Separatist party projected to win Quebec election, adding new test to Canada's unity

ByJessica Murphy and James FitzGerald. 6 October 2026, 03: 32 BST.

Key points

• The majority French-speaking province has held other votes on this, in 1980 and 1995.
• It marks the first time the PQ has been in power since 2014, with Paul St-Pierre Plamondon set to become the province's new leader.
• Fréchette conceded her own re-election race in Trois-Rivières shortly before 22: 00 local time.
• While the Quebec Conservative Party gained seats, the Quebec Liberal Party secured the second-most seats.
• The result could prove a fresh test for Prime Minister Mark Carney, additionally setting up confrontations with Québec over matters like immigration and the monarchy.

Though the separatists will need other parties' backing to achieve their intends – such as a new public vote on independence, canada's Parti Québécois (PQ) is projected to have won enough seats in Quebec's provincial election to form a minority administration.

In his victory speech, St-Pierre Plamondon again raised his independence intends but vowed to be "the premier of everyone in Quebec".

For context, the result could prove a fresh test for Prime Minister Mark Carney, additionally setting up confrontations with Québec over matters like immigration and the monarchy.

In its effort to achieve independence, the PQ has pledged to hold a referendum on separating from the rest of Canada.

In practice, the majority French-speaking province has held other votes on this, in 1980 and 1995. On both occasions, the independence movement was defeated. Polls indicate only regarding 30% of Quebecers back such a move this time.

St-Pierre Plamondon has previously remarked the vote would occur after President Donald Trump is out of office south of the border in the United States, explaining that would require "conditions that allow for an informed and serene debate". The US and Canada are in a trade war since of Trump's programme of tariffs.

In his victory speech after Monday's election results, St-Pierre Plamondon remarked of the potential referendum: "Our national destiny will be achieved one day."

But it is not clear how the PQ leader would secure the vote that he wants – given that rival parties, upon whose backing he would depend, oppose independence.

Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard remarked his party is prepared to backing the PQ on a number of matters, but "there is no way we will collaborate on a potential referendum".

Despite winning the most amount of seats of any party, the PQ's share of the popular vote is only 28%. Canada's Carney stresses unity in the face of challenges at home.

With most votes counted on Tuesday morning, the party was set to win fewer than the 64 seats needed to command a majority in the province's assembly, according to projections from Canadian media.

As have the Conservatives, the Liberals – the provincial party with links to Carney's federal Liberals – are projected to have rose their number of seats in the assembly.

All parties benefited from the collapse of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ). It was previously the province's governing party but is not projected to have won a single seat this time.

Carney congratulated Plamondon, saying he looked forward to working with the new provincial leader, adding: "Building a stronger Quebec is at the heart of our mission to build a stronger Canada."

Carney may find himself managing dual unity crises in different parts of the country, depending on the outcome of a vote in Alberta on whether to have a referendum of its own.

Trump is due to leave office in just over two years, meaning that if Plamondon is able to enact his pledge, a third vote on independence would probable be scheduled for 2029 or 2030. Battle looms over British monarchy.

Separate from the matter of independence, Plamondon has produced it clear he is willing to fight Ottawa if it is seen as overstepping matters of provincial interest.

He suggested during the campaign that he was going to pressure Ottawa, external on problems like immigration, vowing to fight any increases mandated by the Carney administration.

He additionally pledged to "abolish the monarchy in Quebec" and reroute capital spent on its institutions to social services instead.

"We are going to do what we have to do to get the monarchy out of Quebec, repatriate those funds, and send them to social causes, " he remarked to journalists in late September.

For example, Plamondon suggested defunding Quebec's lieutenant-governor's office – responsible for representing King Charles III in the province – saying he would instead spend that funds to tackle homelessness.

Plamondon was among the Quebec lawmakers who refused to pledge allegiance to the King in 2022, paving the way for a provincial law that now makes the oath of allegiance optional.

His plan to withdraw financial backing for the lieutenant-governor's office is anticipated to face significant legal challenges, given the monarchy's central role in Canada's constitution.

As one of the key roles of the lieutenant-governor is to provide royal assent to new legislation, such a move would additionally put future Quebec laws in doubt.

Pressed regarding these hurdles, Plamondon stated to journalists that he was ready for a legal battle with the federal administration.

Canada celebrates its birthday as Mark Carney battles to keep it intact.

At Canada's biggest rodeo, the starting gun is fired in the fight over Alberta separation.

Monday's result is in part due to public fatigue with the previous CAQ administration.

Notably, the party created the problem of safeguarding Quebec's identity and language central to its eight years in office, but its long-time leader, François Legault, eventually lost significant backing among voters.

Efforts to revive the party by replacing Legault with a new leader, outgoing Premier Christine Fréchette, were unsuccessful.

Fréchette conceded her own re-election race in Trois-Rivières shortly before 22: 00 local time. She remarked in a speech that she would work with St-Pierre Plamondon on the transition.

"Governing Quebec is the greatest honour I have ever had, " she remarked. "I have Quebec tattooed on my heart."

Though backing for him had lately dipped, external as US President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on Canada in August, after a breakdown in trade negotiations, prime Minister Carney remains popular in Quebec.

Quebec is among the hardest hit by the latest US tariffs, with experts at global forecasting firm Oxford Economics projecting a C$2bn blow for the province.

In short, separatist party projected to win Quebec election, adding new test to Canada' s is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.