Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will travel to Alberta to discuss ‘federal abuses of power’

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was in Alberta on Thursday, praising Premier Danielle Smith for standing up to Ottawa.

Though he wants Quebec to separate from the rest of Canada, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will spend two days in Alberta in September, in part to speak about what he calls “federal abuses of power.”

“We share several observations about the state of the Canadian federation. Let’s remember that Albertans, too, in Lougheed’s time, had to fight to preserve certain rights,” St-Pierre Plamondon said in a news release Wednesday.

The PQ leader will be in the province Sept. 11 and 12. His schedule includes a lecture at the University of Calgary along with meetings and interviews.

According to St-Pierre Plamondon, there is “definitely a conversation to be had with Albertans about the federal government’s historic and repeated abuse of power in several provincial jurisdictions, to the detriment of the democratic choices of our respective legislatures.”

‘Respecting our respective self-determination’

Last May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she would hold a referendum on her province’s sovereignty next year if a citizen-led petition collected enough signatures.

At the time, St-Pierre Plamondon said he supported a possible Alberta referendum, arguing it could serve the Quebec sovereignty movement.

“An independent Quebec will always be open and willing to collaborate with other provinces: we can respect our respective self-determination while working together on points of agreement,” he said Wednesday.

The PQ leader also said he plans to undertake “several rounds of diplomacy” outside Quebec over the next year, adding, “Quebec must reconnect with its international diplomacy.”

Support from Maxime Bernier

Quebec and Alberta sovereigntists have also found an unlikely ally.

Three weeks ago, People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier said he would support the Yes side in a future referendum on Quebec or Alberta sovereignty to “break the grip of imperial federalism and open the way for a last attempt to rebalance our federation.”

The PPC says it does not share “the ultimate goal of separatist movements in Quebec and Alberta to break up the country,” but insists “their demands are legitimate.”

The party says a “constitutional crisis following a majority vote in favour of secession in a provincial referendum” could lead to “significant changes” in what it calls an overly centralized federation.

St-Pierre Plamondon welcomed Bernier’s support, saying all allies are needed to achieve independence.

Now leading in the polls, the PQ is promising to hold a third referendum on Quebec sovereignty in its first mandate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 3, 2025.