QUEBEC / RankWire.AI / – The Parti Québécois will form a minority government after winning Quebec’s provincial election on Monday. The sovereigntist party secured 59 of the National Assembly’s 127 seats, five short of the 64 needed for a majority. Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is set to become Quebec’s next premier after returning the party to power for the first time since 2014. The PQ won only three seats in the 2022 election.
The Quebec Liberal Party won 40 seats and will form the official opposition. The Conservative Party of Quebec captured 19 seats, while Québec solidaire won nine. The Coalition Avenir Québec failed to win a seat after governing the province since 2018. The result marks a sharp reversal from 2022, when the CAQ won 90 seats and secured a second consecutive majority. Four parties will now hold seats in the National Assembly.
Preliminary results showed the Parti Québécois winning about 27.9% of the popular vote. That was the lowest vote share recorded by a winning party in a Quebec provincial election. Support split widely among the five main parties, leaving no party with control of the legislature. St-Pierre Plamondon said after the result that his government would work with other parties where cooperation serves Quebec’s interests. Élections Québec was still presenting the figures as preliminary after election night.
PQ returns to power with minority mandate
The election also returned Quebec sovereignty to the center of provincial politics. St-Pierre Plamondon has pledged to hold another referendum on independence after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office. Quebec held previous sovereignty referendums in 1980 and 1995, and voters rejected independence both times. The 1995 vote was especially close, with the federalist side winning by a narrow margin. The PQ leader repeated his referendum commitment during the 2026 campaign.
The Parti Québécois leader said a referendum would give Quebecers the opportunity to decide their political future. He acknowledged that a minority government would need support from other legislators for measures requiring approval in the National Assembly. The Quebec Liberals campaigned against another sovereignty referendum, while the Conservatives also opposed holding one. Québec solidaire supports Quebec independence but differs from the PQ on several policy areas. No party holds the 64 seats required for a majority.
CAQ loses all seats after eight years in power
The election ended eight years of Coalition Avenir Québec government. Outgoing Premier Christine Fréchette lost her own race in Trois-Rivières as the CAQ failed to elect any members. The party entered the campaign after two consecutive majority victories under former premier François Legault. Its defeat leaves Quebec with a new governing party for the first time since 2018. Fréchette conceded the election and thanked supporters after the scale of the losses became clear.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated St-Pierre Plamondon after the result and said Ottawa was ready to work with Quebec’s incoming government. Carney also thanked Fréchette for her service as premier. He said the federal government wanted to support Quebec businesses and workers affected by tariffs, while creating jobs and expanding housing. St-Pierre Plamondon said he would defend Quebec’s interests while remaining open to dialogue with Ottawa. The PQ begins its mandate five seats short of a majority.