Parti Québécois leader asks caucus to stay ready for next election after minority win

Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon asked his team on Friday to stay mobilized as the party is set to form a minority government.

St-Pierre Plamondon and his fellow elected members of the Parti Québécois will be sworn in on Oct. 15, and his cabinet will be announced on Oct. 21. 

St-Pierre Plamondon invited all of his party's 127 candidates to a postelection meeting at a hotel in Drummondville, Que. 

The goal of the meeting was to take stock of the latest campaign and to hear from both the winning and defeated candidates.

The PQ leader said he planned to take a collaborative approach to governing. 

“Will this olive branch be accepted by the other parties? That’s not within our control," he said.

“It also gives us the obligation to remain mobilized for an election campaign — not in the short term, but eventually."

The average length of a minority government is between 18 and 24 months. 

On Monday, the party won a minority mandate by winning 59 seats, compared to 40 for the Quebec Liberal Party, 19 for the Quebec Conservative Party, and nine for Québec solidaire. 

The Coalition Avenir Québec was completely wiped off the map after failing to elect a single member.

There were questions on Friday about whether high-profile candidates Alex Boissonneault and Pascal Paradis could be assigned special tasks, after both were defeated in their ridings. 

The party must also figure out the best way to represent the Quebec City region, where the party failed to win a seat.

François Gariépy, who was defeated in the Charlevoix—Côte-de-Beaupré riding northeast of the city, said he believed the party was punished for its refusal to commit to building a third road link between Quebec City and its south shore in its first term.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2026.

By Caroline Plante | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.