Quebec separatists vow independence referendum after winning local elections but falling short of majority

The separatist Parti Québécois (PQ) won Quebec’s provincial election on Monday but fell short of garnering enough seats to govern alone, returning to power with a promise to hold another referendum on independence from Canada. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The result returns Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s party to power for the first time in more than a decade but denies it the majority it sought, forcing the separatists to rely on opposition parties even as they try to revive Quebec’s independence debate. The party was on track to win nearly 60 seats as the final votes were counted, falling short of the 64 needed for a majority in Quebec’s 127-member National Assembly, the provincial legislature. A minority government means PQ will need support from opposition lawmakers to pass key legislation and survive confidence votes. St-Pierre Plamondon acknowledged that voters had denied his party a majority. “Quebecers elected the Parti Québécois asking it to work with the other parties, and I heard that message,” he said. He has pledged to hold another referendum on independence, though he has said he would wait until US President Donald Trump is no longer in office. St-Pierre Plamondon framed independence as essential to preserving Quebec’s French-speaking identity, saying it was a “question of survival” for a French-speaking population that represents only a small fraction of North America. “Quebec just wants to exist on its own like other countries of the world,” he said adding that a referendum would allow locals to decide their own future. “I continue to dream and visualise that country,” St-Pierre Plamondon said in his victory speech. “That dream will be realised one day.” He also sought to reassure Canadians outside Quebec. “The project for independence is not about excluding you,” he said. “Quebec will never change its geographical position, so we have an interest in working together.” Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) leader Christine Fréchette conceded defeat, saying voters had made their choice and that she took full responsibility for the “difficult result." The CAQ, which held 79 seats before the election, was at risk of losing every seat in the legislature. But the PQ's victory does not mean most Quebecers support leaving Canada. “This was not an election about independence, which is not popular in Quebec right now, but about getting rid of the CAQ, the party in power since 2018,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. Support for independence remains at about 30%, low by historical standards, he said. Béland said the minority result is likely welcome news for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government because it could make it harder for the PQ to prepare for and eventually call an independence referendum. Carney congratulated St-Pierre Plamondon and signalled that Ottawa would work with the incoming separatist government. “Building a stronger Québec is core to our mission of building a stronger Canada,” Carney said. He said the two governments would work together to support businesses and workers affected by US tariffs, create jobs and build housing. The Quebec result comes two weeks before Albertans vote Oct. 19 on whether to hold a referendum on separation from Canada, posing a potentially major threat to Carney’s government. Quebec voters have twice rejected sovereignty, most recently by a razor-thin margin in a 1995 referendum. The province, which is about 80% French-speaking, already has significant autonomy, charged with collecting its own income taxes from its roughly 9.1 million population, has immigration policies favouring French speakers and has laws giving the French language priority over English.