Eliza PerronChristine Fréchette was sworn in as Quebec's second female premier on April 15, 2026, succeeding François Legault after the CAQ leadership race. Within weeks, her government tabled legislation giving women the right to know if a current or prospective romantic partner has a history of domestic violence. The bill attracted relatively little national coverage outside Quebec — but its legal implications for women across Canada, and the model it offers to other provinces, are significant.
What Fréchette's Domestic Violence Legislation Does
The Quebec legislation creates a formal legal mechanism allowing individuals — primarily women — to inquire with police about a partner's domestic violence history. If a verified history exists, authorities can disclose this information to the person making the request.
This approach mirrors what other jurisdictions call "Clare's Law," named after Clare Wood, a British woman killed in 2009 by a partner whose violent history was unknown to her. In Canada, Alberta was the first province to implement a domestic violence disclosure scheme in 2022, followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan. British Columbia has a partial equivalent. Quebec's bill, if passed, would bring a third large province into alignment — and given Quebec's distinct civil law tradition, the legislation also represents a meaningful adaptation of common-law-influenced policy to a different legal framework.
The Legal Structure Behind Disclosure Schemes
Clare's Law-style legislation creates two distinct rights: the "right to ask" (where a person can proactively request a check) and the "right to know" (where police can proactively inform someone they believe is at risk, even without a request).
The legal tension in these schemes lies in balancing the safety interests of potential victims against the privacy rights of the individual whose history is being disclosed. Both the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Quebec's own Law 25 (Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector) impose strict limits on when personal information about an individual can be shared with third parties without consent.
Provincial domestic violence disclosure legislation addresses this by creating a statutory exception — explicit legal authorization for police to share otherwise-protected information when safety is at risk. This is a deliberate override of general privacy norms, justified on public safety grounds.
For women in Quebec, the practical question is: how does one access this right? Under disclosure schemes in other provinces, requests are made through local police services, subject to eligibility screening. The person making the request must typically demonstrate a current or recent intimate partner relationship. Police then conduct a records check and determine whether disclosure is appropriate under the specific statutory criteria.
What This Means if You're in Quebec — or Any Province
If you are in an intimate partner relationship and concerned about a partner's history: The first step, regardless of province, is to contact your local police service and ask whether a domestic violence disclosure scheme is available and whether you qualify to make a request. All Canadian provinces have some form of police-administered victim services that can guide this process even where formal disclosure legislation doesn't yet exist.
If you are an immigrant to Quebec: Immigration status in Canada is explicitly protected from being used against domestic violence survivors. The federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act contains protections for survivors of abuse, and Quebec's own immigration ministry — Fréchette's former portfolio — has worked to ensure that fear of immigration consequences does not prevent reporting. If your status has been threatened by an abusive partner as a control mechanism, this may itself constitute grounds for a humanitarian and compassionate application.
If disclosure is made about a partner: The legislation in Alberta and similar jurisdictions includes appeal mechanisms. A person about whom a disclosure is made has the right to seek judicial review if they believe the disclosure was improper or based on inaccurate records.
The Broader Legal Landscape for Domestic Violence in Quebec
Quebec operates under the Civil Code rather than the common law framework that governs nine other provinces. In practice, family law proceedings — including protective orders, custody determinations, and asset division after separation from an abusive partner — follow distinct procedural rules. Understanding those rules matters enormously for women navigating both safety and legal proceedings simultaneously.
Protective orders in Quebec are issued under the Code of Civil Procedure and can be obtained on an urgent ex parte basis (without notifying the other party) when there is evidence of immediate risk. The threshold for obtaining such orders has been progressively lowered by Quebec courts since 2021.
According to Statistics Canada's Intimate Partner Violence data, women in Quebec represent a disproportionate share of domestic violence victims, consistent with national patterns. Legal experts consistently note that early intervention — including disclosure-based awareness of a partner's history — is among the most effective prevention mechanisms available.
The Signal from Fréchette's Legislative Priority
The choice to make domestic violence disclosure a first-term priority signals something about how the new Quebec government intends to approach social legislation under Fréchette's premiership. After years of CAQ focus on economic nationalism and language policy, a shift toward gender-based safety frameworks may attract different coalitions of support — or opposition — in the run-up to a fall 2026 provincial election.
For women in Quebec and across Canada, the substantive point is what matters: the legal tools to protect against intimate partner violence are expanding. Knowing they exist — and how to use them — is the first step.
This article provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary significantly by province. If you are experiencing domestic violence, contact a lawyer, legal aid service, or crisis line in your province. In an emergency, call 9-1-1.
