Latest news with #PaulStPierrePlamondon
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Tom Mulcair: The Quebec Liberal leadership contender who could put a stop to a surging separatist tide
For those of us who've been through the wringer of very divisive referendums, the threat of separatism is devoid of charm. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, an able politician whose success is founded on an understated populism, has decided to put her own threat under wraps for the time being and that's a very good thing for Canada. Meanwhile, you guessed it, a resurgent Parti Quebecois has been sabre rattling again and the separatist threat is alive and well in La Belle Province. The PQ's current leader, Paul St. Pierre-Plamondon (PSPP for short), is a studious talkaholic who has managed to reignite his party's standing in the polls, if not support for separatism itself. At least not yet. PSPP is surfing easily on a very large wave of discontent with the hopelessly incompetent CAQ government of Francois Legault, as it stumbles to the end of its second mandate. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon sums up the spring session as it comes to an end, at the legislature in Quebec City, Friday, June 6, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot) PSPP is already starting to soft-pedal his supposedly rock hard promise to hold the province's third referendum on sovereignty if the PQ gets reelected. He now talks of a 'consultation,' not of a referendum. To the untrained eye, that's splitting political hairs, but there's a sucker born every minute and no one who knows the place is taking the threat lightly. Legault got just over 40 per cent of the vote in the last election. A perfect split of the remaining 60 per cent among four opposition parties gave his CAQ a massive majority. The Quebec Liberals had their worst showing ever but thanks to a strong concentration of Liberal votes amongst Montreal's Anglo and cultural communities, still managed to eke out official opposition status. The Quebec Liberals haven't had a permanent leader since former head Dominique Anglade stepped down right after the 2022 election debacle. That is about to change as Quebec Liberals will begin voting on Monday for their new leader, who will be announced at a convention in Quebec City on June 14. When former federal minister Pablo Rodriguez indicated he'd be running, the Trudeau government was some 25 per cent behind the Conservatives in the polls. Pablo Rodriguez, Karl Blackburn Quebec Liberal Leadership candidate Pablo Rodriguez speaks as candidate Karl Blackburn, right, looks on during a debate in Quebec City Thursday, May 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot That, of course, changed very rapidly after the arrival of Mark Carney, but Rodriguez was not in a position to have the second thoughts of a Sean Fraser or Anita Anand who both reversed their announced decisions to quit politics. Rodriguez had left what had been a sinking ship and his lifeboat was going to be the Quebec Liberals. He couldn't swim back. Rodriguez was himself a Montreal MP and he garnered early strong support from the Quebec Liberal caucus, which was concentrated in the Montreal area. That support and some general general polling results, led many to believe that Rodriguez would win in a romp. The problem for Rodriguez was that the polling in question was general and didn't zero in on party members. Another challenge was that under the leadership rules, each one of the 125 ridings was attributed the same number of points, irrespective of the number of members. Of the 3,000 points per riding, 1,000 were reserved for members under 25. Navigating those rules required hard work across the province and across age groups. The majority of Quebec ridings are located outside of the Montreal area. In fact, Legault only has two seats in Montreal and yet has totally dominated the rest of Quebec in winning his two majorities. Karl Blackburn It took forever for the team supporting Rodriguez to understand that math and it may now be too late as a tireless campaign across Quebec regions by former Member of the National Assembly, Karl Blackburn, is showing exceptional strength. Recent deep polling of a large sample of party members by Mainstreet shows Blackburn beating Rodriguez in the second, run-off ballot. Karl Blackburn Quebec Liberal Leadership candidate Karl Blackburn speaks during a debate in Quebec City Thursday, May 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot Only one other candidate, pharmacist and former Chamber of Commerce head Charles Milliard is considered to be a real, if unlikely, contender. Don't let the family name fool you, Blackburn is a dyed in the wool francophone Quebecer from the resource rich Saguenay-Lac-St. Jean region. I first met him when he won an implausible victory in Roberval as the Charest government rolled into power some 20 years ago. I was the environment minister and I got to see how Blackburn worked on what could easily have become a contentious file concerning competing uses for one of that area's majestic rivers. Blackburn always knew his files better than anyone and has an innate knack for keeping everyone on side. He doesn't divide, he always adds. He has held the highest offices in the Quebec Liberal party and went on to a career at the top level in the forestry industry before becoming president and CEO of the Conseil du Patronat (Quebec's larget employers' group). Blackburn also has a unique openness for the ethnocultural reality of Montreal. I reconnected with him last year when we met during an important event for the large Maghrebine community. No longer in politics, Blackburn was not obliged to spend his Saturday evening attending an event of this type. He stayed throughout because of his strong interest in understanding the rich fabric of Montreal's diversity. Blackburn was late into the race. A bout with prostate cancer sidelined him from the first months. Many in the party thought it was too late for him to throw his hat into the ring. When he decided to run, he collected the necessary signatures in the required number of ridings in record time. He prevailed in his fight against the disease and and has campaigned across the province relentlessly, with special emphasis on the regions outside of the big cities and it's worked. One of the jobs that Blackburn held at the Liberal Party was that of chief organizer, and it shows. He has brought back, and brought together, an A-Team of seasoned political pros that the Quebec Liberals haven't seen in years. Keep an eye on Blackburn. He represents the very best of the party of Robert Bourassa, able to build bridges where the separatists are promising to blow them up. A man for his era, if he does win the leadership, he could well lead the Quebec Liberals to victory in next year's general election.
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Tom Mulcair: The Quebec Liberal leadership contender who could put a stop to a surging separatist tide
For those of us who've been through the wringer of very divisive referendums, the threat of separatism is devoid of charm. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, an able politician whose success is founded on an understated populism, has decided to put her own threat under wraps for the time being and that's a very good thing for Canada. Meanwhile, you guessed it, a resurgent Parti Quebecois has been sabre rattling again and the separatist threat is alive and well in La Belle Province. The PQ's current leader, Paul St. Pierre-Plamondon (PSPP for short), is a studious talkaholic who has managed to reignite his party's standing in the polls, if not support for separatism itself. At least not yet. PSPP is surfing easily on a very large wave of discontent with the hopelessly incompetent CAQ government of Francois Legault, as it stumbles to the end of its second mandate. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon sums up the spring session as it comes to an end, at the legislature in Quebec City, Friday, June 6, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot) PSPP is already starting to soft-pedal his supposedly rock hard promise to hold the province's third referendum on sovereignty if the PQ gets reelected. He now talks of a 'consultation,' not of a referendum. To the untrained eye, that's splitting political hairs, but there's a sucker born every minute and no one who knows the place is taking the threat lightly. Legault got just over 40 per cent of the vote in the last election. A perfect split of the remaining 60 per cent among four opposition parties gave his CAQ a massive majority. The Quebec Liberals had their worst showing ever but thanks to a strong concentration of Liberal votes amongst Montreal's Anglo and cultural communities, still managed to eke out official opposition status. The Quebec Liberals haven't had a permanent leader since former head Dominique Anglade stepped down right after the 2022 election debacle. That is about to change as Quebec Liberals will begin voting on Monday for their new leader, who will be announced at a convention in Quebec City on June 14. When former federal minister Pablo Rodriguez indicated he'd be running, the Trudeau government was some 25 per cent behind the Conservatives in the polls. Pablo Rodriguez, Karl Blackburn Quebec Liberal Leadership candidate Pablo Rodriguez speaks as candidate Karl Blackburn, right, looks on during a debate in Quebec City Thursday, May 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot That, of course, changed very rapidly after the arrival of Mark Carney, but Rodriguez was not in a position to have the second thoughts of a Sean Fraser or Anita Anand who both reversed their announced decisions to quit politics. Rodriguez had left what had been a sinking ship and his lifeboat was going to be the Quebec Liberals. He couldn't swim back. Rodriguez was himself a Montreal MP and he garnered early strong support from the Quebec Liberal caucus, which was concentrated in the Montreal area. That support and some general general polling results, led many to believe that Rodriguez would win in a romp. The problem for Rodriguez was that the polling in question was general and didn't zero in on party members. Another challenge was that under the leadership rules, each one of the 125 ridings was attributed the same number of points, irrespective of the number of members. Of the 3,000 points per riding, 1,000 were reserved for members under 25. Navigating those rules required hard work across the province and across age groups. The majority of Quebec ridings are located outside of the Montreal area. In fact, Legault only has two seats in Montreal and yet has totally dominated the rest of Quebec in winning his two majorities. Karl Blackburn It took forever for the team supporting Rodriguez to understand that math and it may now be too late as a tireless campaign across Quebec regions by former Member of the National Assembly, Karl Blackburn, is showing exceptional strength. Recent deep polling of a large sample of party members by Mainstreet shows Blackburn beating Rodriguez in the second, run-off ballot. Karl Blackburn Quebec Liberal Leadership candidate Karl Blackburn speaks during a debate in Quebec City Thursday, May 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot Only one other candidate, pharmacist and former Chamber of Commerce head Charles Milliard is considered to be a real, if unlikely, contender. Don't let the family name fool you, Blackburn is a dyed in the wool francophone Quebecer from the resource rich Saguenay-Lac-St. Jean region. I first met him when he won an implausible victory in Roberval as the Charest government rolled into power some 20 years ago. I was the environment minister and I got to see how Blackburn worked on what could easily have become a contentious file concerning competing uses for one of that area's majestic rivers. Blackburn always knew his files better than anyone and has an innate knack for keeping everyone on side. He doesn't divide, he always adds. He has held the highest offices in the Quebec Liberal party and went on to a career at the top level in the forestry industry before becoming president and CEO of the Conseil du Patronat (Quebec's larget employers' group). Blackburn also has a unique openness for the ethnocultural reality of Montreal. I reconnected with him last year when we met during an important event for the large Maghrebine community. No longer in politics, Blackburn was not obliged to spend his Saturday evening attending an event of this type. He stayed throughout because of his strong interest in understanding the rich fabric of Montreal's diversity. Blackburn was late into the race. A bout with prostate cancer sidelined him from the first months. Many in the party thought it was too late for him to throw his hat into the ring. When he decided to run, he collected the necessary signatures in the required number of ridings in record time. He prevailed in his fight against the disease and and has campaigned across the province relentlessly, with special emphasis on the regions outside of the big cities and it's worked. One of the jobs that Blackburn held at the Liberal Party was that of chief organizer, and it shows. He has brought back, and brought together, an A-Team of seasoned political pros that the Quebec Liberals haven't seen in years. Keep an eye on Blackburn. He represents the very best of the party of Robert Bourassa, able to build bridges where the separatists are promising to blow them up. A man for his era, if he does win the leadership, he could well lead the Quebec Liberals to victory in next year's general election.
CTV News
02-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
The Québec solidaire candidate in Terrebonne switches to the Parti Québécois
Archives - Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon celebrates with candidate Catherine Gentilcore, second from left, after she won the by-election in Terrebonne on Monday, March 17, 2025. (The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi) The candidate who represented Québec solidaire (QS) in the Terrebonne by-election, Nadia Poirier, is leaving the party to join the Parti Québécois (PQ). Poirier made the announcement on social media on Sunday, just over two months after the by-election, which PQ candidate Catherine Gentilcore easily won. A few days after the by-election, in which she finished fourth with 4.55 per cent of the vote, Poirier publicly lamented the lack of support from QS during the campaign. On Reddit, Poirier pointed out, among other things, that no QS MNAs had come to Terrebonne with her to campaign, except co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal for a 'solidarity beer.' On Sunday, Poirier revealed that this was 'only the tip of the iceberg of what [she] criticizes the party for.' 'But since I prefer to wash my dirty laundry in private, I shared the rest of my grievances with them privately. The result remains the same: I am leaving Québec Solidaire,' she announced. Poirier justified her move to the PQ by saying that she had read the party's national platform and found 'particularly progressive elements, ideas that overlap with those of QS, refreshing proposals.' 'When you put aside the QS-PQ rivalry, you realize that we are not so far apart,' she wrote. Poirier stated that she will continue to campaign for independence. She also said she hopes for a 'sovereignist convergence' with a view to a third referendum. Poirier also ran for QS in Terrebonne in the 2022 general election. She finished third, behind the Coalition Avenir Québec and the PQ. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French June 2, 2025.
Globe and Mail
29-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Quebec's National Assembly unanimously votes to break ties with the monarchy
Quebec's National Assembly had a parting gift for King Charles III on Tuesday: a unanimous motion to abolish the monarchy in Quebec. Within hours of the sovereign leaving Canada after his brief visit to open Parliament and deliver the Throne Speech, the blue chamber of the provincial legislature voted 106-0 to cut all ties between the Crown and the province. The motion does not bind the government to act, and constitutional experts agree that enacting it would be nearly impossible, but the gesture highlighted the stark difference in feeling toward all things regal in English and French Canada. King Charles delivers Throne Speech asserting Canada's sovereignty, pledging major transformation in economy The leader of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, put forward the motion, but every party in the legislature supported it, with no abstentions, including the governing Coalition Avenir Québec and the staunchly federalist Liberals. The practical implications of the motion would include jettisoning Quebec's Lieutenant-Governor, the representative of the Crown in the province, who formally appoints ministers, signs laws and launches elections. The leftist Québec solidaire suggested replacing her with an 'administrator' until the province becomes independent, as QS would like. 'I have nothing against the English,' Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon said in a scrum Tuesday. 'It's just not my king. It's not my country. And I don't understand why we throw tens of thousands of dollars every year at these institutions. I find it unacceptable.' Quebeckers have always had a complicated relationship with a monarchy that some still view as a symbol of conquest. Today, the overwhelming sentiment is one of crushing indifference: 87 per cent of respondents in a recent Léger poll said they felt no attachment to the Crown. The Quebec government has taken steps in recent years to diminish the place of the monarchy in public life. In 2022 it scrapped the requirement for members of the National Assembly to pledge allegiance to the King, after a stand-off with deputies from the PQ who refused to do so. In 2023 the National Assembly approved a motion calling to abolish the role of lieutenant-governor. But bringing this week's motion into force would require much more drastic action, said Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Montreal. To break with the monarchy in Quebec would require abolishing it across Canada, a step that would involve constitutional reform agreed to by all the provinces and the federal government. 'It's a bit of wishful thinking,' Prof. Gaudreault-DesBiens said. 'As long as Quebec wants to remain within the constitutional order of Canada – so unless it achieves independence – it has to play by the rules.' The PQ, currently leading in the polls, has promised a referendum on independence during its first mandate if elected. But despite the party's popularity, support for Quebec sovereignty is hovering around a historic low amidst U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to annex Canada. The office of Premier François Legault declined to say Wednesday whether it would take steps to abolish the monarchy in Quebec, but spokesperson Ewan Sauves defended the government's support for the motion. 'We are a nationalist government,' he said in a statement. 'We are responding above all to the people of Quebec. It's clear for us that a majority of Quebeckers don't recognize themselves in the monarchy. And remember: Quebec is a distinct nation within Canada. The motion adopted yesterday is in that spirit.' With reports from The Canadian Press
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Quebec legislature votes unanimously to cut all ties with the monarchy
Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon during Question Period at the National Assembly, May 1, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) King Charles III had barely left the country as the National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion on Tuesday to cut all ties with the monarchy. The motion was tabled by PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon after Question Period, on a red-letter day in another parliament, Ottawa, where the monarch delivered the Speech from the Throne for the first time since 1977. The PQ motion was adopted unanimously, with 106 votes in favour and no abstentions. Even the federalist Liberals, who are more attached to Canadian institutions, voted in favour, as did the CAQ government benches. The vote was at 3:06 pm. The King had just left Canada shortly after 1 p.m., at the end of a short two-day visit. On Tuesday, he was welcomed by crowds of curious onlookers who lined Wellington Street, where he was escorted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 27, 2025. By Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press
