QUEBEC — Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has reached out to the English-speaking community, urging it to trust his party to form a “competent and honest” government after eight years of Coalition Avenir Québec bungling.
Arguing that when it comes to the need for good government in Quebec anglophones and francophones are “all in the same boat,” St-Pierre Plamondon has urged the community to think twice about who they vote for Oct. 5.
“Quebecers were promised a wind of change by the CAQ,” St-Pierre Plamondon said in an open letter to Quebec anglophones published Tuesday in the National Post.
“Instead, what we have witnessed is not even the status quo — it is decline. We cannot blame citizens for losing faith in the state when, year after year, they pay more and receive less.”
Conceding “we may not always agree on Quebec’s constitutional future,” St-Pierre Plamondon invites anglophones to nevertheless hear him out.
Click here to read Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s full letter
He does not forsake his plan to hold another independence referendum during a first mandate should the PQ win the October election.
In February, St-Pierre Plamondon suggested a referendum would be later than sooner in a PQ mandate because of the economic climate and the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump.
What is urgent today, he argues, is turfing out the CAQ. The PQ, which has been leading in the polls for two years, can do just that, he says.
“Over the past months, many anglo Quebecers have told me they would vote for the PQ for the first time in their lives simply because they agree with our stances on a vast majority of issues,” St-Pierre Plamondon wrote.
“Underneath that pledge is also the fact the anglos don’t fear the PQ any more since anglos and francos share the same realities and concerns. Public discourse has too often encouraged the mistaken belief that the concerns of French-speaking and English-speaking Quebecers are fundamentally at odds.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all in the same boat. We live under the same institutions. We pay the same taxes. We deserve the same high-quality public services and individual financial well-being.”
He rips into the CAQ’s record in office, noting “we’ve gone through one of the worst regressions in quality of life in Quebec’s recent history.”
St-Pierre Plamondon also points to the costs of living, with home ownership becoming an increasingly distant dream for many young Quebecers. At the same time, education and health care systems are not able to provide the quality of services citizens deserve, he says.
The government, he says, has neglected the maintenance of roads, schools and hospitals, and “normalized” the waste of public funds through such scandals as SAAQclic and Northvolt.
Part of the decline in Quebec is connected to the ideological beliefs of the federal government, which he says brought “uncontrolled and unlimited” immigration to the province.
“Together we have a shared responsibility to reject decline,” St-Pierre Plamondon says. “We would be wrong to accept a Quebec that has grown accustomed to doubting itself, to distrusting its institutions or to settling for less.”
St-Pierre Plamondon repeats a pledge he has made many times since assuming the leadership of the PQ in October 2020: protecting the rights of the English-speaking minority.
“As we clearly stated in our blue book (on independence), the country of Quebec that we are building is one where the rights of the historic English-speaking minority will be fully protected. Its institutions will continue to exist and be called upon to play their central role.
“The PQ will even ensure that the rights currently enjoyed by the English-speaking community are entrenched in the constitution.”
As for Quebec’s political status, St-Pierre Plamondon says that matter will be decided later.
“We will decide that question democratically,” he writes. “But that conversation should not put aside the numerous urgent issues before us in this upcoming election.
“Who can Quebecers trust to get our nation back on track? Who can embody the change in the way we govern that we so desperately need?
“The real ballot question this coming October is who can form a good government for Quebec: a competent government, an honest government. It is in that spirit that I extend my hand to you. Let us take an honest look at what we have in common.”
He then quotes former PQ leader Lucien Bouchard who once said: “It’s good to know there is one unalterable truth we can cling onto: the knowledge that in the end we are all Quebecers.
“Nous sommes tous Québécois. We all love Quebec — because Quebec is our home.”
It is not the first time the PQ reaches out to anglophones in its 58-year history. St-Pierre Plamondon has kept up the effort.
Educated at McGill and Oxford universities and perfectly bilingual, St-Pierre Plamondon has spoken many times of minority rights, appearing in 2025 on an installment of The Corner Booth.
It is unclear this effort will convince skeptical voters. Polling consistently shows Quebec’s minorities are more likely to vote for federalist parties. A Léger poll published Tuesday showed 55 per cent of Quebec’s non-francophone vote is with the Quebec Liberals. Meanwhile, non-francophone support for the PQ was pegged at 11 per cent.
St-Pierre Plamondon’s letter lands about 16 days ahead of the expected election launch.
Read the full letter from St-Pierre Plamondon below:
I am writing to you today with a sense of hope and an open mind at the dawn of a pivotal election campaign.
While we may not always agree on Quebec’s constitutional future, we share something fundamental: a deep attachment to this nation, its democratic institutions and the quality of life we want to preserve and strengthen for future generations. That is why I believe the election ahead is of critical importance for our shared future.
Because Quebec certainly deserves better than what we’ve seen in the last eight years.
We must state it plainly and without hesitation: we’ve gone through one of the worst regressions in quality of life in Quebec’s recent history. Quebecers know it, and they see it in their daily lives. Their purchasing power has vanished, home ownership has become an increasingly distant dream for too many young people. Our health-care and education systems are struggling to provide the quality of services that our citizens have every right to expect. Security and tidiness have suddenly become major issues in our cities and the number of homeless people has exploded. Meanwhile, our infrastructure projects make headlines only because of soaring costs and endless delays. While the government neglected road maintenance, schools and hospitals, it has normalized the waste of public funds through scandals like SAAQclic and financial debacles such as Northvolt. A part of that decline is connected to the ideological beliefs at the federal level that brought uncontrolled and unlimited immigration during those eight years, yet the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) chose to stand by as a resigned spectator, leading to the consequences we see today.
Quebecers were promised a wind of “change” by the CAQ. Instead, what we have witnessed is not even the status quo — it is decline. We cannot blame citizens for losing faith in the state when, year after year, they pay more and receive less.
I am convinced that we all share this assessment. Over the past months, many Anglo-Quebecers have told me they would vote for the Parti Québécois (PQ) for the first time in their lives, simply because they agree with our stances on a vast majority of issues. Underneath that pledge is also the fact the Anglos don’t fear the PQ anymore, since Anglos and Francos share the same realities and concerns. Public discourse has too often encouraged the mistaken belief that the concerns of French-speaking and English-speaking Quebecers are fundamentally at odds. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all in the same boat. We live under the same institutions. We pay the same taxes. We deserve the same high-quality public services and individual financial well-being.
Together, we have a shared responsibility to reject decline. We would be wrong to accept a Quebec that has grown accustomed to doubting itself, to distrusting its institutions or to settling for less. We would be wrong to allow our ambitions to shrink. Above all, we would be wrong to believe that our interests somehow diverge simply because of the language we speak at home.
The Parti Québécois is the party of all Quebecers. It believes Quebecers should govern themselves. But that project has never and will never be a project that excludes the English-speaking minority. On the contrary, its purpose is to build a new model founded on social harmony and the idea that we are all Quebecers. It seeks to give all Quebecers the ability to make their own decisions, to shape their own future and to build a government that is more effective, and more accountable.
As we clearly stated in our blue book, the country of Quebec that we are building is one where the rights of the historic English-speaking minority will be fully protected. Its institutions will continue to exist and be called on to play their essential role. The Parti Québécois will even ensure that the rights currently enjoyed by the English-speaking community are entrenched in the constitution.
In the years ahead, if Quebecers so choose, we will collectively resume our reflection on the place Quebec wishes to occupy within Canada and within the world, and we will decide that question democratically. But that conversation should not put aside the numerous urgent issues before us in this upcoming election
Who can Quebecers trust to get our nation back on track? Who can embody the change in the way we govern that we so desperately need?
Can we trust the CAQ to restore our public services after they have deteriorated under its leadership? Can we trust the party to make us wealthier when life has never been more expensive? Can we seriously believe that a government that promised so much and delivered so little will suddenly solve the very problems it allowed to flourish?
The real ballot question this upcoming October is who can form a good government for Quebec: a competent government, an honest government, a government prepared to tell the truth about the challenges we face and then hit the ground running to solve them.
It is in that spirit that I extend my hand to you. Let us take an honest look at what we have in common. And when others once again seek to pit French-speaking and English-speaking Quebecers against one another, let us remember the simple, enduring truth that former premier Lucien Bouchard once expressed: “It’s good to know there is one unalterable truth we can cling onto: the knowledge that in the end we are all Quebecers. Nous sommes tous Québécois. We all love Quebec — because Quebec is our home.”
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