In Quebec, Conservative Party Led by Openly Gay Politician Éric Duhaime Wins Record 20.7% of the Vote
On Monday, October 5, 2026, during the 44th general election in the Canadian province of Quebec, the Conservative Party of Quebec (Parti conservateur du Québec, PCQ), led by 57-year-old openly gay politician Éric Duhaime, achieved an unprecedented breakthrough, entering the National Assembly of Quebec for the first time in its modern history with 19 seats. The Conservatives captured 20.7% of the provincial popular vote, comfortably surpassing the formal legislative threshold (a minimum of 12 seats or 20% of the vote) required to attain official parliamentary group recognition. Duhaime himself achieved a commanding personal victory on his third parliamentary attempt, capturing the riding of Bellechasse with 63.8% of the vote.
According to the Canadian public broadcaster Radio-Canada, the Conservative surge proved to be the pivotal development of the election, which saw the collapse of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ). The sovereignty-leaning Parti Québécois (PQ) won a minority government with approximately 28% of the vote, while the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) secured second place with about 25%. Duhaime’s Conservatives swept central and eastern Quebec, winning every single constituency across the Chaudière-Appalaches administrative region, while capturing the vast majority of seats in the Capitale-Nationale (Quebec City metropolitan area) and the historically right-leaning Beauce region.
Addressing jubiliant supporters at the Lévis Convention Centre on election night, Duhaime celebrated a historic milestone: “Tonight, hope is reborn in Quebec! The Conservatives are entering the National Assembly through the front door.” He stressed that the party’s breakthrough was no temporary anomaly, but a reflection of growing public discontent with bureaucratic expansion, high taxation, and government overregulation. Duhaime is the first openly gay person in Canadian history to lead a conservative party and achieve major legislative representation. Throughout the campaign, he articulated a distinct platform that reconciled support for established civil rights for gay and lesbian citizens (including equal marriage and adoption) with staunch opposition to radical gender ideology in classrooms, championing parental rights and advocating restrictions on medical gender transitions for minors.
Éric Duhaime initially rose to prominence across Quebec as an influential radio host, political analyst, and libertarian author. In 2017, he came out as gay in his book “La fin de l’homosexualité et le dernier gay” (The End of Homosexuality and the Last Gay Man), arguing that the core civil struggle for legal equality had been decisively won in Quebec and warning against institutionalized victimhood politics. Taking the helm of the Conservative Party of Quebec in April 2021, Duhaime transformed the previously unrepresented movement into the province’s third-largest political force in just five years.
Previously, Urania reported in detail on openly gay politician Éric Duhaime leading the Conservative Party of Quebec into the provincial campaign, combining economic libertarianism with the preservation of sexual minority rights, and covered debates over the gender-inclusive SOGI curriculum during the British Columbia provincial elections.
