Parti Québécois Wins Quebec Election, Vows New Independence Referendum

Parti Quebecois returns to power, promising a third referendum on Quebec’s independence from Canada.

6 Oct 2026

The secessionist Parti Québécois has claimed victory in Quebec’s provincial election, emerging as the largest party and poised to form the next government in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province, according to media reports.

The Monday results have reignited the debate over whether the province should sever ties with Canada, presenting a fresh test for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s commitment to national unity.

Party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is expected to assume the role of premier.

During the campaign, he pledged to hold a third independence referendum during his first term, contingent on waiting until U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office in January 2029.

It remained unclear at press time whether the party secured the 64 seats required for a majority in the 127-seat National Assembly.

Should it fall short, the PQ would govern as a minority administration, requiring backing from opposition lawmakers to pass key legislation and survive confidence motions.

The Parti Québécois previously governed the province from 2012 to 2014.

Monday’s victory represents a dramatic recovery for the party, which managed only three seats in the 2022 provincial election.

The win also concludes eight years in office for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), a centre-right nationalist party that does not support independence.

Daniel Beland, a political science professor at Montreal’s McGill University, told The Associated Press that the outcome reflects the province’s multiparty system, where support is fragmented across several parties, rather than a genuine surge in secessionist sentiment.

Beland noted that support for independence sits at roughly 30 percent, historically low.

Nevertheless, he argued that a pro-independence government in Quebec poses a new national-unity challenge for Carney, compounded by an independence-related vote looming in Alberta.

“Seeing that a pro-independence party won in Quebec barely two weeks before an independence-related referendum takes place in Alberta might suggest to the Trump administration that national unity remains a major issue in Canada despite the popularity of Mark Carney,” Beland said.

Quebec has held two prior independence referendums, in 1980 and 1995, with voters rejecting secession on both occasions.

The second vote was settled by a narrow margin, though no further referendum has been held in the intervening three decades.

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