François Legault

François Legault (French: [fʁɑ̃swa ləɡo] ^ⓘ; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 32nd premier of Quebec since October 2018. A founding member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he led the party since its inception in 2011 until his resignation. Legault sits as a member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the Lanaudière region riding of L'Assomption. He is the Dean of the Quebec National Assembly.

Prior to entering politics, he was the co-founder of the Canadian airline Air Transat. He was a MNA from 1998 to 2009—serving in the governments of former premiers Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry—as the minister of education from 1998 to 2003 and as the minister of health from 2002 to 2003. He was a member of the Parti Québécois (PQ), first elected in the 1998 Quebec election in the riding of Rousseau. He was re-elected in 2003, 2007, and 2008 but resigned his seat on June 25, 2009. He returned to the legislature following his victory in the 2012 Quebec provincial election as the MNA for L'Assomption, a suburb of Montreal. He was reelected in 2014.

Legault led the CAQ to majority governments in the 2018 and 2022 provincial elections; the first government not of the Quebec Liberal Party or the Parti Québécois (PQ) since Jean-Jacques Bertrand's 1970 Union Nationale government. During his premiership, Legault responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, passed legislation promoting the French language and Quebec identity (including amendments to the Charter of the French Language), and pursued increased autonomy from the federal government. Amid poor opinion polling, Legault announced his pending resignation on January 14, 2026, ahead of the 2026 election. He will remain as premier until his formal resignation upon the election of his successor in April 2026.