Doug Ford and Parti Québécois leader trade barbs over sovereignty ahead of Quebec election
Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged Quebecers to reject the Parti Québécois, calling its election a “disaster.” PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called the intervention bad theatre and defended his party’s plans.
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By Torontoer Staff
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon exchanged sharp words Thursday after Ford repeated his warning that a PQ victory would be a “disaster” for Canada. The comments came as the sovereigntist party heads into an October provincial election with strong polling momentum.
Ford spent a second consecutive day urging Quebecers to reject the PQ, framing the party’s potential win as a national risk. St-Pierre Plamondon accused Ford of running a fear campaign and of interfering in Quebec’s democratic process.
Ford labels a PQ win a national disaster
Ford told reporters he stood by comments first made Wednesday when he said, "it’d be a disaster for our country if the separatists got elected. It’s as simple as that. We have to be a united Canada right now." He reiterated that he did not regret using the word "disaster."
On Thursday Ford characterized the PQ as separatists and said St-Pierre Plamondon would call a referendum if elected. "Unacceptable, you’re so much stronger when you’re part of Canada," Ford said, arguing that a unified Canada and Quebec was best for both.
St-Pierre Plamondon rejects outside intervention
Speaking in the Beauce region, south of Quebec City, St-Pierre Plamondon dismissed Ford’s intervention as "a bit of a caricatural" and called it "bad theatre." He said he expected "fear campaigns" and "defamatory attacks against the party to scare everyone."
Why would you intervene in Quebec and tell people how to vote and where is that going to lead? Are people really in Quebec thinking it’s going to be a catastrophe and a disaster and we need to fear the PQ because we’ve been over this so many times in our recent history.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
St-Pierre Plamondon also referenced recent tensions between Quebec and Ontario, including Ford’s attempts to recruit Quebec doctors during contract disputes and a controversial U.S. anti-tariff commercial last fall, which the PQ leader said undercut the premier’s standing when commenting on Quebec affairs.
Premiers press unity, Quebec leaders push back
Unity was a central topic at a premiers’ meeting in Ottawa this week, where Quebec and Alberta sovereignty prompted discussion. Other provincial leaders addressed the issue more diplomatically, and Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters that decisions on Quebec’s future must be left to Quebecers.
I told the premiers of the various provinces and territories that it wasn’t a good idea to interfere.
François Legault
A federal representative at the same news conference said it will ultimately be up to Quebecers to decide. The exchange underlined the tension between interprovincial concern about national unity and the long-standing convention that provincial electorates choose their own governments without outside pressure.
PQ outlines referendum timeline and ties with Canada
St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold a sovereignty referendum by 2030 if the PQ wins the October election. He said a sovereign Quebec would nevertheless seek to maintain close ties with Canada, including ongoing dialogue about common interests and cooperative projects.
We will always have a dialogue about what we have in common and what we can move forward.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
The sparring underscores how federal-provincial relations and questions of national unity remain politically salient across Canada, and how interventions by leaders from other provinces can quickly become fodder in provincial campaigns.
What to watch next
- Statements from other provincial leaders and Ottawa on intervention in provincial elections
- PQ polling trends ahead of the October vote
- Any formal campaign commitments from the PQ regarding the referendum timeline and diplomacy with Canada
As the federal and provincial political actors trade public barbs, Quebecers will decide in October whether the sovereigntist platform gains a mandate. The debate is likely to keep national unity at the forefront of interprovincial and federal discussions through the campaign period.
Doug FordPaul St-Pierre PlamondonParti QuébécoisQuebec electionfederal-provincial relations
