TORONTO — The separatist Parti Québécois won Quebec’s provincial election Monday but fell short of enough seats to govern alone, returning to power with a promise to hold another referendum on independence from Canada.
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.
PQ's leader wants an independence vote
He has pledged to hold another referendum on independence, though he has said he would wait until U.S. 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. He said Quebec “just wants to exist on its own like other countries of the world” and that a referendum would allow Quebecers to decide their own future.
“I continue to dream and visualize that country,” St-Pierre Plamondon said in his victory speech. “That dream will be realized 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 leader Christine Fréchette conceded defeat, saying voters had made their choice and that she took full responsibility for the “difficult result.” The CAQ, which entered the election with 79 seats, was shut out of the legislature, and Fréchette lost her own seat in Trois-Rivières.
Victory is not a mandate for independence
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.
The PQ would face opposition from both the Liberals and Conservatives, whose leaders have said they would fight efforts to hold a sovereignty referendum. Québec solidaire, another pro-independence party, could hold the balance of power and potentially support the PQ on a referendum.
Carney congratulated St-Pierre Plamondon and signaled 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 U.S. tariffs, create jobs and build housing.
Quebec result adds to Canada’s national-unity questions
Still, Béland said a separatist government in Quebec poses a new national-unity challenge for Carney, particularly with another independence-related vote approaching elsewhere in Canada.
The Quebec result comes two weeks before Albertans vote Oct. 19 on whether to hold a referendum on separation from Canada.
“Seeing that a pro-independence party won in Quebec barely two weeks before an independence-related referendum takes place in Alberta might suggest to the Trump administration that national unity remains a major issue in Canada despite the popularity of Mark Carney,” Béland said.
Quebec voters have twice rejected sovereignty, most recently by a razor-thin margin in a 1995 referendum.
Quebec, which is about 80% French-speaking, already has significant autonomy. The province of 9.1 million collects its own income tax, has immigration policies favoring French speakers and has laws giving the French language priority over English.
Even with the PQ victory, Trump’s tariffs and 51st-state rhetoric have complicated the separatist argument by stirring Canadian nationalism and giving some French-speaking Quebecers another reason to value remaining part of Canada.
Trump's tariffs and repeated threats against Canada became a defining issue in the 2025 federal election, helping lift Carney's Liberals to victory after the party had trailed badly before Trump returned to office.
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