The speaker of the Quebec national assembly announced Tuesday that the new Coalition Avenir Québec does not meet the minimum requirements to be awarded official party status.
The ruling comes as the national assembly returned from its winter recess Tuesday.
François Legault's party has grown from zero to nine MNAs since the fall session ended. Three MNAs defected from the Parti Québécois, and six ADQ members switched over to the CAQ as their party merged with Legault's.
National assembly rules state that a party needs a minimum of 12 members to be considered an official party, and those members need to be elected as candidates of that party and can not be MNAs who have crossed the floor from another party.
Official party status comes with funding for research and the right to ask a specific number of questions of the government during question period.
According to a report in La Presse, the Liberals and the PQ were strongly against allowing an exception to assembly rules like the one that was awarded to the ADQ in 2008.
As the national assembly resumes this week, Quebec Premier Jean Charest's government is set to quickly pass several pieces of legislation.
The provincial Liberals are expected to pass bills promoting the Plan Nord, and they say they're prepared to override opposition protests against at least one of the bills.
The opposition PQ says Bill 14 doesn't increase the royalties the province would receive from mineral development in Quebec's northern territory.
After more than 250 hours of debate in committee hearings, little progress has been made on the legislation.
"If there's opposition, or if there is a systematic blocking, there are tools that exist for that," said Serge Simard, Quebec's Minister for Natural Resources.
The government could use its majority to force the bill into law.
Opposition critic Martine Ouellet said there's a reason the legislation is being stalled.
"All Quebecers will lose. We will lose money, we will lose (processing jobs), and we will lose on the environmental side too," said Ouellet.
MNAs are returning from the winter recess to intense speculation the premier will send voters to the polls later this spring.
Charest and many of his ministers fanned out across the province recently, making a round of announcements.
The premier has insisted an election call is not part of his immediate plans.
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