Marois played a minor role in the turmoil and infighting that shook the Lévesque cabinet after the election of Brian Mulroney as the new Canadian prime minister, in the fall of 1984. She was first approached by Pierre-Marc Johnson, the leader of the "kangaroo" faction – favourable to reaching some accommodations with the new Conservative government —, but finally joined the more hardline group – the "caribou" —, who oppose the affirmation nationale agenda and call for the respect of PQ orthodoxy.