PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says QC referendum campaign is already underway

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says the referendum campaign for Quebec independence is already underway after Prime Minister Carney's remarks.

SAINT-HYACINTHE — Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says the referendum campaign for Quebec independence is already underway, suggesting it was the prime minister who launched it.

Speaking to hundreds of party members at a PQ convention in Saint-Hyacinthe on Sunday, St-Pierre Plamondon blamed recent comments by Prime Minister Mark Carney for effectively launching the federalist “No” campaign.

Carney, speaking earlier this week about the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, described the 1759 battle as the start of a “partnership” between French and English people in Canada and called for national unity.

St-Pierre Plamondon said Carney’s comments are a sign of things to come.

“A new political cycle has indeed begun. A new chapter in our history is opening before us,” said the PQ leader.

“Mr. Carney, Quebec does not exist because of Canada. In fact, Quebec has survived in its difference and specificity despite Canada,” he added, to a standing ovation from the crowd of enthusiastic PQ supporters.

St-Pierre Plamondon sharply criticized Carney on Friday, accusing him of being part of a “long tradition of colonialism” dating back to Lord Durham.

“This tradition is one of falsifying facts and history and constantly feeding us lies through federal institutions,” he said. “We will break with British colonialism and create our own country.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 25, 2026.

Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press