Quebec specialist doctors reach tentative deal with province after contract dispute

The federation representing Quebec’s specialist doctors says it has reached a tentative agreement with the provincial government, potentially ending a long contract dispute that has seen physicians pull back from key administrative duties in recent months.

In a social media post Monday, the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) confirmed it has struck a deal in principle to renew its framework agreement, which expired on March 31, 2023.

The union stated the deal will be presented to its members for approval “shortly.”

“This agreement represents the culmination of more than two years of hard work by the permanent staff and board members,” wrote Dr. Vincent Oliva, president of the FMSQ, to the members of his association.

“This all culminated in a blitz of negotiations, which began in the middle of last week and continued throughout the weekend.”

Premier Christine Fréchette confirmed the announcement on social media, saying the agreement respects Quebecers’ ability to pay “and will help improve access to care for the entire population. That’s our priority!”

In a statement released Monday, Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau said both the government and the FMSQ had constraints.

“We have found a way forward where every dollar invested will translate into concrete benefits for Quebecers.”

In that same statement, Health Minister Sonia Bélanger said the government will wait for the federation to present the offer to its members before going into detail, but “Quebecers have made real gains in this deal.”

In December 2025, a deal was reached between the provincial government and Quebec’s family doctors, represented by the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), after being at odds for months over Bill 2, legislation that ties a portion of doctors’ pay to collective performance targets.

The dispute prompted hundreds of doctors to apply for a licence in Ontario and other provinces, while many family medicine clinics across Quebec said the reforms would make their operating model financially unworkable and force them to close.

However, despite that deal, the province’s medical specialists, also affected by Bill 2, were holding out and negotiations were ongoing.

It was the FMSQ that initially stopped teaching undergraduate students and supervising their clinical placements for several weeks in protest of the government bill in 2025.

The FMSQ launched a new pressure tactic last month to push stalled contract talks with Santé Québec ahead. They stopped taking referrals through an online platform used to connect patients with specialists through their family doctors.

Oliva said Monday that the pressure tactics put in place by the doctors would end immediately.

The main sticking point of this agreement has been salary increases.

Following the agreement reached with Quebec’s family doctors, former health minister Christian Dubé resigned. He had championed Bill 2, the bulk of which was ultimately amended. He said he was upset with the way the government had backed off on many of its planned health-care reforms.