Minister who oversaw Quebec’s SAAQclic auto board scandal out of cabinet

One of the Quebec ministers who oversaw an auto insurance board project that incurred major cost overruns says he will be shuffled out of cabinet.

François Bonnardel, now public security minister, says on social media he is “extremely disappointed with the turn of events.”

Premier François Legault is expected to shuffle his cabinet on Wednesday and his office has not released details of who has made the cut.

Bonnardel, 57, served as transport minister between 2018 and 2022, when the auto board’s online platform started incurring cost overruns that would eventually hit $500 million.

Legault recently testified at the public inquiry into the cost overrun scandal and said Bonnardel and current Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault should have asked more questions about the project.

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Bonnardel has represented the riding of Granby since 2007, first as a member of the defunct Action démocratique du Québec, and then with Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec after the parties merged in 2012.

Bonnardel says on X that he had “clearly” expressed his intention to run again in 2026. He ends his post by saying he will serve out the remainder of his term.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2025.