Opinion: Have the goals and values of Montreal and Quebec grown too far apart?

The Quebec election turned out much as the pollsters had called it: the Parti Québécois will form the government, albeit with a minority.

It has been said that Montreal is as distinct from the rest of Quebec as Quebec is from the rest of Canada. This has never been more true than at this moment. Premier-designate and PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was criticized for running on a campaign of fear of the Other — in particular, immigrants — promising to further shut the door on people hoping to move here. He also vowed to tighten the language restrictions on CEGEPs even more than the Coalition Avenir Québec already has, making it harder for young francophones to study in the language of their choice.

St-Pierre Plamondon hasn’t always sounded like this. He once spoke of progressive values and the future. But he has gone through a political transformation of J.D. Vance-like proportions, and it’s hard to believe that he stands for anything other than stoking public fears in order to cynically gain more votes.