{"id":862751,"date":"2026-08-18T17:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T17:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/862751\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T17:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T17:24:11","slug":"no-referendum-with-trump-around-says-pq-ahead-of-october-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/862751\/","title":{"rendered":"No referendum with Trump around, says PQ ahead of October election"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

The Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois will not hold a referendum as long as U.S. President Donald Trump remains in power, party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon announced Tuesday morning. <\/p>\n

In a news release, St-Pierre Plamondon said he wants to avoid having the issue “hijacked by the ups and downs of American politics.” <\/p>\n

“An issue as crucial as the political future of Quebec requires conditions that allow for an informed and calm debate,” the PQ leader said.<\/p>\n

He said the next government will be faced with “more than enough challenges” without calling a referendum. <\/p>\n

“So I decided to completely defuse the argument that this would be the worst time to think about our future because of Trump, by ruling out the possibility of holding a referendum by the end of his second term,” St-Pierre Plamondon explained.<\/p>\n

Trump’s second term is set to end on Jan. 20, 2029. <\/p>\n

St-Pierre Plamondon said that, if elected, he would still consult Quebecers on the issue of independence during his first mandate, but only after Trump leaves office. <\/p>\n

The announcement comes just over a week ahead of the official launch of the Quebec provincial election campaign. Voters are scheduled to head to the polls on Oct. 5.<\/p>\n

Across the country, Canadians are waiting to hear<\/a> what comes of last-minute negotiations to avoid a fresh batch of American tariffs expected to take effect this week. <\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the discussions are “delicate” and “intense.” He plans to speak to his American counterpart before the Wednesday deadline to broker a mutually agreeable deal. <\/p>\n

WATCH | More on the PQ’s decision:\"\"<\/p>\n

PQ says referendum on Quebec independence won’t happen while Trump in power<\/p>\n

In a post to social media Tuesday, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said he doesn\u2019t want to risk the debate being \u201chijacked by the ups and downs of American politics.\u201dPQ leader seeks to appeal to anglophones<\/p>\n

The separatist leader has promised to hold a referendum in his first mandate, and while anglophone voters have largely supported Liberals in the past, St-Pierre Plamondon has been making an appeal to them in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

In an open letter published in the National Post last week, St-Pierre Plamondon said he has heard from anglophones who “share the same realities and concerns” as francophones in the province.<\/p>\n

As examples, he points to issues related to the cost of living and purchasing a home as well as struggles in the education and health-care systems to provide sufficient services.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all in the same boat,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cWe live under the same institutions. We pay the same taxes. We deserve the same high-quality public services and individual financial well-being.”<\/p>\n

Speaking of the PQ\u2019s announcement in an interview Tuesday morning, Quebec Liberal Party Leader Charles Milliard said the postponement \u201ctells me that the option of separating Quebec from Canada is a weak option.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says this announcement is an attempt to manipulate public opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a party that\u2019s saying yes and no at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent poll published by Angus Reid and surveying just over 900 people, only 15 per cent of respondents said they would “definitely vote to leave” if a referendum were held today.<\/p>\n

An additional 11 per cent responded they would “lean toward voting to leave.”<\/p>\n

Regardless, the PQ is ahead in the polls. <\/p>\n

According to political aggregator 338Canada<\/a>, the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois holds a lead in overall voting intentions, placing them ahead of the Quebec Liberal Party and the governing Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n

WATCH | What political ads tell us about the coming election:\"\"<\/p>\n

What Quebec parties\u2019 pre-campaign ads suggest ahead of the election<\/p>\n

The Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec and Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois have launched pre-campaign ads, and analysts believe these messages provide a better idea of the parties\u2019 priorities. Public relations consultant Victor Henriquez says a key focus for the CAQ is the economy, while the PQ is aiming to win back voters from the governing party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-862751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}