Energy reform in the spotlight as Quebec legislature returns for fall session

As the fall session of Quebec's legislature kicks off this week, Premier Francois Legault will have to fend off claims his government is past its best-before date, even as he works to shepherd a pivotal energy bill into law.

The bill would make sweeping changes to the operations of Hydro-Québec and how electricity rates are fixed. It is part of an attempt to double the public utility's capacity to help the province become carbon neutral by 2050.

Former economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon tabled Bill 69 in June but stepped down last week citing a loss of motivation. Now, public hearings for the bill begin as Christine Fréchette, the former immigration minister, takes over Fitzgibbon's portfolios.

Premier François Legault says energy, immigration and health care will be his priorities this session. But the beginning of the fall session will be dominated by the energy bill, which "significantly transforms the mission of Hydro-Québec and Quebec's entire energy outlook for years and decades to come," said David Heurtel, political analyst and former Liberal minister.

Fitzgibbon, known for being a straight shooter, recently told reporters there will be "significant increases" in the province's electricity rates in the next five to 10 years.

Legault, however, has continued to insist that residential rates will not increase by more than three per cent per year while he is premier, though he has said commercial rates could rise.

The issue will likely "turn into some sort of vast debate on the future of energy production" in a province that prides itself on having some of the cheapest electricity rates in North America, Heurtel said.

Opposition Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy has called on the government to withdraw the bill rather than proceed under a minister "who's been sworn in for two-and-a-quarter minutes."

Byelection in Terrebonne

Both the Liberals and the sovereignist Parti Québécois tried to make hay with Fitzgibbon's departure.

PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon boarded a campaign-style bus with his caucus to drive the 600 kilometres from their retreat in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., to Fitzgibbon's riding of Terrebonne, northeast of Montreal, where Legault will have to call a byelection in the next six months.

The riding was a PQ stronghold before Fitzgibbon's victory in 2018, and St-Pierre Plamondon, sensing a potential victory, is urging Legault to call the byelection sooner rather than later.

"We are ready and very motivated," he said Thursday.

The PQ has been leading in the polls for months, despite having just four elected members. Still, the next election isn't scheduled until October 2026.

"It's an enormous challenge for the PQ to keep up the momentum for another two years," said Antonine Yaccarini, a political analyst and former PQ and CAQ staffer.

The Liberals, meanwhile, are looking to a leadership contest to inject new life into a party that has struggled for years to find direction. Despite forming the Official Opposition, the party is currently trailing the CAQ and the PQ in the polls, with little support from young people or francophone voters.

Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez seems poised to launch a bid for the Quebec Liberal leadership, which will be decided next June. Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre and Charles Milliard, former president of the Quebec federation of chambers of commerce, have already said they're running for the job.

A dynamic leadership race could turn things around for the Liberals, Yaccarini said, adding that the CAQ and the PQ "can't take anything for granted as long as they don't know who will be the Liberal leader."

The left-wing Quebec Solidaire is likewise trying to chart a path forward after a period of inner turmoil during which one of the party's two spokespeople resigned in April — just a few months after being elected.

Spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has since pushed the party to modernize and take a more pragmatic approach with the hope of one day forming government. The party, which typically has one male and one female spokesperson, will select its next female leader in November.