Parti Québécois leader aiming for a majority with election days away

MONTREAL — The leader of the Parti Québécois asked voters on Thursday to give him a majority government, as his party continues to lead in the polls with just days to go before the provincial election.

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon delivered the message in separate morning radio show interviews in both English and French.

He says he needs a majority government to get things done and to implement his program.

In an interview with English-language radio station CJAD, St-Pierre Plamondon said his party was considering the scenarios of either a minority or majority PQ government as serious possibilities.

He repeated that sentiment later in the day in an address to supporters, who he urged to not take anything for granted.

“It will be tight, there will be tight battles in every region until the end,” he said.

St-Pierre Plamondon also told Radio-Canada Thursday that his government would be “handcuffed” in a minority scenario, and called for a strong and stable government to reverse the damage from eight years of Coalition Avenir Québec leadership.

Later, St-Pierre Plamondon urged each Parti Québécois voter to try to convince one undecided person to vote for his party, and launched an appeal to voters who haven’t yet made up their minds.

“We believe that the change we want to see will come through the quality of the team, but also through the stability and strength of a government that will truly have the means to realize its promises.”

The major party leaders spent much of the day on the defensive, working to shore up support in ridings that are expected to be tight.

Liberal Leader Charles Milliard spent time in the Eastern Townships regions, where he’s battling to secure himself a legislature seat.

Québec solidaire’s Ruba Ghazal was in Montreal to pitch a plan to ban evictions during the winter, as polls suggest her party could be in trouble in some of the ridings it won in 2022.

Ghazal noted that the race isn’t over, and urged people to vote “with their hearts,” instead of strategically.

Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette, meanwhile, suggested that St-Pierre Plamondon and U.S. President Donald Trump both want to “weaken Canada,” even as she faced a new round of questions about her response to allegations of foreign interference earlier in the election.

Fréchette had made an early statement saying she was “very concerned” by a report of possible interference coming from the U.S., before later saying there was no reason to be concerned about the integrity of the election.

Fréchette admitted that she should have waited to have more information before sounding the alarm.

Quebecers go to the polls on Oct. 5.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2026.