Geneviève Guilbault

In government

She was re-elected with 44.6% of the vote in an election that delivered a majority government for the CAQ. She was appointed to the Executive Council of Quebec as Deputy Premier, Minister of Public Security, and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region.^[12]

In September 2019, she was forced to apologize after disparaging members of her staff. The incident prompted the official opposition to call for her resignation as minister. As the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, she was criticized for not respecting the autonomy of the municipal level.^[13]

On October 20, 2022, she was re-appointed Deputy Premier and appointed Minister of Transport following her re-election, replacing François Bonnardel. In August 2023, she apologized after being seen without a seatbelt in several social media posts. The minister claimed these were oversights, but experts pointed out that she should set an example as the person responsible for the Highway Safety Code. She faced criticism from local officials due to the Rivière-du-Loup-Saint-Siméon Ferry relocation.^[14][15][16]

As minister, she was at the centre of the SAAQclic scandal. In December 2024, the SAAQ was criticized for failing to publish the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec's (SAAQ) 2023 management report within the prescribed timeframe. The National Assembly mandated a commission to investigate this omission, and the President of the National Assembly ruled that it constituted contempt of the chamber. The SAAQ then issued a public apology, acknowledging that the chaotic implementation of the SAAQclic system had resulted in significant delays and a $122 million deficit, while admitting that the reliability of the financial data remained uncertain due to a lack of transaction tracking.^[17] As part of the implementation of SAAQclic, Guilbault was directly involved in crisis management. She states that she was proactive from the moment she took over as Minister of Transport, meeting regularly with SAAQ management and holding online meetings seven days a week to manage the problems related to the platform's deployment. Quebec's Auditor General revealed that erroneous or incomplete information had been provided to government authorities regarding the project's progress. In February 2025, while the opposition was calling for resignations within the government, Guilbault referred the matter to the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC), requesting an investigation into the issues raised by the Auditor General, including conflicts of interest, manipulation of strategic information, and the splitting of contracts that allegedly concealed a $222 million cost overrun identified as early as the start of the election.^[18] She was then removed as deputy premier and transport minister, given the position of municipal affairs minister.

Described as a potential candidate in the 2026 Coalition Avenir Québec leadership election, Guilbault announced in January 2026 that she would not seek re-election in that year's election and would retire from politics.^[19]