The Parti Quebecois would support a Quebec referendum on immigration

The Parti Québécois (PQ) says it would stand by the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) if a sectoral referendum on immigration were to be held.

On Tuesday, Premier François Legault threatened to hold a referendum on immigration if negotiations with Justin Trudeau's federal government are not concluded by June 30.

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is asking Legault to commit to holding a referendum if he does not obtain full powers on immigration at the end of this meeting with the Canadian prime minister.

"If, for the umpteenth time, the door closes in François Legault's face, let him call a referendum on the repatriation of full powers in immigration, in which case I will be at his side," he said at a news briefing on Wednesday at the Quebec legislature.

The PQ leader was nevertheless keen to point out that this was not the path he was considering, since he wants to leave the Canadian federation altogether.

"If I have a federalist Quebec government that hesitates between lying on the ground and having the door shut in its face without doing anything or taking some action that at least allows the people to be heard, I'll take the second option, but knowing that it's not what I dream of for Quebec," he added.

The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), for its part, denounced the CAQ government's strategy.

"François Legault has powers on immigration," said interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay. "He should start by applying them effectively. If we want to move the Canadian federation forward, we can't build relationships of trust by threatening referendums.

"The PQ bickering has become the CAQ bickering and now I hear Paul St-Pierre Plamondon saying: 'Well yes, I'm going to back you François. We're going to do our referendum together.' It's the PQ, it's bickering and it's zero results."

Quebec solidaire (QS) said it also wanted full powers over immigration but would not say whether it would campaign alongside the government in a possible referendum.

"We're not at that stage at all. We are asking (François Legault) to get down to work and use all the powers he has at his disposal," explained QS MNA Christine Labrie. "We're in favour of having full powers in immigration. Do we need a referendum for that? Let's start by using the powers we have."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 10, 2024.