Quebec separatist says no independence referendum while Trump in office

What the report says

Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said the Quebec separatist party would not hold an independence referendum while Donald Trump remains in office, according to Al Jazeera’s report published on 19 August 2026. He argued that debate over Quebec’s future should not be driven by turbulence in US politics or by what he described as the unpredictability of the Trump administration.

The report said Plamondon still wants to pursue a referendum if his party wins Quebec’s next provincial election, which must be held by 5 October. However, he indicated that any vote on sovereignty would be delayed until later in the four-year term, after Trump’s second presidency ends in January 2029. Al Jazeera noted that the Parti Quebecois is polling ahead of Quebec’s Liberals and the ruling Coalition Avenir Quebec, though the CAQ currently holds the most seats in the National Assembly.

The article placed the remarks in the context of heightened Canada-US tension under Trump, including tariff threats and recurring comments about Canada becoming a 51st US state. It also said this friction has complicated separatist politics in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, while also fueling some Canadian nationalism.

A political science professor quoted by The Associated Press in the report said moving ahead with a referendum during Trump’s presidency would be risky, and that support for independence in Quebec remains around 30 percent. The broader significance is that the PQ appears to be balancing its long-standing sovereignty agenda against uncertain public support and an unstable cross-border political climate.