Quebec.

• Author: Labbe, Stephanie
• Position: Legislative Reports

Proceedings of the National Assembly

General election and recognition of parliamentary groups forming the Second and Third Opposition

Following the general election of October 1, 2018, the new composition of the Assembly was as follows: Coalition Avenir Quebec, 74 Members; Quebec Liberal Party, 31 Members; Parti Quebecois, 10 Members; and Quebec Solidaire, 10 Members. The Coalition Avenir Quebec thus forms the Government for the first time since its founding. Among the 125 elected representatives, there were, at that date, 71 new Members, including 66 for whom it was the first term of office.

Given the election results, discussions were held between the political parties represented in the Assembly to reach an agreement notably on the concept of parliamentary group. In accordance with the criteria set out in the Standing Orders of the National Assembly, that is, to have had twelve or more Members returned to the Assembly or to have received 20 per cent or more of the popular vote in the most recent general election, only Coalition Avenir Quebec and the Quebec Liberal Party had parliamentary group status.

Thus, at the conclusion of discussions, the parties agreed, among other things, that for the duration of the 42nd Legislature, the Parti Quebecois and Quebec Solidaire would be recognized as the Second Opposition Group and the Third Opposition Group respectively. The Parti Quebecois and Quebec Solidaire each had 10 Members elected and received 17.06 per cent and 16.10 per cent of the popular vote respectively. Since both have the same number of Members, the difference in the percentage of votes received was considered to establish which of the two parties would be recognized as the Second and Third Opposition Group. Temporary amendments to the Standing Orders and the Rules for the Conduct of Proceedings of the National Assembly were approved on November 29, 2018, by a motion carried in the House. The National Assembly now has, for the duration of the 42nd Legislature, three opposition groups, namely: the group forming the Official Opposition (Quebec Liberal Party), the Second Opposition Group (Parti Quebecois) and the Third Opposition Group (Quebec Solidaire).

Change in the composition of the Assembly and parliamentary and ministerial offices

On October 18, 2018, the new Premier of Quebec, Francois Legault (L'Assomption), unveiled his gender-balanced 26-member Cabinet. The offices of House Leader and Chief Government Whip were assigned respectively to Simon Jolin-Barrette (Borduas) and Eric Lefebvre (Arthabaska).

Following the general election, outgoing Premier Philippe Couillard (Roberval) announced his retirement from politics; his resignation as MNA took effect on October 9,2018. On October 18,2018, the Quebec Liberal Party caucus appointed Pierre Arcand (Mont-Royal-Outremont) as Leader of the Official Opposition. He in turn appointed Sebastien Proulx (Jean-Talon) and Nicole Menard (Laporte) as Official Opposition House Leader and Chief Official Opposition Whip respectively.

Following the agreement on the recognition of parliamentary groups, Pascal Berube (MataneMatapedia) and Martin Ouellet (Rene-Levesque) were appointed as Leader and House Leader of the Second Opposition Group respectively, while Manon Masse (Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques) and Gabriel NadeauDubois (Gouin) were, for their part, named Leader and House Leader of the Third Opposition Group.

Moreover, Guy Ouellette (Chomedey) ceased to be a member of the caucus of the parliamentary group forming the Official Opposition on October 5, 2018. He now sits as an independent Member.

Also, the by-election held on December 10...