François Legault

After his 1998 election, Legault was appointed by Lucien Bouchard as minister for industry and commerce. He was later named the minister of education.

When Bouchard resigned, Legault supported Bernard Landry.

Landry appointed Legault as minister of education and later as minister of health and social services. He was re-elected in 2003 while the PQ lost to the Quebec Liberal Party. He remained on the PQ front bench as the critic for economics, economic development, and finances.

Legault endorsed Richard Legendre in the 2005 PQ leadership election, which was won by André Boisclair. After his re-election in 2007, Legault was renamed the PQ critic for economic development and finances.

Legault was re-elected in the 2008 election but announced on June 25, 2009, that would retire from politics.[8][9] He was seen by some political analysts at the time as a potential contender in a future leadership election.[10] However, some Liberals thought that he could replace Jean Charest, then premier.[11]

In February 2011, Legault co-founded with Charles Sirois a new political movement called the "Coalition pour l'avenir du Québec" ("Coalition for the Future of Quebec").[12][13] In November 2011 it became an official party under the name Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ).[14] The CAQ aims to bring together like-minded voters in a single party regardless of their views on Quebec nationalism, Quebec federalism and Quebec autonomism. In a break with his sovereigntist past, Legault promised that a CAQ government would never hold a referendum on sovereignty.[15] Soon after retiring from politics, he became disenchanted with sovereigntism and resigned from the PQ.[16] He concluded that Quebec belongs within Canada but has vowed that a CAQ government would "explore all options" to defend Quebec's interests and demand greater power.[17]

The party finished third in the 2012 general election, winning 19 seats and 27.05 percent of the vote.[18] In the 2014 general election, the CAQ finished third again, but increased their seat count to 22.[19][20]

In the 2018 general election on October 1, Legault led the CAQ to a gain of 53 seats for a total of 74, vaulting the CAQ from third place to a majority of 11 and making Legault the premier of Quebec.[21] He is the first premier in 48 years to not hail from the Liberals or Parti Québécois.

Legault led the CAQ again in the 2022 general election to a second straight majority. Legault gained 14 seats in the election, expanding his caucus.[22]

Having run on the platform during the 2018 election, on March 28, 2019, the Quebec government tabled its long-awaited secularism bill. Bill 21, entitled "An Act respecting the laicity of the State", if made law, would ban public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. This would include any public employee who carries a weapon, including police officers, courthouse constables, bodyguards, prison guards and wildlife officers, as well as Crown prosecutors, government lawyers and judges, school principals, vice-principals and teachers.[24] The bill invoked notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to prevent it from being overturned by the courts.[25]

The bill passed on June 17 by a 73–35 vote, with backing of the Parti Québécois while the Liberals and Quebec Solidaire were opposed. The Coalition Avenir Quebec government also introduced a last-minute amendment toughening the law, making provisions for a minister to verify that it is being obeyed and to demand corrective measures if necessary.[26][27]

Under Legault CAQ government, he has decreased immigration numbers to 40,000 in 2019, and he has also in 2019 introduced a values test for immigrants.[28]

In 2019, during a European Trip to France, Legault said he wants more French and other European immigrants to come to Quebec with the overall immigration numbers cut.[29]

In August 2019, Legault said to businesses that they need to boost wages if they want to find workers. this came after some business called for immigration increase.[30][31][32]

In December 2019, during a meeting with Governor of California Gavin Newsom, Legault declared that all French-Canadians are Catholic.[33][34]

In June 2022, Legault stated he was against multiculturalism, in favor of supporting interculturalism and integration, which would include immigrants assimilating into Quebec and learning French.[35][36][37]

In May 2022, The CAQ government of Legault passed Bill 96, with 78 MNAs in favour (from the CAQ and Québec solidaire) and 29 against (from the Liberal Party and Parti Québécois).[38] The bill strengthens the 1970s Charter of the French Language bill.

In that same year Legault caused some controversy when he stated that Quebec risked losing French as an official language if Quebec doesn't have more control over immigration policy. He compared it to the U.S. state of Louisiana which once spoke French as a majority.[39][40][41]

Legault apologized to First Nations and Inuit in October 2019 for discrimination they suffered in dealing with the state, noting the Government of Quebec had failed in its duty to them. He acknowledged that apologies are but a first step, and more work needs to be done to break down barriers and rectify long-standing problems.[42]

During the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, Legault organized daily press conferences with Director of Public Health Horacio Arruda and Minister of Health Danielle McCann, starting March 12, to encourage the population to stay home and keep hygiene measures that allegedly would help suppress spread of the virus. In May, Canada's chief science adviser, Mona Nemer, criticized Quebec for its lack of testing and tracing strategy.[43]

Legault during the opening ceremony of the COP15 in Montreal (2022)

In November 2020, Legault announced the government's plan to tackle climate change, which would involve a ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles from 2035 (commercial vehicles and second-hand cars would be exempt). Some experts have said that rather than focusing on electric vehicles, more funds should be committed to public transit and climate change mitigation.[44]

The Legault government passed Bill 40 on February 8, 2020.[45] This expropriated the province's 60 French school boards, turning them into school service centres.[46]

Bill 40 was passed to expropriate school boards that have been running in English style for 175 years.[46] This did not include nine English school boards. But the move is seen as further undermining English-language education in the province.[45]

In April 2022, following a controversy over academic freedom at the University of Ottawa, the Legault government tabled Bill 32, a bill on Academic freedom in universities.[47][48] The bill passed in June 2022.[49]

Legault and his government has promoted a buy local campaign. His government in early 2020 formed an online directory of local Quebec retailers in a website called Le Panier Bleu — or Blue Basket. The aim of Le Panier Bleu is to be a local version and a competitor to Amazon to sell Quebec products.[50][51] As early as November 2019 Legault supported calls for the creation of a Quebec version of Amazon, which his economy minister described as a way to serve nationalist customers.[52][53]