Parti Québécois leader asks caucus to stay ready for next election after minority win

Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is asking his team to stay mobilized as the party is set to form a minority government. 

He told Parti Québécois members that they should be ready for another election campaign, even if it's not in the short term. 

St-Pierre Plamondon invited all his party's 127 candidates to a postelection meeting at a hotel in Drummondville, Que. 

The PQ leader said he wanted to take stock of the latest campaign and to hear from both the winning and defeated candidates.

On Monday, the party won a minority mandate by winning 59 seats, compared to 40 for the Quebec Liberal Party, 19 for the Quebec Conservative Party, and nine for Québec solidaire. 

The Coalition Avenir Québec was completely wiped off the map after failing to elect a single member.

St-Pierre Plamondon said Friday that he planned to take a collaborative approach to governing. 

“Will this olive branch be accepted by the other parties? That’s not within our control," he said.

“It also gives us the obligation to remain mobilized for an election campaign — not in the short term, but eventually."

There were questions about whether high-profile candidates Alex Boissonneault and Pascal Paradis could be assigned special tasks, after both were defeated in their ridings. 

The party must also figure out the best way to represent the Quebec City region, where the party failed to win a seat.

François Gariépy, who was defeated in the Charlevoix—Côte-de-Beaupré riding northeast of the city, said he believed the party was punished for its refusal to commit to building a third road link between Quebec City and its south shore in its first term.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2026.

By Caroline Plante | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.