Global InformationList of leaders of the Official Opposition of Quebec information
This is a list of the leaders of the opposition party of Quebec, Canada since Confederation (1867).
Note that the leader of the Opposition is not always the leader of the political party with the second-largest number of seats, in cases where the leader of that party does not have a seat.
There was no Leader of the Official Opposition until March 1869, when the government's second budget was introduced.
| Name | Electoral district (Region) |
Took office | Left office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière | Lotbinière (Chaudière-Appalaches) |
1869 | 1878 | Liberal | |
| Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau | Terrebonne (Lanaudière) |
1878 | 1879 | Conservative | |
| Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière | Lotbinière (Chaudière-Appalaches) |
1879 | 1883 | Liberal | |
| Honoré Mercier | Saint-Hyacinthe (Montérégie) |
1883 | 1887 | Liberal[1] | |
| Louis-Olivier Taillon | Montcalm (Lanaudière) |
1887 | 1890 | Conservative | |
| Jean Blanchet | Beauce (Chaudière-Appalaches) |
1890 | 1891 | Conservative | |
| Félix-Gabriel Marchand | Saint-Jean (Montérégie) |
1892 | 1897 | Liberal | |
| Edmund James Flynn | Gaspé (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine) until 1900 Nicolet (Centre-du-Québec) after 1900 |
1897 | 1904 | Conservative | |
| Pierre-Évariste Leblanc[2] | Laval (Laval) |
1905 | 1908 | Conservative | |
| Joseph-Mathias Tellier | Joliette (Lanaudière) |
1908 | 1915 | Conservative | |
| Philémon Cousineau[3] | Jacques-Cartier (Montreal) |
1915 | 1916 | Conservative | |
| Arthur Sauvé | Deux-Montagnes (Laurentides) |
1916 | 1929 | Conservative | |
| Camillien Houde | Montréal-Sainte-Marie (Montreal) |
1929 | 1931 | Conservative | |
| Charles Ernest Gault[4] | Montréal-Saint-Georges (Montreal) |
1931 | 1932 | Conservative | |
| Maurice Duplessis | Trois-Rivières (Mauricie) |
1932 | 1936 | Conservative[5] | |
| Télesphore-Damien Bouchard[6] | Saint-Hyacinthe (Montérégie) |
1936 | 1939 | Liberal | |
| Maurice Duplessis | Trois-Rivières (Mauricie) |
1939 | 1944 | Union Nationale | |
| Adélard Godbout | L'Islet (Chaudière-Appalaches) |
1944 | 1948 | Liberal | |
| George Carlyle Marler[7] | Westmount-Saint-Georges (Montreal) |
1948 | 1953 | Liberal | |
| Georges-Émile Lapalme[8] | Montréal-Outremont (Montreal) |
1953 | 1960 | Liberal | |
| Yves Prévost[9] | Montmorency (Québec) |
1960 | 1961 | Union Nationale | |
| Antonio Talbot[10] | Chicoutimi (Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean) |
1961 | 1961 | Union Nationale | |
| Daniel Johnson, Sr. | Bagot (Montérégie) |
1961 | 1966 | Union Nationale | |
| Jean Lesage | Louis-Hébert (Québec) |
1966 | 1970 | Liberal | |
| Robert Bourassa | Mercier (Montreal) |
1970 | 1970 | Liberal | |
| Jean-Jacques Bertrand | Missisquoi (Eastern Townships) |
1970 | 1971 | Union Nationale | |
| Gabriel Loubier | Bellechasse (Chaudière-Appalaches) |
1971 | 1973 | Union Nationale[11] | |
| Jacques-Yvan Morin[12] | Sauvé (Montreal) |
1973 | 1976 | Parti Québécois | |
| Gérard D. Levesque[13] | Bonaventure (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine) |
1976 | 1979 | Liberal | |
| Claude Ryan | Argenteuil (Laurentides) |
1979 | 1982 | Liberal | |
| Gérard D. Levesque[14] | Bonaventure (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine) |
1982 | 1985 | Liberal | |
| Robert Bourassa | Bertrand (Montérégie) |
1985 | 1985 | Liberal | |
| Pierre-Marc Johnson | Anjou (Montreal) |
1985 | 1987 | Parti Québécois | |
| Guy Chevrette[15] | Joliette (Lanaudière) |
1987 | 1989 | Parti Québécois | |
| Jacques Parizeau | L'Assomption (Lanaudière) |
1989 | 1994 | Parti Québécois | |
| Daniel Johnson, Jr. | Vaudreuil (Montérégie) |
1994 | 1998 | Liberal | |
| Monique Gagnon-Tremblay[16] | Saint-François (Eastern Townships) |
1998 | 1998 | Liberal | |
| Jean Charest | Sherbrooke (Eastern Townships) |
1998 | 2003 | Liberal | |
| Bernard Landry | Verchères (Montérégie) |
2003 | 2005 | Parti Québécois | |
| Louise Harel[17] | Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (Montreal) |
2005 | 2006 | Parti Québécois | |
| André Boisclair | Pointe-aux-Trembles (Montreal) |
2006 | 2007 | Parti Québécois | |
| Mario Dumont | Rivière-du-Loup (Bas-Saint-Laurent) |
2007 | 2008 | Action démocratique du Québec | |
| Pauline Marois | Charlevoix (Capitale-Nationale) |
2008 | 2012 | Parti Québécois | |
| Jean-Marc Fournier | Saint-Laurent (Montreal) |
2012 | 2013 | Liberal | |
| Philippe Couillard | Outremont (Montreal) |
2013 | 2014 | Liberal | |
| Stéphane Bédard[18] | Chicoutimi (Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean) |
2014 | 2015 | Parti Québécois | |
| Pierre Karl Péladeau | Saint-Jérôme (Laurentides) |
2015 | 2016 | Parti Québécois | |
| Sylvain Gaudreault | Jonquière (Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean) |
2016 | 2016 | Parti Québécois | |
| Jean-François Lisée | Rosemont (Montréal) |
2016 | 2018 | Parti Québécois | |
| Pierre Arcand | Mont-Royal–Outremont (Montréal) |
2018 | 2020 | Liberal | |
| Dominique Anglade | Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne (Montréal) |
2020 | 2022 | Liberal | |
| Marc Tanguay | LaFontaine (Montréal) |
2022 | present | Liberal |
- ^ In the aftermath of the execution of Louis Riel, Honoré Mercier founded the Parti National, in order to bring Conservative dissidents to the Liberal Party. From 1885 to 1891, the Liberal Party is also called Parti National.
- ^ Pierre-Évariste Leblanc lost his seat to the legislature in 1908. Joseph-Mathias Tellier succeeded him as Conservative Leader.
- ^ Philémon Cousineau lost his seat to the legislature in 1916. Arthur Sauvé succeeded him as Conservative Leader.
- ^ Conservative Leader Camillien Houde lost his seat to the legislature. Charles Ernest Gault served as acting Leader.
- ^ In 1935, the Conservatives formed a coalition with the Action libérale nationale (ALN). The ALN ran 60 candidates and won 26 seats. The Conservatives ran 30 candidates and won 16 seats. However, Maurice Duplessis served as leader of the coalition and therefore remained Leader of the Opposition.
- ^ Liberal Leader Adélard Godbout lost his seat to the legislature and could not serve as Leader of the Opposition.
- ^ Liberal Leader Adélard Godbout lost his seat to the legislature. His successor, Georges-Émile Lapalme, was defeated in Joliette in 1952. George Marler served as Acting Leader of the Opposition until 1953, when Lapalme won a by-election.
- ^ Jean Lesage became Liberal Leader in 1958, but Georges-Émile Lapalme remained Leader of the opposition until Lesage won a seat to the legislature in 1960.
- ^ Following the resignation of Union Nationale Leader Antonio Barrette, Yves Prévost served as Acting Leader.
- ^ Following the resignation of Yves Prévost, Antonio Talbot served as Acting Leader.
- ^ From October 25, 1971 to January 14, 1973 the Union Nationale was called Unité Québec.
- ^ Parti Québécois Leader René Lévesque was defeated in Dorion and could not serve as Leader of the Opposition.
- ^ Liberal Leader Robert Bourassa lost his seat to the legislature. Gérard D. Levesque served as Acting Leader until Claude Ryan, who became leader in 1978, won a by-election.
- ^ Following the resignation of Claude Ryan, Gérard D. Levesque served as Acting Leader.
- ^ Following the resignation of Pierre Marc Johnson, Guy Chevrette served as Acting Leader and remained Leader of the opposition until new leader Jacques Parizeau won a seat to the legislature in 1989.
- ^ Monique Gagnon-Tremblay served as Acting Leader of the Opposition until Jean Charest won a seat to the legislature in 1998.
- ^ Following the resignation of Bernard Landry, Louise Harel served as Acting Leader and remained Leader of the opposition until new leader André Boisclair won a by-election.
- ^ Assumed the position of Leader of the Opposition as a result of party leader Premier Pauline Marois losing her seat in the general election and resigning as party leader. Bédard was interim leader until a new leader was elected in a leadership election in 2015.