Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s Parti Québécois won Quebec’s provincial election on Oct. 5, setting up a referendum on independence in a first mandate, the party says.
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Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is set to become Quebec’s next premier after the Parti Québécois (PQ) won the province’s election on Monday, Oct. 5, following more than a decade of decline.
The win caps a resurgence for the sovereigntist party after it had been polling well for about three years, and it came after four consecutive byelection victories. The PQ’s election-night result means a referendum on independence could be in Quebec’s near future, according to the party’s pledge.
St-Pierre Plamondon has said the PQ will hold a referendum once Donald Trump leaves office, arguing that the current U.S. political climate is not appropriate for thinking about the future.
The last time Quebec was led by a pro-independence government was in 2014, when Premier Pauline Marois was defeated after 18 months in office. St-Pierre Plamondon said throughout the campaign that voters should not be afraid to consider forming a country, citing remarks associated with Jacques Parizeau during a debate on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026.
The PQ says it has estimated the cost of organizing a referendum at $130 million. If held, it would be the first such effort discussed by the party as part of its return to power following a difficult period that included leadership changes and electoral losses.
The party had not appeared to be on track four years earlier, when St-Pierre Plamondon led it to three seats in the National Assembly in a surprise bid that included his own election on the Island of Montreal. After that, the PQ won a byelection in Jean-Talon in October 2023, then moved on to win Terrebonne in March 2025, Arthabaska in August 2025 and Chicoutimi earlier this past February, bringing its seat total to seven.
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