Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is determined that now is the perfect moment for this province to be thinking about whether it would rather remain in Canada or set out on its own, and is adamant option B would be best for all residents of this province, not only his francophone base.
The Parti Québecois leader of six years has been pushing his single-issue referendum platform for some time now. Support for his vision of an independent Quebec was not necessarily apparent in the skimpy three seats won by the party in 2022, though the popular vote was not reflected in this outcome.
Coalition Avenir Québec’s Uncle Legault was adored at the time, or at least most familiar following two years of spotlight attention thanks to the pandemic. His focus on Quebec identity while rejecting the question of sovereignty seemed to strike the perfect middle ground, for some time. Or maybe it was his business sense. What ever became of that?
But a lot has changed in four years. For one, the CAQ is down and out. Its founding leader has resigned after several years of tanking popularity, leaving it scrambling to find a suitable new face, without much time to do so.
And the CAQ is not alone in its leadership void. The Quebec Liberal Party, having recently imploded, is in the midst of its second leadership race in less than a year, with the first round’s runner up Charles Milliard looking like the likely victor. Quebec solidaire, the only other separatist party, put in place two new co-leaders since the last election – Ruba Ghazal and Sol Zanetti. All will have some serious work ahead to establish their chosen candidates as best suited to lead this province.
In this void, Mr. Plamondon has emerged most prepared, or perhaps simply the only option for many voters at a loss with where to hang their hats. At least according to the polling over the past year. An early January survey from Pallas Data, conducted before Legault’s resignation, found 34 per cent of those surveyed intended to vote for the PQ. The Liberals claimed 24 per cent, the Quebec Conservative Party, still with Éric Duhaime at the helm, claimed 16 per cent, and tied in fourth place were the CAQ and Québec Solidaire with 11 per cent of the vote each. And the PQ’s lead is not new – Plamondon has been ahead in the polls for months. Whether this support for Plamondon’s PQ is indeed a vote for sovereignty is the big question. The polls indicate it is not.
An early January Pallas Data survey of 1,128 Quebec voters found that 54 per cent marked themselves as against Quebec sovereignty. And this rejection of separation has only increased since Trump won back the White House.
This, of course, is not surprising. Campaigning on sovereignty and sovereignty alone, seems a little tone deaf in the context of the geopolitical chaos that has defined the first month of 2026.
Now is not the time for infighting or culture wars. Not now, when the president of our once greatest ally has made it clear he is not fussed with international law, and wouldn’t mind snagging a few more parcels of land to add to his empire, especially land that might strengthen its defenses against Russia. Or are we to believe that Quebec, what with its good-looking stretch of northern coastline, would be better able to fend off the pressures from the south if it were independent?
We need to be doing everything we can to strengthen and not weaken the border we already have between Canada and U.S., and not be seduced by a politics that uses fear of the other to gain power. This weaponized fear of the other is arguably the most dangerous threat in this moment.
The PQ seems to be using an economic arguement to revive its tired and previously rejected pitch for a sovereign Quebec. Plamondon is making the case that Canada has long failed to defend Quebec’s interests, especially as of late in trade negotiations with the U.S., and that an independent Quebec is best positioned to shape itself economically to bring prosperity to all. But Plamondon has so far failed to present any compelling platform for what he would actually do for the people of Quebec. How would he make life more affordable for people here? How exactly will he address the current healthcare challenges across this province? Sovereignty is not a winning platform, especially not now. It is a shell of a promise that does nothing but divide. In absence of a ripe alternative, yet, Quebecers should be wary of grabbing the low-hanging fruit.
