Quebec must step it up a gear in the face of Trump’s threats: PQ leader

Quebec must step it up a gear in the face of threats from President-elect Donald Trump, especially since other provinces have not hesitated to quickly engage in direct discussions with the future American administration, says Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

“We have to undertake our own negotiations because the others are not holding back. Ontario and Alberta are not waiting to coordinate with the other provinces to ensure that their own interests are protected,” said the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ) in an interview.

“We would be crazy to wait and think that others will protect our interests,” he insisted.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith went to Mar-a-Lago, in Florida this weekend – Trump has been there meeting with many since he was elected. She had the opportunity to discuss her province’s energy exports with him, she wrote on X on Sunday afternoon.

For the PQ leader, he says this shows it’s clear that there is no “Canadian unity” to find a strategy to face the threats of customs tariffs from the American president – who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.

While he recognizes that Quebec diplomacy is still active, St-Pierre Plamondon believes that Quebec Premier François Legault must act before his planned trip to Washington in Feb. with his counterparts from other provinces.

“All I want is for us to mobilize our forces as much as possible and not wait until Feb. 12 to deploy an audible and visible strategy for Quebec,” he stressed.

In a letter sent to Legault on Thursday, the PQ leader proposed creating a Quebec Team, made up of opposition leaders, university experts and representatives from the economic and worker communities.

“We don’t need to be 40, but it’s just about making sure that all avenues are considered, that the position becomes shared and that everyone contributes as best as possible to ensuring that Quebec comes out on top,” he explained.

In his letter offering his collaboration, St-Pierre Plamondon insists on the risk that certain economic sectors in Quebec – notably aluminum, wood and the fate of Quebec SMEs – will be sidelined in favor of the interests of other provinces during concessions in the negotiations.

Never too careful

Donald Trump is known for settling trade issues “piecemeal” and based on the immediate interests of the United States, unlike the wall-to-wall agreements generally favoured by his predecessors, recalled the PQ leader.

“A tariff economic threat can change the Quebec economic climate enormously. If our Quebec [small-medium businesses], overnight, are penalized in our exports, which are still important in the United States, the impact is not negligible,” he indicated.

St-Pierre Plamondon believes that the Republican’s remarks should not be taken lightly.

“We must remain very calm, very in control, but always take all hypotheses seriously. Even if they are not probable, our preparation must still be there,” he argued.

These threats also raised questions in the Parti Québécois about what an independent Quebec would do in the same circumstances.

“We can say what we want about Donald Trump’s style, but the fact that North America is poorly protected and that Canada has systematically failed in its obligations, on the military level and on the borders, over the last few decades, I think he is right,” said the PQ leader.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews