Party slogan: “We give you Legault”
The Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) was founded in 2011 by businessman Charles Sirois and former Parti Québécois cabinet minister François Legault, who currently serves as the party leader.
Live coverage of the 2014 Quebec election
The CAQ is considered a centre-right party and self-identifies as conservative on economic issues, but liberal when it comes to social concerns.
The party was formed after it merged with members of the Action Démocratique du Québec (ADQ) and the Parti Québécois, giving it nine sitting members in the National Assembly.
Officially, the party is neither for nor anti-sovereignty, as it has called for a ten-year moratorium on any referendum.
The CAQ claims to bring together like-minded voters, regardless of their views on Quebec nationalism.
After the 2012 provincial elections, the Coalition Avenir Quebec held 18 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly.
The Coalition Avenir Quebec focuses mainly on entrepreneurial development, increasing jobs in the labour division and reducing family taxes.
The party also aims to invest in education and the partial decentralization of the healthcare system while supporting Quebec nationalism (but not independence) by promoting the increased use of the French language.
Check out the Coalition Avenir Québec’s full platform here.
Party leader: François Legault
Leader of the Coalition Avenir Quebec, François Legault co-founded Air Transat in 1986, and was the company’s president and director general until 1997.
Politically, he was the Parti Quebecois member of the National Assembly in the riding of Rousseau from 1998 to 2009.
He served as Minister of Education from 1998-2002, and then as Minister of Health from 2002-2003.
Legault resigned in 2009, but was re-elected in l’Assomption in 2012 with his new party, the CAQ.
In the 2014 provincial elections, Legault is seeking re-election in l’Assomption.
Key riding to watch:
The Quebec City riding of Charlesbourg is notorious for switching between parties.
Although the Coaliton Avenir Quebec doesn’t have many star candidates in the 2014 provincial election, they currently hold the swing riding that could be essential for a possible Parti Quebecois majority.
With CAQ MNA Denise Trudel running for a second term, it will be interesting to see if Charlesbourg remains as unfaithful to the CAQ as it has been to the Liberals and the PQ in the past.
Watch: Charlesbourg: a swing riding to watch
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