Parti Québécois caucus members swear allegiance to ‘the people of Quebec’ — not the King Charles III

Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon during the swearing-in ceremony of Parti Québécois MNAs at the National Assembly in Quebec City
Photo: Postmedia

Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and the 58 members of the Parti Québécois caucus did not pledge allegiance to King Charles III at the swearing-in ceremony for the incoming PQ government, National Post reports.

Instead, they pledged their loyalty to “the people of Quebec” — something that is technically possible to do under a provincial law that was adopted four years ago in the National Assembly of Quebec, but that constitutional lawyers remain skeptical about.

St-Pierre Plamondon entered the red room of the legislature to thunderous applause from his caucus and guests who were chanting for Quebec to become a country only moments before. The premier-elect looked visibly emotional.

“I, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, solemnly declare that I will be loyal to the people of Quebec and that I will perform my duties as a Member of the National Assembly with honesty and justice, in accordance with the Constitution of Quebec,” he said.

One by one, members of his caucus repeated the same phrase to be sworn in as MNAs.

Quebec’s Lieutenant-Governor Manon Jeannotte was nowhere in sight during the swearing-in ceremony. St-Pierre Plamondon has vowed to strip her office’s funding, instead dedicating those funds to fight homelessness in the province.

The National Assembly adopted a law in December 2022 that made swearing an oath to the King optional after the PQ members — including St-Pierre Plamondon — were temporarily barred from taking their seats in the legislature for refusing to do just that.

Last week, Lawrence David, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s faculty of law and president and founder of the Public Interest Litigation Institute, filed an application in Quebec Superior Court for an injunction to force MNAs to swear the oath to the King.

David and the Public Interest Litigation Institute had already filed a lawsuit seeking to restore the oath in August. But given the urgency of the situation with a PQ government promising to abolish the monarchy, he sought an injunction the day after the election.

David claims that MNAs who do not take the oath to the King are not constitutionally authorized to sit in the National Assembly or to pass any laws.

Even Governor General Louise Arbour has expressed skepticism, in recent public comments made to Radio-Canada, about MNAs refusing to swear allegiance to the monarchy, saying that Canada operates within a constitutional framework.

She added that St-Pierre Plamondon, as a lawyer, is well-aware of this reality.

Constitutional or not, the option to swear to the King or not crosses party lines. Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard told FM93 radio that he does not intend to swear allegiance to the King while saying he does not want a “monarchical crisis” in Canada.

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