MONTREAL — Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has led the Parti Québécois back from the brink since becoming leader in 2020. Now, the former lawyer is at the head of a party that is topping the polls going into the fall elections and has won four straight byelections.

Age: 49

Hometown: Trois-Rivières, Quebec

Early years: St-Pierre Plamondon was 18 the year Quebecers were called to vote on independence for a second time, in 1995. He was the only person in his family to vote to separate from Canada, he told The Canadian Press in 2023. He later became a federalist, accusing the independence movement of having “split Quebec in two.” His experience working as a lawyer was part of what led him back to being a sovereigntist, he said.

Before politics: St-Pierre Plamondon worked as a lawyer before joining the Parti Québécois. He was at the Stikeman Elliott firm from 2002 to 2009. He then joined the law collective Delegatus, where he was vice-president and worked until 2015.

Education: St-Pierre Plamondon got his bachelor’s degree in civil and common law at McGill University, graduating in 2001. He then studied business administration at Oxford University and got his master’s degree in 2006.

Family: St-Pierre Plamondon is married to Alexandra Tremblay. The couple has three children.

Political record: St-Pierre Plamondon ran to become leader of the Parti Québécois in 2016. At the time, he held no political office and lost the elections. He was however appointed councillor to then-leader Jean-François Lisée.

St-Pierre Plamondon became party leader in 2020, replacing Lisée. He became a member of the National Assembly when he was elected in the October 2022 general elections.

Riding: Camille-Laurin, in eastern Montreal.

Quote: “One thing is certain: our moment will arrive sooner than we think, meaning not at some long-term idealized date, but in a few years — before the end of the decade. We will indeed experience a third referendum,” he said at the Parti Québécois’ national council in 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2026.