For Carney, a PQ government could complicate his Team Canada approach when confronting U.S. tariffs and strengthening the domestic economy.<\/p>\n
St-Pierre Plamondon\u2019s monarchy pledge came after it emerged that a seven-day trip by former governor general Mary Simon and her delegation to Norway, Denmark and Greenland in February cost taxpayers about $711,000.<\/p>\n
The lieutenant-governor position, which represents the Canadian monarch in Quebec, formally appoints the premier and cabinet, opens sessions of the legislature and grants royal assent before bills become law.<\/p>\n
But actually abolishing it would be considerably harder than cutting its funding, which St-Pierre Plamondon acknowledged. Under the Constitution, any amendment affecting the office of the monarch, governor general or a provincial lieutenant-governor requires the consent of the House of Commons, Senate and every provincial legislature.<\/p>\n
St-Pierre Plamondon said the monarchy costs Canadian governments between $50 million and $60 million annually, with Quebec taxpayers contributing between $12 million and $15 million. Those figures are consistent with an estimate of the Monarchist League of Canada<\/a>, which put the cost at about $1.61 per Canadian in 2021-23, of which $1.26 went to the governor general and $0.29 to lieutenant-governors.<\/p>\n In 2022, three PQ MNAs elected, including St-Pierre Plamondon, refused to swear allegiance to King Charles III<\/a> and were initially barred from sitting in the National Assembly. Quebec subsequently passed legislation making an oath to the King unnecessary<\/a> for MNAs to take their seats.<\/p>\n Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec minister Simon Jolin-Barrette later proposed replacing the lieutenant-governor with an \u201cOfficer of Quebec\u201d in a draft Quebec constitution<\/a> that died on the order paper. He said discussions with Ottawa would be necessary.<\/p>\n By contrast, Carney has reaffirmed his relationship with the King, previously forged during his seven-year tenure at the Bank of England. As prime minister, Carney has visited Charles in England and welcomed him back to open Parliament in Ottawa<\/a> \u2014 the first time a monarch had done so since 1977. This relationship also comes as Trump has repeatedly talked about making Canada a U.S. state. Carney also spoke by phone in September with Prince William. Carney\u2019s brother, Sean, serves as the prince\u2019s chief operating officer.<\/p>\n On immigration, St-Pierre Plamondon wrote on X<\/a>: \u201cA PQ government will oppose from Day 1 any increase in immigration quotas imposed by the federal government and any attempt to circumvent Quebec democracy to achieve it.\u201d<\/p>\n It followed an interview in which Carney told the New York Times<\/a> that, after reducing population growth, the federal government would eventually have to consider a \u201ccontrolled increase\u201d in its next immigration levels plan, which is tabled annually and set to come next month.<\/p>\n \u201cNow the question starts to become, when do we resume some controlled increase in the population, which is the nature of Canada?\u201d Carney said. \u201cSo that will happen, and we just want to make sure that we\u2019ve got it under control.\u201d<\/p>\n Quebec already has broad powers over immigration, but Ottawa still sets admission, refugee claims and parts of the temporary immigration system.<\/p>\n The CAQ government\u2019s current plan aims for about 45,000 permanent residents a year through 2029, while the PQ has campaigned on lowering that number to about 35,000 and reducing the temporary resident population.<\/p>\n The Gazette reached out to Carney\u2019s office for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/afp_32xj78n_274408692.jpg\")
Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is denied entry to Quebec\u2019s National Assembly after refusing to swear an oath to the King, on Dec. 1, 2022. PHILIPPE-OLIVIER CONTANT \/ AFP via Getty Images files<\/p>\n
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