An independent Quebec would have an army and join NATO: PQ

A man waves a Quebec flag during the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade in Montreal on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

A sovereign Quebec envisioned by Parti Québécois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon would have its own army, a Ministry of National Defence and would be a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Military spending would reach five per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to comply with the international alliance’s requirements.

“An independent Quebec would be fully capable of establishing mechanisms, institutions and policies tailored to its needs in the areas of border security, defence, intelligence and national security,” according to the Livre bleu (Blue book), which the PQ released in its entirety on Monday evening.

The document notes, however, that the size of the “permanent armed forces of an independent Quebec will not be particularly large.”

“A volunteer reserve force will be established to maintain a higher capacity in the event of a situation requiring it,” the document adds.

The PQ says it does not plan to implement compulsory military service.

It also states that the approximately 20,000 Canadian military personnel present on Quebec soil at the time of independence “will be invited to join the Quebec armed forces and pledge allegiance to the new republic.”

The PQ asserts that “the material assets of the Canadian armed forces that will be transferred to Quebec should be proportional to Quebec’s share of Canada’s population.”

This refers in particular to the military bases at Valcartier and Bagotville.

“Any increase or decrease in the transfer of military assets should be offset by a corresponding increase or decrease, as the case may be, in the assumption of Canadian debt,” the document states.

The PQ says it believes that Quebec could outperform Canada in the area of national defence, “particularly by establishing clearer objectives, a more coherent decision-making structure and a policy tailored to its own strategic interests.”

According to the book, Quebec should join NATO, particularly because of Article 5, which stipulates that an attack against one member state is an attack against all members of the alliance.

To this end, the PQ says it wants to increase Quebec’s military spending and investments to five per cent of its GDP by 2035.

A sovereign Quebec would also join the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) and the Canada–United States Permanent Joint Defence Committee.

An independent Quebec would also have its own Ministry of National Defence, whose objectives would be:

• to preserve the integrity of Quebec’s territory and national independence;
• to protect the civilian population from internal and external military threats;
• to protect the civilian population in the event of major natural disasters;
• ensuring peacekeeping abroad and the conduct of humanitarian missions, in accordance with priorities established by the government and our commitments to our allies;
• assuming any other role entrusted to it by the government, within constitutional limits.

‘The start of a dialogue’

The PQ unveiled its Livre bleu, aimed at preparing for Quebec’s independence, one chapter at a time.

Last November, the party presented the chapter with its plan to assign Quebec its own currency.

The sovereignist political party decided to present the entire document to its members on Monday evening during a virtual National Council meeting.

It was approved during the event.

The document, which is over 500 pages long, covers a wide range of topics, with chapters on identity, the economy, public finances, steps toward independence, international relations, citizenship, the French language and the environment.

However, the chapter on relations with First Nations and the Inuit was missing.

The party states that “in a spirit of collaboration and with a view to shaping our collective future,” the PQ “has chosen to initiate a dialogue with First Nations and the Inuit before publishing the chapter concerning them.”

That chapter is scheduled to be released this summer.

For St-Pierre Plamondon, the document is “the beginning of a dialogue with the people of Quebec.”

“This is a first draft intended to evolve as we receive feedback,” he stated during the National Council meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 23, 2026.