Parti Québécois wins minority government, sets stage for sovereignty referendum
The party won 59 seats, falling short of a majority, and its leader has pledged to hold an independence vote after 2029.
MONTREAL — The Parti Québécois has won a minority government in Quebec, completing a dramatic political comeback and paving the way for a future sovereignty referendum.
The party captured 59 seats after the votes were counted late Monday, falling short of the 64 needed to form a majority in Quebec’s legislature. The Coalition Avenir Québec, which has governed the province for the past eight years, was wiped off the map, with leader Christine Fréchette losing her own seat.
“There is a new chapter in our nation that is starting over the next few years,” PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told a boisterous crowd of supporters in Montreal, who chanted “Quebec, a country.”
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St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to launch a referendum to separate Quebec from Canada, but not before U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House in 2029. “A referendum is an opportunity to decide for ourselves,” he said. “It’s an act of democracy.”
His path is complicated by the fact that both the Liberal and Conservative leaders have said their parties would fight to stop a sovereignty vote. Québec solidaire, another sovereigntist party that elected nine members, could hold the balance of power.
Charles Milliard’s Liberals were elected in 40 ridings and form the official Opposition. “Preparing your referendum will find you facing a clear opponent in the Liberal Party,” Milliard said in his speech. He added his party would collaborate on many issues, but “there is no way we will collaborate on a potential referendum.”
The Quebec Conservatives led by Éric Duhaime make a historic entry into the legislature and gain official party status with 19 elected members. Duhaime has promised to use his leverage to act as a “guard dog” that would protect taxpayer interests and attempt to block a referendum vote.
Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated the PQ leader for his victory. “Building a stronger Québec is core to our mission of building a stronger Canada,” Carney said in a statement on social media. “I look forward to working with you to support Québec’s businesses and workers impacted by tariffs, create more good jobs, work to end homelessness, and get more homes built across Québec.”
The Parti Québécois won only three seats in 2022, the lowest total ever since the party was founded in 1968. The sovereigntist party capitalized on Quebecers’ desire for change after eight years of Coalition Avenir Québec rule.
In her concession speech, Fréchette took the blame for her party’s crushing defeat. “Quebecers wanted change, and I respect their choice,” Fréchette said. She spent much of her campaign warning of the dangers of a referendum at a time when the U.S. trade war is destabilizing the economy.
The Liberals more than doubled their seat count, finishing with about 24 per cent of the popular vote, close behind the PQ, which finished the evening with about 28 per cent of the votes that were counted.
Milliard warned St-Pierre Plamondon that the PQ would need to secure support beyond its own ranks to govern. “Now instead of 18 MNAs, there are 40 of us,” he said to a cheering crowd.
Duhaime told supporters his party’s results prove that “the voice of Quebecers who no longer recognize themselves in the old parties and who want to modernize the old bureaucratic model will finally be heard.”
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, who was declared elected in her Montreal riding, said her party was looking forward to building a country inclusive of everyone, including immigrants, Indigenous people and English speakers.
The PQ has also promised to more than halve temporary immigration in Quebec and table legislation to abolish the monarchy, diverting funds used to pay the lieutenant-governor to tackle homelessness.
In his speech Monday, St-Pierre Plamondon pledged to include elements from the other parties’ platforms in his future budget. He also promised to work with the province’s English speakers and Prime Minister Mark Carney, when it serves Quebecers.
The PQ's projected minority government win comes on the near 50-year anniversary of the party founder's historic victory in 1976. Nosy Mag reported in October that the Parti Québécois, which has promised a sovereignty referendum in 2029, was the front-runner after two CAQ majority governments.
With files from The Canadian Press, iPolitics and CBC News