Quebec Separatists to Wait Out Trump Before Independence Vote

The leader of Quebec's separatist Parti Québécois (PQ) said Tuesday that his party would not hold an independence referendum while Donald Trump remains U.S. president. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose party is currently out of power but could win Quebec's next election, due by October 5, said a PQ government would still hold a referendum during its first term — but not before January 20, 2029, when Trump's term ends.

St-Pierre Plamondon argued that a decision as consequential as Quebec's future requires a clear and calm debate. "It must not be hijacked by the upheavals of American politics, nor by the outbursts of an unpredictable president, nor by fear campaigns," he said. He added that the unpredictability of the U.S. administration would harm both the process and the quality of the debate on Quebec's future as a nation.

Trump's tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have complicated the separatist case in Quebec. They have fueled Canadian nationalism and prompted some French-speaking Quebecers to see greater security in remaining part of Canada. Separatist sentiment has also surfaced in Alberta, where voters will decide on October 19 whether the province should take steps toward holding a binding referendum on leaving Canada. However, separatist referendums would face an uphill battle in both provinces, with Trump's rhetoric strengthening the case for staying in Canada.

Quebec voters have twice rejected sovereignty, most recently by a razor-thin margin in 1995. The province, which is about 80% French-speaking, already has significant autonomy. It collects its own income tax, has immigration policies favoring French speakers, and has laws giving French priority over English. The Parti Québécois, founded in the 1960s under René Lévesque, has long sought to make Quebec an independent country. It has governed Quebec several times without holding a referendum, including during its most recent stint in power from 2012 to 2014. Quebec's identity has been contentious since the 1760s, when the British completed their takeover of what was then called New France.