Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to meet with First Nations leaders this week

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is scheduled to meet with representatives of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador on Wednesday.

St-Pierre Plamondon was criticized for his absence from a summit on Monday in Ottawa between premiers and Indigenous representatives.

A spokesperson for the new PQ government announced the planned meeting.

Last week, St-Pierre Plamondon’s team had suggested that he would not attend the federally organized meeting due to scheduling issues. 

The Quebec government is in transition after the Oct. 5 election that gave the PQ a minority rule.

In a social media post, the leader of the official Opposition Liberals, Charles Milliard, criticized the premier for leaving Quebec’s seat empty, even though he had promised to collaborate with the rest of Canada.

But the new minister of relations with First Nations and Inuit, Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, said St-Pierre Plamondon's absence was a “deliberate and well-considered” choice.

"The government of Quebec meets directly with Indigenous nations, nation to nation, on our territory," he wrote on social media. "Not at a table organized by Ottawa, according to its framework, its schedule and parameters that remain very fuzzy."

The premiers of Alberta and British Columbia were also absent from the meeting in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2026.

By Patrice Bergeron | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.