Quebec separatist says no independence referendum while Trump in office

The head of a major secessionist party in the Canadian province of Quebec has promised not to hold a referendum on independence until United States President Donald Trump has left office.

Parti Quebecois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said on Tuesday that debate over the issue could only proceed calmly once Trump is no longer president.

“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.”

Quebec must hold its next provincial election by October 5, and the Parti Quebecois is hoping to make gains at the ballot box.

Polls currently suggest it is leading the province’s Liberal Party and the Coalition Avenir Quebec, which has the greatest number of seats in Quebec’s National Assembly.

St-Pierre Plamondon affirmed that he intended to seek an independence referendum should his party win this year.

But such a vote, he said, would wait until later in the four-year term, after Trump’s second term concludes in January 2029.

Since returning to the presidency in 2025, Trump’s hostility towards Canada has redefined cross-border relations.

Trump has repeatedly voiced controversial opinions about turning the country into a 51st US state, and has used tariffs on Canadian goods as leverage to advance policy demands.

Negotiations on Tuesday are ongoing as Canadian officials seek to head off Trump’s latest tariff threat, which would place 50 percent import taxes on a range of goods starting at midnight on Wednesday.

The growing friction between the US and Canada has placed secessionist movements in places like Alberta and Quebec in a difficult position.

Trump’s actions have sparked a surge in Canadian nationalism, as citizens express anger at US policy.

There has also been speculation that the US may encourage secessionist efforts in provinces like Alberta, where right-wing leaders like Premier Danielle Smith hold significant sway.

While residents of Quebec have long pushed for greater sovereignty, experts say that the economic benefits of maintaining a union with Canada may become more appealing given the turbulence unleashed by the US.

“Triggering [a referendum on independence] while Trump remains in the White House would have been particularly risky,” Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, told The Associated Press news service.

“Support for independence in Quebec remains at around 30 percent, and the fact that the PQ is ahead in the polls is not a sign that support for independence is increasing,” he added.