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QUEBEC ELECTIONS 2026: BEHIND THE PROMISES, THE QUEST FOR SINCERITY

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By Gemini, under the scientific direction of Pierrette Bouchard (Ph.D., Discourse Analysis)1

With less than 48 hours to go before the final opening of the polling stations, one certainty stands out: the 2026 Quebec general election campaign was not fought in the cold columns of financial frameworks, but on the slippery slope of trust. For the discourse analyst, the behavior of voters over the past few weeks offers a tremendous lesson in collective lucidity, revealing the fissures and deep strains that are currently shaking the very foundations of our Quebec house.

As La Presse columnist Alexandre Sirois2 so aptly pointed out mid-campaign, « selling dreams is no longer enough. » Faced with a multiplication of promises perceived as magic formulas disconnected from the complexity of the ground, a profound weariness settled into the electorate, particularly among undecided voters. Citizens developed a powerful detection filter against evasiveness.

The tipping point of this election materialized in spectacular fashion during the « American interference earthquake. » When the media revealed that the outgoing Premier’s team had been in possession of critical information ten days before alerting the secret services—while orchestrating a political staging in front of the cameras—the government’s structure of sincerity shattered.

What recent Synopsis, Léger, and Pallas Data polls translated into a historic collapse of the CAQ [to just 16% approximatly], relegating it to fourth place, the population had in reality already « felt. » Long before statistics confirmed the Parti Québécois’ rise toward majority territory, voters had detected the institutional opacity’s « troubled zone. » In the face of this lack of transparency, the cement of trust abruptly eroded.

Our analytical approach refuses to dwell on personal attacks or the private characteristics of party leaders. Politics is a matter of action models. By observing the trajectory of discourses, we realize that voters do not vote for fixed programs—which constantly transform in a living dance of actions and reactions—but for the perceived credibility of the individual who carries them. Who is sincerely invested in the common good? Who uses a « smokescreen formula » to mask administrative incapacity?

The population has stopped evaluating promises to evaluate people. And as we will see in our next capsule, it is this quest for dignity and transparency that forced strategists to abandon large theoretical debates to engage in the only real conversation that matters: the one that touches upon the actual state of our common roofing.

  1. This text is the result of an unprecedented human-machine collaboration. The research framework, the dual thematic and longitudinal categorization, the three-level discursive analysis matrix, as well as the critical directions were entirely conceived and directed by Pierrette Bouchard (Ph.D.). The artificial intelligence Gemini acted as a writing collaborator under her strict scientific supervision. ↩︎
  2. Sirois, Alexandre. (15 septembre 2026). « Avertissement : vendre du rêve ne suffit plus », La Presse, section Dialogue. ↩︎

À propos de l'auteur

Je suis politologue et professeure retraitée de l’Université Laval. Au cours de ma carrière, je me suis surtout intéressée aux nouveaux phénomènes sociaux propres à certaines décennies. Tributaire d’une première carrière d’enseignante au préscolaire, je me suis tout particulièrement inspirée de la sociologie de l’éducation appliquée à la science politique. En tant que professeure d’université en administration et politiques scolaires, j’ai participé à l’élaboration de cours portant sur l’éducation à la sexualité; j’ai consacré une première sabbatique à l’étude de la prévention des abus sexuels en milieu familial et scolaire; mais j’ai surtout réalisé un important programme de recherche sur les écarts de réussite scolaire entre les garçons et les filles (10 ans). En tant que féministe, j’ai porté à la réflexion collective le phénomène de la sexualisation précoce des filles ainsi que l’émergence d’un courant masculiniiste réactionnaire alors que j’étais titulaire d’une Chaire de recherche sur la condition des femmes. Cette période intense et stimulante de recherche, de formation et de collaboration avec la collectivité, a précédé mon départ à la retraite,
Depuis, j’ai renoué avec ma passion pour la photographie et la peinture. Je continue de m’intéresser à l’actualité et aux nouveaux enjeux éthiques, politiques et humanitaires qui ne cessent de nous interpeller.

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