Quebec Liberals gain popularity with Denis Coderre as leader: poll

If former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre becomes leader of the Quebec Liberals, the party will see his popularity rise significantly, according to a new poll.

The Quebec Liberal Party's popularity will increase from 15 percent under current interim leader Marc Tanguay to 21 percent under Coderre, the agency said. New Léger poll for Quebecor.

Coderre is a former mayor of Montreal, though he has not announced his intention to move into provincial politics went on tour last month that's ahead of a potential run. He says a lot of people want him to run for the Quebec Liberal nomination and he's seriously considering the idea.

A vote to choose the next leader of the opposition Liberals is expected in 2025, and so far Liberal MNA Frédéric Beauchemin is the only person to have announced an interest in running.

A potential Coderre leadership would place the Liberals third in terms of voter intent, according to the poll, behind the Part Québécois (31%) and the CAQ (23%).

The same Quebecor poll showed Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's PQ maintaining its lead in voter intentions, while the CAQ's popularity loss has stabilized over the past month.

It also represents a major dissatisfaction with François Legault and the CAQ, with 64 percent of respondents saying they are dissatisfied with the current government – a sharp increase from 44 percent nine months ago.