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Quebec's new premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are already trading shots, and with Plamondon's separatist agenda, the seeds for a referendum may be getting sown in Quebec. Recently, Plamondon and Carney have publicly butted heads over Plamondon's role at the EU assembly, and Donald Trump has added chaos into the mix through a series of statements made on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump congratulates Plamondon
Even though Plamondon's Parti Québécois (PQ) was elected on October 5, Donald Trump chose to wait 22 days to congratulate him. On October 27, Donald Trump reposted a headline that stated, ‘Separatists win Quebec election in blow to Mark Carney'. Trump used the headline to congratulate Plamondon on his victory. While it's possible that Trump just found out about the Quebec provincial election, in the last week, Canada and the US have intensified their trade talks, though a deal remains far away. With the two countries battling over the negotiation table, Trump is looking for any edge he can find.
Plamondon calls out Carney over EU summit
While Trump added some fuel to the fire, Plamondon and Carney have been trading shots publicly over Plamondon's role at the upcoming Canada-EU summit in Montreal. Plamondon is accusing PM Carney of muzzling Quebec by preventing Plamondon from speaking at the summit. According to Plamondon, Carney is keeping him away from the negotiation table, referencing Carney's negotiations with the EU to achieve honorary member status. Plamondon claims Ottawa will impose economic sanctions on Quebec as part of the deal, though there is no evidence of that. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in Ottawa that geopolitics and international summits fall under federal jurisdiction.
He was invited to the dinner, and he refused. It's his decision to leave the chair empty.”
Mark Carney
Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon apparently refused an invitation to the summit dinner, according to Mark Carney. Carney told reporters in Ottawa on October 27 that he invited Plamondon to the EU summit dinner, but Plamondon declined, leaving his seat empty. Plamondon responded with a scathing post on social media, slighting the idea of limiting Quebec's involvement in the summit. The Parti Québécois government also says Ottawa denied Quebec's request to host a reception on the sidelines of the summit, which was submitted by former premier Christine Fréchette in September.
The federal government would have us believe that giving the Quebec premier permission to serve shrimp cocktails at a reception constitutes an acceptable and sufficient form of influence in representing Quebec's interests
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon via Twitter
Plamondon snubs Premier meeting
Tension around the summit follows St-Pierre Plamondon's absence from Monday's meeting between the federal government, provincial premiers, and First Nations. While the meetings between premiers were not directly tied to the Canada-EU summit, it's almost certain that Canada's bid for EU membership was a topic of discussion. None of Canada's premiers will speak at the summit, so Plamondon's exclusion is not particularly notable. That being said, a provincial spokesperson for Quebec said that there is precedent for including Quebec at the summit, as provincial representatives participated in negotiations for the Canada-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
When you're not at the table, you're on the menu,' Prime Minister Carney once told us. The federal government has chosen to prevent Quebec from having a say on its own territory. This is a fundamental lack of respect toward Quebec and a denial of the role of our legislature.
Marie-Claude Sarrazin, Quebec minister of justice and Canadian intergovernmental affairs
Plamondon criticism of Carney
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has long been a critic of Mark Carney. In January 2026, Plamondon accused Carney of being a colonialist after Carney made comments about the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Plamondon also criticized Carney for calling Quebec's separatism vote a ‘bluff'. Plamondon, a pro-separatist politician, has accused the Prime Minister of suffocating nationalism, and often uses the Prime Minister as motivation for Quebec to separate from Canada. Plamondon's PQ is an openly right-wing government, with a strong anti-immigration stance. The party has also been a proponent of multiple secularism laws targeting Muslim Canadians.
