Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says a PQ government would remain committed to holding a referendum on Quebec independence but would postpone the vote until U.S. President Donald Trump is no longer in office.
The position comes as the Parti Québécois leads provincial opinion polls ahead of Quebec’s election, scheduled for the fall of 2026. While sovereignty remains at the centre of the party’s platform, Plamondon said Quebec’s constitutional future should not be overshadowed by political instability in the United States or the actions of an unpredictable American president.
Under the proposal, a PQ election victory would not automatically trigger an immediate referendum. Instead, the party would wait until Trump leaves the White House before asking Quebecers to decide whether the province should become an independent country.
The move represents a delay rather than an abandonment of the PQ’s longstanding commitment to hold another sovereignty referendum. The precise timing would depend both on the party winning the provincial election and on political developments in the United States.
The Parti Québécois has traditionally pledged to hold a referendum during its first mandate after taking power. Quebec has held two previous votes on sovereignty, with voters rejecting independence in both 1980 and 1995.
The 1995 referendum was particularly close, with the federalist side winning by fewer than 55,000 votes. The result left the sovereignty question as one of the most significant and enduring issues in Quebec politics.
Plamondon’s position could allow the PQ to campaign on issues beyond an immediate referendum while reassuring voters concerned about the economic and geopolitical uncertainty that could accompany a sovereignty campaign during a period of strained Canada-U.S. relations.
At the same time, linking the timing of a Quebec referendum to the occupant of the White House could become a political vulnerability for the PQ. Opponents could argue that a party advocating Quebec’s ability to determine its own future is allowing developments in another country to influence when Quebecers can make that decision.
For the PQ, the challenge heading into the provincial election will be maintaining support among committed sovereigntists while appealing to voters who may favour the party on domestic issues but remain cautious about reopening the independence debate.
