Since mid-September, support has dropped markedly for both the governing party and leader Christine Fréchette.
Vancouver, BC [October 4, 2026] – The Parti Québécois (PQ) heads to tomorrow’s provincial election in Quebec as the frontrunner, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative sample of Quebecers, 31% of decided voters would vote for the PQ candidate in their constituency or have already done so in the advance polls, up three points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in mid-September.
The Liberal Party of Quebec is second with 25% (+3), followed by the Conservative Party of Quebec with 20% (+4), the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) with 13% (-10) and Québec solidaire with 10% (=).
The Liberals are ahead of the PQ in the Montreal Metropolitan Area (34% to 27%), while the Conservatives are leading the PQ in Quebec City (36% to 31%). The PQ holds the upper hand in the rest of the province (35%).
“Quebec’s oldest voters are abandoning the CAQ,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The proportion of voters aged 55 and over who plan to vote for the governing party fell from 36% in mid-September to 21% in early October.”
The approval rating for Premier and Coalition Avenir Québec leader Christine Fréchette dropped to 30% (-14). There is improvement in the final stages of the campaign for Liberal leader Charles Millard (41%, +4), Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal (40%, +6) and Conservative leader Éric Duhaime (39%, +8). The numbers did not change for PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (45%, =).
Just over one-in-four likely voters in Quebec (26%, +5) think Plamondon would make the best Premier of Quebec out of the five party leaders. The rating is lower for Millard (19%, +8), Duhaime (15%, +4), Fréchette (14%, -11) and Ghazal (8%, +1).
Fréchette posts a momentum score of -39, with almost half of likely voters (47%) saying their opinion of her has worsened since the start of the campaign. The results are better for Plamondon (-10), Duhaime (-5), Milliard (-3) and Ghazal (+2).
Three-in-ten likely voters in Quebec (30%, +2) say health care is the most important issue facing the province, followed by housing, poverty and homelessness (22%, -6), the economy and jobs (20%, +3), education (5%, +2), government accountability (4%, -1) and the environment (also 4%, +1).
When asked which of the five party leaders is best suited to manage specific issues, Plamondon holds the upper hand on national unity and separation (30%), government accountability (25%), health care (21%) and education (also 21%).
The races are closer on five other issues, including the environment (Plamondon 19%, Ghazal 19%), housing, poverty and homelessness (Plamondon 19%, Ghazal 19%), the economy and jobs (Plamondon 22%, Milliard 21%), crime and public safety (Plamondon 20%, Duhaime18%) and energy and pipelines (Duhaime, Plamondon and Milliard all tied with 18%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from October 2 to October 4, 2026, among 708 likely voters in Quebec, including 658 decided voters in the 2026 provincial election. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.7 percentage points for the entire sample and +/- 3.9 percentage points for the sample of decided voters, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca