Reuters. A separatist party narrowly won Quebec's election on Monday (October 5), a result that could make it tougher for Prime Minister Mark Carney to maintain national unity against U.S. President Donald Trump.
Provisional results showed the predominantly French-speaking province of 9 million had opted for the Parti Quebecois of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who is promising to hold a referendum on breaking from Canada once Trump leaves office.
"A referendum is a chance to decide things for ourselves ... our national destiny will be achieved one day," Plamondon, a 49-year-old former lawyer, told cheering supporters.
But he faces challenges, since the PQ only won 59 of the 127 seats in the Quebec national assembly, or five short of a majority. The legislature must approve a referendum vote.
In remarks addressed to Carney, Plamondon said he would defend Quebec's interests above all, but reiterated that he was happy to work with Ottawa whenever it suited Quebec.
Carney congratulated Plamondon on X, saying, "Building a stronger Quebec is core to our mission of building a stronger Canada."
Carney looked forward to working with Plamondon to support Quebec's businesses and workers hit by tariffs, he added.
The PQ - which benefited significantly from vote-splitting between the five major parties in the fray - took just 27.9% of the vote, the lowest share of ballots ever captured by a winning party in Quebec electoral history.
The CAQ's collapse reflects the fact that politics in Quebec is traditionally more volatile than elsewhere in Canada. The PQ jumped from seven seats to take power.
