Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon spent the Labour Day long weekend campaigning across the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, stopping in La Pocatière, Rimouski, and Rivière-du-Loup. During his tour, he pledged a 1.3 billion-dollar injection into home support for seniors, promising to increase the budget dedicated to home care by 50 percent if elected.
Campaign Trail Leads Through the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Capital Region
The PQ leader was accompanied by local candidates including Ariane Boyer for Rivière-du-Loup-Témiscouata-Les Basques, Yohann St-Pierre in Rimouski, alongside MNA Pascal Bérubé for Matane and MNA Joël Arseneau for Îles-de-la-Madeleine. In addition to healthcare policy, St-Pierre Plamondon defended his stance on temporary immigration—describing a reduction of half as a necessary shift toward regionalization—and visited a corn maze in La Pocatière structured in the shape of a large “Oui” in reference to referendum plans.
Earlier in the week, the campaign focused on the Capitale-Nationale region, where St-Pierre Plamondon reiterated a pledge to take back control of Mont-Sainte-Anne, calling it a collective jewel. The rally and subsequent events addressed local tourism development alongside candidate schedules, with the leader defending the absence of local candidate François Gariépy from certain media briefings by noting that not every candidate in the broader Quebec City region could appear at every photo opportunity.
Majority Government Needed for Independence Vote, Leader Insists
St-Pierre Plamondon has argued that securing a parliamentary majority is essential for advancing sovereigntist goals. According to Le Devoir, the PQ leader has maintained that without a majority government providing free rein, or les coudées franches
, the realization of an independence referendum becomes highly problematic. He pointed to policy areas such as healthcare, education, homelessness, infrastructure, and bureaucracy as domains where a majority mandate provides necessary governing capacity.
Current polling shows Parti Québécois voting intentions hovering around 30 percent, with analysts observing that a significant portion of the electorate remains opposed to holding a referendum. Commentators and political opponents have raised doubts about the feasibility of such a vote under a minority government. Analyses broadcast by TVA Nouvelles noted that opposition parties, including the Conservative Party of Quebec led by Éric Duhaime, the Liberal Party, and the Coalition Avenir Québec, would actively work to obstruct a referendum if given the legislative leverage to do so.
Political Background and Past Votes
St-Pierre Plamondon has led the Parti Québécois since 2020, when he succeeded Jean-François Lisée. A former lawyer who studied civil and common law at McGill University before obtaining a master’s degree in business administration from Oxford University in 2006, he previously practiced at Stikeman Elliott and the Delegatus law collective. He was first elected to the National Assembly in October 2022 representing the riding of Camille-Laurin in eastern Montreal.
Reflecting on his personal history with the sovereignty movement, St-Pierre Plamondon noted that he was 18 years old during the 1995 Quebec independence referendum. He recounted that he was the sole member of his family to vote in favor of separation at the time, though he later experienced a period as a federalist before returning to a sovereigntist platform through his legal career. Highlighting the party’s long-term timeline for self-determination, St-Pierre Plamondon stated at a 2024 national council gathering that one thing was certain: their moment would arrive sooner than they thought, meaning not at some long-term idealized date, but in a few years—before the end of the decade—and that they would indeed experience a third referendum.
