NYT: The separatist parti Québécois wins Quebec election, reviving sovereignty push

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the leader of the Parti Québécois vs Prime Minister Mark Carney

The separatist Parti Québécois won the provincial election in Quebec on Monday, possibly setting the stage for a referendum on the French-speaking province’s independence from Canada in the next few years, The New York Times writes.

Voters hungry for change returned the Parti Québécois to power for the first time in 12 years, even though they displayed little interest in the commitment of its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, to hold a referendum on secession from Canada.

The Parti Québécois fell short of clinching a majority, winning 59 seats out of 127 in the provincial legislature, according to incomplete results late Monday. That could make it difficult for Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon to fulfill his campaign promise to hold a referendum after President Trump leaves office in 2029 and the economy stabilizes.

A Parti Québécois minority government could struggle to stay in power for a full four-year term. Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon will also govern after winning only about 28 percent of the popular vote, according to incomplete results, making it hard for him to claim a popular mandate.

“A referendum is an opportunity to decide for yourself,’’ Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon said in his victory speech. “It’s an act of democracy. It’s up to no one but us, as a people, to determine our national future.’’

But in an acknowledgment of his government’s minority status, he said he would call a referendum “hopefully, with the help of other pro-independence lawmakers from other parties.’’

The governing Coalition Avenir Québec, which held power for two terms and was re-elected in a landslide four years ago, suffered a total collapse in its support — winning no seats, according to incomplete results.

“It’s clearly a difficult result,” Christine Fréchette, Quebec’s premier and leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, said in a concession speech.

For Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, the results come just two weeks before voters in Alberta decide whether to hold a referendum on separation from Canada. In the past, relations have often been tense between the federal government and a Quebec led by the Parti Québécois. But Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon said in a debate during the campaign that he was ready to “collaborate” with Mr. Carney, who remains extremely popular in Quebec.

Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon explicitly called for a referendum during the campaign, breaking with previous Parti Québécois leaders who opted for ambiguity to avoid alienating mainstream voters. Today, support for independence — around 30 percent — is at its lowest in decades.

Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, 49, roused the party’s separatist base with his vow to hold a referendum but spoke little about independence during the campaign. He also tamped down anxieties over a referendum by pledging to hold one only after the end of President Trump’s term.

The flag-bearer of the independence movement, the Parti Québécois led the province to two unsuccessful referendums, in 1980 and 1995. Historically the main supporters of the Quebec independence movement, French Québécois are wealthier and better educated than in the past — and less interested in seceding from Canada, experts say.

As the attitudes of French Québécois have changed — and as the population of immigrants, who tend to side against independence, has risen in Quebec — many separatists have come to believe that the next referendum could be their last chance.

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