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Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette has called a special cabinet meeting for Monday, putting her election campaign on hold one day before Canadian retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods are set to take effect.
Fréchette’s office confirmed Sunday that the cabinet meeting will be held virtually at 6 p.m., but the agenda for cabinet meetings is not disclosed in advance. Such meetings are relatively rare during an election campaign, when Fréchette is simultaneously serving as premier and campaigning as CAQ leader.
The meeting comes as Canada prepares to impose retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of U.S. goods the following day. The tariffs, which will range from 15 to 50 per cent, will apply to products including dairy, steel, copper and some beauty products.
They are in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods, ranging from hockey sticks to honey.
Rhetoric over the looming tariffs continued through the long weekend, with Trump posting on social media Sunday that the Canadian dollar’s exchange rate with the U.S. has been “unacceptable … for years — but no longer.”
Trump did not elaborate on his concerns, though the weaker Canadian dollar makes Canadian exports cheaper in the U.S. and American goods more expensive for Canadians.
Several of Fréchette’s political opponents accused her Sunday of using the tariff dispute for political gain during the provincial election campaign.
Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard accused Fréchette of putting on “a play” by calling her ministers together on the eve of the tariffs taking effect.
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“We’re going to have a news conference, flags, long faces, people lined up around a table telling us they’re there for Quebecers and that they’ll do everything they can to save Quebec,” Milliard said during a campaign stop in Gatineau.
He argued the CAQ government has failed to prepare Quebec businesses for the tariff war.
“This government has been there for eight years, not eight weeks,” Milliard said. “So to be told now that we’re going to be there for Quebecers, we’re going to be there for workers, we’re going to hand out this cheque and that tax credit, I find that astonishing.”
Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime also criticized the decision to convene cabinet, remarking on it during a campaign stop in Pont-Rouge, about 40 kilometres west of Quebec City.
“We all understand this is a CAQ marketing operation that is trying to exploit the tariff crisis to hide its record,” Duhaime said.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said in a written statement that “fear is not an economic strategy.”
He accused Fréchette of using “the Trump bogeyman” in recent days in the hope that voters will look away from the CAQ’s record and the other parties’ proposals.
Speaking later in Montmagny, about 80 kilometres east of Quebec City, St-Pierre Plamondon said that strategy should not be “an excuse not to campaign and to lack transparency with Quebecers.”
He also called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to directly keep all Quebec party leaders informed of developments in the event of further U.S. retaliation.
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal acknowledged that Fréchette remains premier and is holding the meeting in that capacity.
“What I’m asking her is: what is she proposing when it comes to tariffs for workers?” Ghazal said after a campaign announcement outside the legislature in Quebec City.
The cabinet meeting comes as Ottawa is also preparing for the latest escalation in the trade dispute.
On Friday, the federal government briefed its advisory committee on Canada-U.S. economic relations about the looming tariffs and planned support for workers and businesses.
The meeting included a briefing from Canada’s chief U.S. trade negotiator, Janice Charette, as well as ministers in charge of finance, industrial policy and U.S. trade.
“The discussion also highlighted the importance of a unified Team Canada approach, with governments, industry, labour and other partners working together to ensure Canada’s response reflects national priorities and promotes long-term economic growth,” reads a Sept. 4 news release.
Fréchette is not the first political leader to temporarily step away from an election campaign because of the tariff dispute.
During the 2025 federal election, Prime Minister Mark Carney paused his campaign three times to resume his official duties as the federal government prepared its response to the trade war with the United States.
— With files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa and Thomas Laberge in Gatineau
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