Parti Québécois rallies around independence at Quebec convention

The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, speaks at the party convention in Saint-Hyacinthe on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

SAINT-HYACINTHE — Hundreds of delegates are gathering at a key convention for the Parti Québécois this weekend, where sovereignty will be high on the agenda.

The party is holding its annual congress this weekend in St-Hyacinthe, a about 60 kilometres east of Montreal, where they are reviewing a draft platform and hearing leaders discuss sovereignty ahead of the provincial election this fall.

“Someone told me this is the last PQ congress before independence — is that true?” said Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Friday night, drawing applause from the crowd and reflecting the heightened expectations among party activists.

The PQ is polling near the top in voter intentions, though support for independence lags behind the party’s overall popularity.

On Friday, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon urged delegates to stay disciplined and cautious. “Do not give in to the temptation to get carried away, nor to the fear of the moment,” he said, emphasizing measured action ahead of the vote.

Some young party members called for ambitious reforms. Carolanne Boileau, president of the PQ’s National Youth Council, told members they were gathered to “adopt the platform of the next Quebec government,” signalling the party’s high ambitions.

The draft platform contains more than 300 proposals covering health care, labour, education, immigration, climate and public administration. Activists suggested revising physician compensation models and limiting the incorporation of doctors, a practice that reduces taxes for medical professionals. In 2022, incorporation-related tax losses were estimated at $252.5 million for federal and provincial governments, according to the Institute for Research and Socioeconomic Information.

Labour policies also feature prominently. The PQ plans to assert a pro-worker stance and make unionization easier across all sectors. These proposals come amid union criticism of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec, which recently introduced legislation making part of union dues optional.

Other proposals include 10 paid days off for victims of sexual and domestic violence, creating a national education commission, and ending what the party calls a “three-speed school system.” Under the plan, publicly funded schools would be barred from selecting students. It could also require subsidized private schools to admit a certain proportion of students facing difficulties while gradually reducing their subsidies, though they would be offered the option to become fully state-subsidized schools. All primary schoolchildren would be guaranteed school meals.

Environmental measures include an annual carbon budget to track greenhouse gas emissions, originally promoted by former PQ legislator Sylvain Gaudreault, and applying environmental criteria to public contracts.

Measures include ending Quebec participation in the federal temporary foreign worker program, halving temporary non-permanent residents from 600,000 in mid-2024 to 250,000–300,000, limiting temporary foreign workers to 40,000, and capping international students at 50,000.

The congress also highlighted renewed ties with the Bloc Québécois. Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet addressed the crowd Saturday: “I am a Parti Québécois activist. Your commitment is my commitment. Your fight is my fight. And as a PQ activist, your leader is my leader.”

Blanchet also called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to apologize for comments he made Thursday in Quebec City about the Plains of Abraham, which Blanchet said overlooked Quebec’s history and its significance to the province’s French-speaking population. Carney described the site as a place of historic Canadian choices, emphasizing adaptation and collaboration from a Canadian historical perspective.

The two sovereigntist parties have had tensions in the past, including disputes over recruiting candidates and campaign coordination. Blanchet told reporters Saturday that the Bloc intends to collaborate with the PQ toward a potential majority government and a referendum campaign on independence.

Delegates will vote on the platform proposals over the weekend. If approved, they could form the basis of the PQ’s electoral platform for the October provincial election, with independence and social policies at the forefront of the party’s agenda.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 24, 2026.

Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press