Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will go to Alberta to speak about “federal abuses of power”

Although he wants Quebec to secede from the rest of Canada, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will be making a two-day trip to Alberta in September, notably to discuss “federal abuses of power.”

“We share several observations about the state of the Canadian federation. We remember that Albertans, during the Lougheed era, also had to fight to preserve certain rights,” Plamondon said in a press release Wednesday.

The PQ leader will be in the western province on Sept. 11 and 12. He will give a lecture at the University of Calgary in addition to holding meetings and interviews.

According to the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), there is “certainly a discussion to be had with Albertans about the historical and repeated abuse of federal power in several areas of provincial jurisdiction, to the detriment of the democratic choices of our respective parliaments.”

“Respect our respective desires for self-determination”

Last May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated that she would hold a referendum on her province’s sovereignty next year if a citizen petition collected enough signatures.

The PQ leader then stated that he supported a possible Alberta referendum, arguing that it could serve the Quebec sovereignty movement.

“An independent Quebec will always be open and interested in collaborating with other provinces: we can respect our respective desires for self-determination, while collaborating on points on which we agree,” Plamondon stated Wednesday.

The PQ leader also indicated that he will conduct “several rounds of diplomacy” outside the province in the coming year. “Quebec must renew its international diplomacy,” he maintained.

Maxime Bernier’s Support

Quebec and Alberta sovereignists recently discovered an unexpected ally.

Three weeks ago, the leader of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC), Maxime Bernier, stated that he intended to support the Yes side in a possible referendum on Quebec or Alberta sovereignty to “break the grip of imperial federalism and pave the way for a final attempt to rebalance our federation.”

The PPC says it does not share “the ultimate goal of the separatist movements in Quebec and Alberta to break up the country,” but that “their demands are legitimate.”

The party asserts that a “constitutional crisis following a majority vote in favor of secession in a provincial referendum” could make it possible to bring about “significant changes” in an overly centralized federation.

Plamondon welcomed this support, stating that it was necessary to “take all the allies” to achieve independence.

Leading in the polls, the PQ promises to hold a third referendum on Quebec sovereignty within its first mandate.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews