Incoming Parti Québécois eyes friends and foes across the aisle
The Parti Québécois has secured a minority government in Quebec, leaving the province's political future dependent on negotiations with opposition parties. While the party aims for independence, the premier-designate faces immediate challenges in balancing coalition demands and governing.
Why it matters
The political instability in Quebec could have significant implications for Canadian national unity and the potential for a future secession referendum.
Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in the province's capital city on Tuesday. Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
Two parties at opposite ends of Quebec’s ideological spectrum have been thrust into the national spotlight after an election that leaves the province’s political future – and possibly the unity of Canada – in their hands.
The left-wing Québec solidaire and right-wing Conservative Party both won enough seats in Monday’s vote to potentially decide whether the incoming minority Parti Québécois government stays in power long enough to launch an independence referendum.
With the PQ at 59 seats, five shy of a majority, premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has vowed to collaborate across the aisle, while his rival party leaders are starting to hint at what they will demand in return.
“It will be a context of rivalry and contention on many issues,” said André Lamoureux, a political-science lecturer at the University of Quebec at Montreal.
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