Duhaime says new Conservative MNAs will make mistakes

Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime said Thursday that Quebecers should expect his newly elected members to make some mistakes, as his 19-member caucus was sworn in at the National Assembly in Quebec City on Oct. 22, 2026.

The swearing-in marks the first time Quebec Conservatives have sat in the legislature since a previous version of the party held seats in 1935, The Canadian Press reported. The party had no seats before the Oct. 5 election.

The Conservatives won 19 seats with close to 21 per cent of the vote, making them the second-largest opposition caucus. Because the Parti Québécois governs with a minority of 60 of the 127 seats, the Conservatives hold part of the balance of power in the new legislature.

Most of the new Conservative members are newcomers, and several have already caused confusion and controversy since the election, according to The Canadian Press. The party’s new whip, Renaud Labrecque, has called on his colleagues to show greater discipline.

Only two members of the caucus have sat in the legislature before: Maïté Blanchette Vézina, a former Coalition Avenir Québec member who joined the Conservatives in 2025, and Caroline Simard, who was a Liberal member of the national assembly from 2014 to 2018.

During the ceremony, Duhaime made a direct appeal to English-speaking Quebecers, presenting his party as an alternative to the Quebec Liberals.

“They’ve been taking you for granted for ages. You don’t need to be hostages of those Liberals anymore,” Duhaime said. “They don’t deserve your support. Our doors are open at the Conservative Party of Quebec, and we’re welcoming you for the next blue wave.”

The new legislature takes shape after the Parti Québécois cabinet was sworn in on Oct. 21, following the swearing-in of 59 PQ members the week before. A judicial recount in Vachon has since handed the PQ a 60th seat by three votes.

The Coalition Avenir Québec, which had governed the province since 2018, was shut out of the National Assembly in the election.

With no single party able to pass legislation alone, how the Conservatives vote on the PQ government’s early bills will be closely watched when the legislature sits.

Via The Canadian Press.

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