Quebec separatist leader says no independence referendum until Trump leaves office

TORONTO (AP) — The leader of Quebec’s separatist party said Tuesday he would delay any referendum on independence from Canada until Donald Trump is no longer U.S. president.

Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose party is out of power but could win Quebec’s next election that must be held by Oct. 5, said a PQ government would still hold a referendum during its first term — but not before Jan. 20, 2029, when Trump’s term ends.

He said a question as consequential as Quebec’s future requires a clear and calm debate.

“It must not be hijacked by the upheavals of American politics, nor by the outbursts of an unpredictable president, nor by fear campaigns,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.

“This unpredictability of the American administration will harm our process as well as the quality of the debate on our future as a nation."

Trump’s tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have complicated the separatist case in Quebec, fueling Canadian nationalism and prompting some French-speaking Quebecers to see greater security in remaining part of Canada.

Separatist sentiment has also surfaced in Alberta, where voters will decide Oct. 19 whether the province should take steps toward holding a binding referendum on leaving Canada.

Separatist referendums would face an uphill battle in both Quebec and Alberta, with Trump’s tariffs and 51st-state rhetoric strengthening the case for remaining in Canada

Quebec voters have twice rejected sovereignty, most recently by a razor-thin margin in a 1995 referendum.

Quebec, which is about 80% French-speaking, already has significant autonomy. The province of 9.1 million collects its own income tax, has immigration policies favoring French speakers and has laws giving French priority over English.

The Parti Québécois was founded in the 1960s under René Lévesque and has long sought to make Quebec an independent country.

The Parti Québécois has governed Quebec several times without holding a referendum, including during its most recent stint in power from 2012 to 2014.

Quebec’s identity has been contentious since the 1760s, when the British completed their takeover of what was then called New France.