2026 provincial election: polling day is October 5

The provincial general election has just been called; polling day will be Monday, October 5, 2026. The Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Jean-François Blanchet, is mobilizing his team to organize this election and ensure their integrity for the approximately 6.4 million electors entered on the list of electors. His team includes 127 returning officers, who manage the organization and holding of the election in their respective electoral division.

The electoral process includes several important dates.

• Period for registering or updating the list of electors: September 14 to October 1
• Deadline to request to vote outside Québec: September 16
• Deadline to file a nomination paper: September 17 at 2 p.m.
  • See the candidacies accepted since July 1
• Deadline to request to vote at your domicile or vote in your room: September 21
• Voting at the returning officer’s office: September 25 and 26, and from September 29 to October 1
• Advance poll: September 27 and 28
• Polling day: October 5

New electoral map with 127 electoral divisions

This election is being held based on a new electoral map comprising 127 electoral divisions. In the coming weeks, electors who are changing electoral division will receive an insert about this in the envelope containing their notice of entry on the list of electors. 

Several changes have been made to the electoral map used in the 2018 and 2022 general elections.

• Two regions have a new electoral division, which changes the boundaries of several adjacent electoral divisions:
  • The electoral division of Bellefeuille is created in the greater region of Laurentides and Lanaudière;
  • The electoral division of Marie-Lacoste-Gérin-Lajoie is introduced in the greater region of Estrie and Centre-du-Québec;
• Changes have been made to the boundaries of certain electoral divisions in the Capitale-Nationale, Laval, Montérégie, Outaouais and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean regions;
• The electoral divisions remain unchanged in the other regions.

Working during the election

During the election period, Élections Québec will need to hire and train more than 60,000 people. People interested in working during this election can apply online now (in French).

Election officers are paid for all their hours of training and work. In addition, employers must grant unpaid leave to members of their staff who wish to serve as election officers.

Young people aged 16 and older can work during the election. It is a great opportunity to become familiar with the electoral process before obtaining the right to vote. Furthermore, many students have no school on election day.

Mark the election date on your calendar

Electors can add the elections to their calendar by subscribing to the general election reminder on the Élections Québec website.

Last provincial election at a glance

In 2022, during the last provincial election:

• more than 6.3 million electors were entered on the list of electors;
• nomination papers for 880 people had been accepted. Twenty-one political parties had presented candidates, and 14 people ran as independents;
• electors cast their ballots in more than 23,000 ballot boxes located in nearly 4,000 polling locations;
• voter turnout was 66.15%. No fewer than 1.5 million electors (24.44%) voted at the advance poll.

The Participation électorale aux élections générales du 3 octobre 2022 page (in French) includes more statistics about this election.

About Élections Québec

Élections Québec is a neutral and independent agency. Its mission is to ensure the integrity, transparency and reliability of elections and to contribute to the vitality of Québec’s democracy.

In practical terms, the institution organizes provincial elections together with the returning officers of the 127 electoral divisions. In addition, it designs and offers several democracy education programs; it ensures compliance with political financing rules; and it acts as a public prosecutor to ensure compliance with Québec’s electoral laws.