PQ Wins Quebec Vote But Lacks Majority for Referendum — SkimNews
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- Parti Québécois won Monday's Quebec election, adding 56 seats and more than doubling its 2022 vote share, but finished five seats short of a majority with only 28% of the popular vote — the lowest share for any governing party in Canada's electoral history, according to analyst Philippe Fournier.
- Paul St-Pierre Plamondon pledged to hold a sovereignty referendum after Trump leaves office in 2028, but roughly 70% of Quebecers oppose another vote, per John Parisella, former chief of staff to two Quebec premiers.
- The governing Coalition Avenir Québec failed to win a single seat as its leader Christine Fréchette lost her own riding and stepped down on Tuesday.
- Parti Conservateur du Québec leader Éric Duhaime won his seat for the first time as his populist party took 19 ridings, partly on a pledge for an underground highway linking Quebec City to its suburbs that government reports peg at up to C$9.3bn (US$6.5bn).
- Prime Minister Mark Carney is the most popular politician in Quebec thanks to his handling of Trump's tariffs and threats, a dynamic Plamondon acknowledged by addressing supporters in English and pledging to be a "good-faith collaborator" with the rest of Canada.
- Alberta holds a "referendum on a referendum" on secession in under two weeks, with polls suggesting Albertans share Quebecers' disinterest in separation.
Why it matters: The PQ returned to power for the first time in 14 years but lacks the mandate — both parliamentary and popular — to push a third sovereignty referendum, meaning the threat to Canadian unity from Quebec is rhetorical rather than imminent. The deeper story is that Trump's tariffs and threats have made federalist leader Mark Carney Quebec's dominant political figure, effectively neutralizing separatist energy.
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