With nine independent members, there have rarely been so many elected officials without party affiliation in the National Assembly. While many of them say they are calm and impressed by the scope of their responsibilities, they recognize that their influence is limited, especially with the 2026 elections approaching. The Canadian Press spoke with three of them.
“I was surprised by the power that an independent member has,” says Rimouski MNA Maïté Blanchette Vézina, who slammed the door on the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) caucus after being excluded from the cabinet.
While she admits that independent members have less speaking time, she points out that they can wield a certain amount of obstructionist power. She can manage her own questions and positions, unlike before, when the party took center stage.
“I’m taking the wheel with both hands. I appreciate this role,” she said in an interview after the end of the parliamentary session, her first in which she is not a government member.
Pierre Dufour, the member for Abitibi-Est, who was expelled from the CAQ caucus after criticizing the absence of a minister from his region in the cabinet, even claims that some of his former colleagues in the CAQ have asked him questions about the work of an independent member.
“There are CAQ members who are gathering information and trying to see if they would be better off as independent members,” he said.
As for himself, he said he did not enjoy “being a figurehead in parliamentary committees.” According to him, backbenchers in the government “serve as a quorum to ensure that votes are carried in Parliament.”
Laporte MNA Isabelle Poulet, who was expelled from the CAQ caucus after apparently testing the waters with the Liberals, agrees with her colleagues: “When you get into government, all the speeches, everything is already decided,” she explained over the phone.
“I’m the one who will decide whether I’m going to be a co-sponsor on a notice of motion or whether I’m going to consent. I’m the one who decides. And that’s what I find really interesting.”
Earlier this month, Poulet introduced a first bill on access to Santé Québec subsidies for organizations with social economy projects. And she promises there will be more.
Limits to their role
However, everyone acknowledges that their role is limited. “There is a real complexity to the fact that we are not part of a parliamentary group,” admitted Blanchette Vézina, referring to problems with allocated budgets and speaking time.
Dufour also points out that the government leader, Simon Jolin-Barrette, is unlikely to “call” the bill—that is, to move it through the various stages in the National Assembly.
“You’re not in power? Well, look, table your bill, I’ll listen to you, I’ll tell you we’ll hold consultations, but I won’t call it,” he explained.
The future remains uncertain
While the three members interviewed by The Canadian Press intend to complete their terms, what happens next remains uncertain. They refuse to return to the fold under François Legault’s CAQ. They are not confirming that they will be back in the running in the 2026 elections.
But they say they are open to examining what other parties have to offer. “I’ve taken a leap of faith, and I’m waiting to see what doors will open. One door has closed with the government. But when one door closes, another one always opens,” explained Isabelle Poulet.
“I’ve been in politics for 20 years, 17 at the municipal level and three at the provincial level, and I love politics. I can’t see myself doing anything else,” she said.
For her part, Blanchette Vézina has moved closer to Éric Duhaime’s Conservative Party of Quebec; she will even deliver a speech at the party’s convention in January.
“I know that they (the Conservatives) would like me to announce that I am going to run with the Conservative Party. But for now, I want to finish my term as an independent,” she said in an interview before the announcement of her speech.
In an interview with The Canadian Press at the time of the announcement, she reiterated that she had not yet made up her mind and that she would be attending the convention for cross-party reasons.
As for Pierre Dufour, he had had conversations with former Liberal leader Pablo Rodriguez, whom he described as his “friend.”
“It’s not simple. People may think it’s easy to say, ‘Go ahead, change political families,’ but it’s not that simple.”
A rare phenomenon
It is very rare for independent members of parliament to have long careers without eventually joining a party. “In elections, people vote for a representative of a political party. There are very few independents, if any at all; it’s very rare,” said Thierry Giasson, director of the Department of Political Science at Université de Laval and full professor.
“This is related to our political system, which is based on the representation of political parties, which have the resources to organize campaigns and deploy them on the ground, something that most independent candidates do not have,” he explained.
Giasson says that the number of independent members is abnormally high and he does not believe that we are currently witnessing an erosion of political parties.
Apart from the three members mentioned above, the independents include former CAQ members Youri Chassin, Lionel Carmant, and Christian Dubé, former Liberal members Marwah Rizqy and Sona Lakhoyan Olivier, and former Solidarity member Vincent Marissal.
Giasson recalls that in 2011, the Parti Québécois lost four prominent members at once who were challenging the leadership of Pauline Marois. “And that shook Pauline Marois’ leadership significantly, but she stayed, she didn’t leave, and she won the next election,” he said.
He notes that cases where an independent candidate has won a riding can be counted on one hand, both in Quebec and Canada.
In Quebec, former TV host André Arthur achieved this feat twice in federal elections in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. “This is extremely rare,” Giasson clarified.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
