Parti Québécois leader says Ottawa poses 'existential threat' and promises referendum – Winnipeg Free Press

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – Quebecois leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon on Sunday repeated his pledge to hold a third independence referendum if his party wins the next election.

At the PQ's national council in Drummondville, Que., St. Pierre Plamondon told about 500 party members that Quebecers have one “last” chance to protect their language and culture amid an “existential threat” from Ottawa and a declining province. within the federation.

“One thing is clear,” he said. “Our moment will come sooner than we think, that is, not in some long-term idealized day, but in a few years – before the end of the decade.

“We are really going through a third referendum,” he said.

The 47-year-old leader has refocused on sovereignty since taking the reins in 2020 after the party's worst election result in 50 years. But its first place in the polls in recent months has given a new edge to this weekend's pledge to hold a referendum by 2030.

A year and a half after the PQ was deemed dead, St-Pierre Plamondon's popularity has shown steady support for independence, with only a third of respondents in recent polls showing support. Some analysts attribute the PQ's rise largely to growing discontent with Prime Minister Francois Legault and his Avenir Quebec coalition government.

St. Pierre Plamondon's speech provoked a strong reaction from opponents.

In a social media post, Stephane Gobeil, the prime minister's chief strategy officer, described the vote pledge, which predicts a PQ victory at the ballot box in 2026, as “either arrogance or poorly controlled euphoria.”

Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay described his opponent as the PQ's “most radical leader” and accused him of inciting fear for independence.

Saint-Pierre Plamondon said the federal government has moved to encroach on Quebec's jurisdiction, including housing and health care, where the province has severe shortages.

“What you say to me is, if housing improves, what will that change,” he told reporters, adding that the federal upgrades would mean acquiescing to an “increasingly unitary state.”

Sometimes this address took on an apocalyptic tone.