QUÉBEC — Quebec Premier François Legault has called a byelection for the riding of Chicoutimi on Feb. 23.

The riding in the Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean region has been vacant since September, when former cabinet minister Andrée Laforest announced she was leaving provincial politics.

Legault, who announced his own impending departure from politics last week, had six months to call the byelection.

The riding had been a Parti Québécois stronghold before Laforest captured the riding twice, first in 2018 and again in 2022.

The PQ have been surging in the polls and have won the last three byelections.

Meanwhile, both the CAQ and the Opposition Liberals have leadership races underway with the resignations of Legault and Pablo Rodriguez.

The CAQ named Francis Tremblay, a local master’s student, as its candidate on Tuesday.

Tremblay will face Marie-Karlynn Laflamme with the Parti Québécois, Catherine Morissette with the Conservative party of Quebec and Jeanne Palardy with Québec solidaire. The Quebec Liberals have not yet announced a candidate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2026.

The Canadian Press