The Parti Québécois leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, has announced that the party will refrain from holding a referendum while U.S. President Donald Trump is in office. St-Pierre Plamondon expressed his desire to prevent the Quebec independence issue from being influenced by American political fluctuations. He emphasized the need for a well-informed and tranquil debate on the crucial matter of Quebec’s political future.
St-Pierre Plamondon clarified that the upcoming government will encounter numerous challenges without the necessity of a referendum. He made it clear that he is ruling out the option of conducting a referendum by the conclusion of Trump’s second term in 2029. However, he affirmed that if elected, he would seek input from Quebecers on independence post-Trump’s presidency.
This announcement precedes the official launch of the Quebec provincial election campaign, with voting scheduled for October 5. St-Pierre Plamondon has been actively reaching out to anglophone voters, aiming to garner support from a demographic that has traditionally favored the Liberals. He highlighted shared concerns between francophones and anglophones in Quebec, such as the cost of living, housing affordability, and challenges in the education and healthcare systems.
A recent Angus Reid poll surveying over 900 respondents revealed that only 15% would definitively vote for independence in a referendum, with an additional 11% leaning towards voting for separation. Despite this, the Parti Québécois is leading in the polls, surpassing the Quebec Liberal Party and the governing Coalition Avenir Québec in overall voting intentions according to political aggregator 338Canada.