On the evening of October 5th, Quebecers discovered the face of their new Premier: Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. Affectionately nicknamed PSPP, Plamondon is the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), which will form a minority government after securing 59 of 125 seats in the National Assembly. Elected with only 28% of the popular vote—a historic low for a governing Quebec party—the PQ completed a remarkable comeback, jumping from just three seats in 2022 to assuming office this year.
The PQ remains a separatist party: it advocates for independence from the Canadian Confederation and has promised a referendum in the coming years. The party was elected even as support for Quebec sovereignty currently sits at a meagre 30%, meaning 70% of Quebecers oppose separation. The primary explanation for this surprising result is the immense voter frustration with the incumbent Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), as 77% of Quebecers demanded a change in government on October 5th. In 2022, François Legault’s CAQ represented an alternative to the historically opposed PQ and Parti Libéral du Québec (PLQ), therefore winning a blowout majority of 90 seats. In 2026, the CAQ lost all its seats and was stripped of its official party status. This turnaround stems both from broken electoral promises and infighting within other political parties, such as the Liberals’ leadership crisis. This has left the door wide open for the PQ to reclaim their votes.
[Plamondon] also tapped into immigration-driven fear to expand his electoral base beyond traditional sovereignty hardliners, leaning into right-wing populist platforms and adopting a rather conservative rhetoric.
The victory is also due to PSPP’s perceived compelling personality and strategic maneuvering. Plamondon capitalized on rising cultural anxiety: an all-time high of 76% of Quebecers feel the French language is threatened and 69% believe English-speaking Canadians look down on Francophones. He also tapped into immigration-driven fear to expand his electoral base beyond traditional sovereignty hardliners, leaning into right-wing populist platforms and adopting a rather conservative rhetoric. Parts of Plamondon’s campaign aimed to expand Quebec’s secularism laws to prohibit younger children from wearing religious symbols in public schools, and linked the housing and schooling crisis directly with rising immigration levels.
Canada now faces simultaneous separatist movements in the East and West. While driven by completely opposing political and ideological motives, the two movements are actively taking advantage of each other’s momentum. Just two weeks after the PQ’s victory, Alberta faces its own high-stakes sovereignty assessment with an October 19 referendum on whether to pursue a full vote on independence. Alberta’s resentment is deeply rooted in a century of institutional friction with the federal government over its resources and federal power. The conflict has created a lasting narrative that Ottawa exploits Western Canada’s wealth while blocking infrastructure like energy pipelines that would benefit Albertans. This long-standing anger over fiscal asymmetry, where Albertans contribute hundreds of billions more to federal funds than they receive in return, helps explain Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to place Question 10 on the October 19 ballot, which asks citizens whether the province should formally begin the legal process toward independence. Despite their opposing political roots, PSPP visited Calgary in September 2025 to meet with Alberta’s separatists, where he declared that Alberta possesses a “genuine identity” and promised that a sovereign Quebec would officially recognize an independent Alberta. One can only assume that Plamondon hopes for a similar promise in return.
Although separatist tendencies have always been a part of Canadian history, recent tensions between Canada and the U.S. have raised fears that two provinces attempting to gain independence will weaken Ottawa and leave it vulnerable to an unsavory neighbour’s invasion. PSPP recognized this threat by postponing the referendum until at least January 2029, the end of Donald Trump’s term, thereby garnering support from voters who oppose sovereignty by framing separation as a temporary non-issue. On the other hand, Alberta is being targeted by the Trump administration to incite separatist tendencies and weaken Mark Carney’s federal government. For all residents across Canada during these uncertain times, the results of the October 19th Alberta referendum will provide a preview of the nation’s political landscape.
