMSQ) and general practitioners (FMOQ).

Dube posted a 10-part series of images on X summarizing his intentions on the topic that involves luring 4,000 health-care professionals away from the private sector to the public and reduce the use of private agencies by 60 per cent.

The FMSQ said on Thursday that it wants the health ministry to put a moratorium on budget cuts in the network.

"It's not complicated. What we want is to get the facts right, and we want to make sure that there will be no impact on patients. We will never accept these cuts being made on the backs of patients," said FMSQ president, Dr. Vincent Oliva.

No official announcement on the health minister’s future has been made from Dube or his office.