From ‘political orphan’ to probable premier, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is going ‘all-in’ on separatism

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Joly did not respond to a request for comment for this article, nor did Sacha Trudeau.

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As a “political orphan” circa 2014, St-Pierre Plamondon spent his time lambasting the traditional political parties in Quebec that, according to him, had nothing new to offer.

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He was critical of the PQ for its “obsession” about holding another referendum, which he said alienated many progressives in the province, and said many Quebecers, allergic to corruption and cronyism, wanted nothing to do with the Quebec Liberals.

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In this leadership bid, the young politician described himself as a “disappointed federalist.” He proposed to hold a third referendum only in a second mandate, and only if 20 per cent of the population of Quebec signed a register demanding it.

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St-Pierre Plamondon ended the race with seven per cent of the vote, which was considered a fair result for a political rookie who was a relatively unknown figure.

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The winner of the 2016 PQ leadership race, Jean-François Lisée, decided to task the young recruit with holding consultations on the state of the party. St-Pierre Plamondon took that task to heart, criss-crossing the province, and delivering his report in 2017.

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“Osez repenser le PQ” (“Dare to Rethink the PQ”) was a scathing assessment of the party that was too old and too white. The internal reaction to the report was terrible, to say the least, and its author reportedly got a dressing-down from the PQ caucus.

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After failing to win a seat in the 2018 election, St-Pierre Plamondon left the political scene to go back to practicing law in a small firm in the Outaouais region.

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Louis Lyonnais was part of a small group of supporters who would drive to St-Pierre Plamondon’s home in Buckingham, Quebec, to try to convince him to consider running again to become PQ leader. Lisée had resigned the night of the election.

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“He didn’t say yes right away, but the idea simmered,” said Lyonnais.

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“Finally, we convinced him.”

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St-Pierre Plamondon ran for leader a second time. But this time, he would promise to hold a referendum in a first mandate. And he hasn’t changed his mind since.

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He published another book, “Rebâtir le camp du OUI” (“Rebuilding the Yes camp”) during that race in which he explained that Quebec separating from the rest of Canada in a first mandate is “a matter of linguistic and cultural survival for Quebec.”

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“Quebec’s independence is not only legitimate but necessary, because Canada condemns us to decline — linguistically, culturally, and economically. It also condemns us to a culture of dishonesty, as well as to chronic instability,” he wrote.

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Lyonnais, who now acts as one of St-Pierre Plamondon’s most trusted aides, said the change of heart on the timing of a referendum was in part because of the perceived setbacks in terms of language and culture under the Trudeau years.

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St-Pierre Plamondon, even though he was polling third at the start of the race, became leader of the party in 2020. And because it took place during the pandemic, he pronounced his victory speech without an audience.

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He was elected in the eastern Montreal riding of Camille-Laurin in 2022, in part thanks to a Québec Solidaire candidate who withdrew after she was caught stealing PQ flyers from mailboxes to replace them with flyers of her own party.