By The European Times | Created at 2026-10-19 08:21:25 | Updated at 2026-10-19 09:30:37
1 hour ago
The Parti Québécois, which advocates for the independence of the French-speaking province, has won the elections in Quebec but failed to secure a clear majority to govern alone. The party returns to power for the first time since 2014, and the outcome poses a significant political challenge for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
With over 50 percent of the ballots counted, the Parti Québécois has garnered 29 percent of the vote. The Liberal Party received 23 percent, the Conservative Party 21 percent, and the Coalition for the Future of Quebec 14 percent. It remains unclear whether the new government will hold a majority or be forced to seek support from other political groups.
A Promise of a New Referendum
The party’s leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, will become the province’s new Premier. A 49-year-old lawyer, he heads a party that places the issue of independence at the core of its political platform.
The Parti Québécois has pledged to organize a new referendum on seceding from Canada. However, Plamondon stated that he would wait until the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s term in January 2029. He cited trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa as the reason for this delay.
“The current escalation of the trade conflict does not create a calm environment for reflecting on the future,” said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. If held, this would be the third referendum on Quebec’s independence. The previous two took place in 1980 and 1995. The second vote was won by those in favor of remaining in Canada, by a narrow margin.
A government with limited support
The victory of the separatist party does not automatically mean that the majority of Quebec residents support seceding from Canada. The province has a population of about 9 million and enjoys broad powers within the federation.
The new government will have to rely on support from opposition lawmakers if it fails to secure a majority in the provincial parliament. This will make it difficult to pass key legislation and could turn the issue of a future referendum into a central topic of political debate in Quebec and Canada.
In Montreal, supporters of the party celebrated the result with the slogan “Quebec, a country”—one of the most well-known messages of the independence movement.
Sources: apnews.com
Illustration: pexels-matreding-39432211
