Thursday at 11: 15 a. m. ET — Quebec voters, civil organizations and opposition lawmakers stand to lose immediate influence over a proposed provincial constitution after charles milliard urged other party leaders to press the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) to abandon Bill 1 and open a consultative process in the fall.
Parti libéral du Québec stance leaves Quebec civil groups and voters with limited input
More than 300 written submissions were filed during the early review of the constitutional text, and the very large majority of those submissions were negative, creating immediate consequences for groups that say they were not consulted. For now, many fundamental groups remain on the margins of the process, and opposition leaders are debating whether to force a public pause ahead of the next provincial election a few months away.
Charles Milliard urges a united opposition and proposes a fall consultative process
Charles Milliard, leader of the Parti libéral du Québec, sent a letter to his counterparts at other parties asking them to form a united front to demand that the CAQ withdraw its constitution project. In that correspondence he argued the timing is poorly chosen and suggested launching a consultative drafting process in the fall instead of pressing the measure in the current session. charles milliard also explained his approach on a radio program on Wednesday, saying key groups had not been properly consulted and that the process should be slowed.
Coalition Avenir Québec’s Bill 1 criticized by college political science teachers for rushed process
A group of college political science teachers warned that the government’s Bill 1 risks weakening Quebec democracy because of how it was written and how it is being adopted. The teachers note the text was drafted behind closed doors and without prior public consultations; the formal consultation period had closed about a month and a half after the bill’s initial deposit on October 9, 2025. Public hearings that began December 4 were held before an ordinary parliamentary committee, leaving the governing party with significant control over who testified and how the work proceeded.
That critique highlights a concrete procedural risk: the bill is slated for adoption by a simple majority vote in the National Assembly, which means the governing party’s parliamentary majority could impose the text despite dissent from civil society and opposition parties. The teachers also raised concerns about whether Indigenous nations mentioned in the text will be able to recognize themselves in any resulting constitution and under what conditions.
Still, some parts of the current text align with longstanding calls for greater provincial autonomy — elements that, commentators, might merit support from the Parti libéral du Québec if the party prioritizes autonomist measures before an election.
If opposition parties form a unified front and the CAQ withdraws Bill 1, a consultative drafting process is expected to be launched in the fall; if that consensus holds, the timing of any constitutional change would be pushed past the upcoming election cycle.
