Quebec premier says he wants to build ‘genuine partnership’ with Indigenous leaders
Posted October 29, 2026 11:59 am.
After skipping the first ministers’ summit in Ottawa on Monday, Quebec’s new premier met with Indigenous leaders in Quebec City on Wednesday.
The meeting was with Chief Francis Verreault-Paul of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador.
Also present were Quebec’s minister of relations with First Nations and Inuit, Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, and the diplomat and chief negotiator of the Quebec government, Pascal Paradis.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says both sides “agreed to continue our collaboration in the coming months.”
He says several topics were discussed, including homelessness, Indigenous languages, and “the implementation of prior consultations during the drafting of legislation that could affect Indigenous populations.”
“I am confident that we will succeed in building a genuine partnership based on equality,” the premier wrote on X.
St-Pierre Plamondon faced criticism from Indigenous leaders for not attending the First Nations-First Ministers’ Meeting in Ottawa on Monday, with some saying it showed Indigenous relations were not his priority.
The premier skipped the meeting citing a tight schedule, but also explaining he wants to prioritize a different approach with Indigenous People.
Savard-Tremblay said at the time the decision was deliberate in order to have a direct meeting with Indigenous nations, nation to nation, within Quebec.
