Overview
- The Parti Québécois will form a minority government after capturing 59 seats in the 127-seat National Assembly in the Oct. 5 vote, leaving it five seats short of a majority.
- Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has pledged to hold a referendum on Quebec independence during his first mandate but says it will not be called while President Donald Trump remains in office, targeting a vote after 2029.
- The governing Coalition Avenir Québec was effectively wiped out, losing the 79 seats it held, while the Quebec Liberals won about 40 seats and form the official opposition.
- Éric Duhaime’s Quebec Conservatives made a breakthrough with 19 seats and official party status, which gives them leverage to block referendum measures or shape budgets in a minority parliament.
- The PQ platform includes cuts to temporary immigration and a plan to abolish the lieutenant-governor’s provincial office, proposals that would face legal and constitutional challenges and require support from other parties to implement.