Maïté Blanchette Vézina Quits CAQ and Calls for Legault’s Resignation
It was a political thunderclap at Quebec’s National Assembly. Maïté Blanchette Vézina, the MNA for Rimouski and former minister of Natural Resources and Forests, has officially left the Coalition Avenir Québec. She didn’t just walk away quietly — she made a bold and public call for Premier François Legault to step aside and begin preparing his succession.
Her decision came after being excluded from the cabinet during the recent shuffle, a move that seems to have been the breaking point. In a press conference, she explained that just like anyone would plan a retirement or an orderly succession, a leader must also know when to prepare the next generation to ensure continuity. In her words, it was time for the premier to reflect on this reality.
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Behind this dramatic exit lies months of frustration. Blanchette Vézina revealed that she had lost faith in Legault’s leadership, saying that his government no longer offers a clear, inspiring vision for Quebec. What troubled her most was the sense that the regions — the very areas that played a key role in the CAQ’s rise — were being neglected. She pointed out, for example, that the Gaspésie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions had no ministers representing them, despite the party holding every seat there.
Instead, the government’s focus was placed on high-profile projects in urban areas, like the third link highway and certain port expansions. According to her, these choices came at the expense of crucial regional priorities such as maritime service in eastern Quebec, improvements to regional air travel, and the long-awaited extension of Highway 20. She added that urgent issues like access to healthcare in remote areas and labor shortages were left behind.
Her criticisms went even further. She condemned the declining gender balance in cabinet, despite the presence of many capable women in the party. And when speaking about her own experience as minister, she admitted that her trust in Legault and his inner circle had already been broken during the contentious forestry reform, a file she felt she was manipulated into carrying. That reform sparked widespread backlash, even from the forestry industry itself, and left her politically isolated.
By leaving, Blanchette Vézina will now sit as an independent. She was quick to dismiss rumors of a mayoral run in Rimouski, affirming instead that she will finish her mandate and plans to run again in 2026. While she still believes in the idea of a “third way” in Quebec politics, like what the CAQ once represented, she made it clear that such a vision is no longer possible under François Legault’s leadership.
Her departure adds to the turbulence already shaking the CAQ. In recent weeks, other resignations and tensions have surfaced, leaving the premier with fewer allies and mounting questions about his future. For Blanchette Vézina, the message was unambiguous: the regions can no longer be treated as an afterthought, and change at the top is needed now.
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