Carney touts Canadian sovereignty in first comments on Parti Québécois win in Quebec

OTTAWA — Hours after the Parti Québécois was elected to a minority government, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke with premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and promised to work with him towards increasing sovereignty for Canadians.

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Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Carney said he had just congratulated the incoming Quebec premier and discussed ways to work together in the future.

On Monday evening, Quebecers elected a minority Parti Québécois government to replace the Coalition Avenir Quebec, which was completely eradicated from the electoral map.

St-Pierre Plamondon committed to hold a referendum on Quebec’s sovereignty within his first mandate if elected, but only after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the Oval Office.

In the meantime, Carney said he wanted to extend his philosophy of “cooperative federalism” to the separatist leader and argued for the need for a “strong Quebec within a strong Canada.”

Asked if he was concerned about a Quebec referendum, Carney retorted that he too was working towards sovereignty, but for Canada.

“We take advantage of the real opportunities that exist for our country because of Canadians, because of Canadian values, because of Canadian strengths to expand our trading network and to become more sovereign in Canada,” Carney told reporters Tuesday morning.

“It’s sovereignty, but it’s Canada’s sovereignty. It’s Canada’s independence.”

St-Pierre Plamondon was elected with only 28 per cent of the vote, raising questions about if he has a legitimate mandate to hold a plebiscite on the province’s independent.

When the question was put to Carney, the prime minister simply responded with his party’s election numbers in the 2025 federal election.

More to come.

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com

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