Legault’s Annus Horribilis

From beloved to reviled, François Legault's struggles can be traced back to a stretch of six months in 2023 when everything fell apart of the once-mighty CAQ.

Radio-Canada journalist and radio host Alec Castonguay published an interesting column this morning about the six months, in 2023, that catalyzed the CAQ’s spectacular collapse in public opinion.

He points to several key events from that year that set off what would become an irreversible slide, notably the announcement that the Quebec–Lévis third-link project was being abandoned, the CAQ’s defeat in the Jean-Talon by-election (in Quebec City), and the subsidy granted to the Los Angeles Kings for pre-season games in Quebec City—all while the provincial deficit was ballooning and negotiations with the public sector were dragging on.

Below are the 2023 polls, overlaid with the timeline of those events.