Parti Québécois set to govern after CAQ loses every seat

The Parti Québécois won the most seats in Quebec’s October 5 provincial election and is set to form the province’s next government, ending eight years in power for the Coalition Avenir Québec. The CAQ won no seats, and its leader, Christine Fréchette, lost her Trois-Rivières riding, according to post-election reports. The PQ’s final seat count, and whether it reached the 64 seats needed for a majority in the 127-seat National Assembly, remained unclear in the available reporting. PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is set to become premier. The result marks a sharp reversal from the 2022 election, when the PQ won three seats and the CAQ secured a 90-seat majority. The outcome returns a pro-independence party to government, bringing the question of Quebec sovereignty back into provincial politics, but the election result does not establish that a referendum will take place. St-Pierre Plamondon has pledged to hold an independence referendum during his first mandate. He has said he would wait until U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office; one report specified January 2029.