PQ leader's comments threaten social cohesion: Quebec MP

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OTTAWA — Quebec Liberal MP Pablo Rodríguez says he regrets the tone of the Parti Québécois leader who cited dark moments in Canadian history to justify the party's push for independence.

Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon said at a press conference on Tuesday that the history of Francophones in Canada is colored by deportations and executions.

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A few days ago, he cited Canada's encroachment on Quebec's jurisdiction as further proof of Quebec's sovereignty and promised to hold an independence referendum by 2030 if the party came to power in 2026.

The PQ leader also said Ottawa “wants to beat Quebec.”

Rodriguez, the transport minister and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Quebec lieutenant, slammed the comments as “deeply disappointing and even disturbing.”

He told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday that talking about executions and deportations, while historically accurate, does not reflect Quebec and Canada today and that using those words undermines social cohesion.

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