QUEBEC — Describing Justin Trudeau as one of the worst prime ministers because of the way he treated Quebec, the leader of the Parti Québécois said Tuesday that Trudeau’s potential replacement isn’t any better.
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Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said that if Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre becomes Canada’s next prime minister, he will govern by putting the interests of his voter base in the west and Ontario first, leaving Quebec out in the cold.
Insisting he’s not telling Quebecers how to vote federally, St-Pierre Plamondon nevertheless lumped Trudeau and Poilievre together as bad news for Quebec on everything from immigration to health transfer payments.
“Pierre Poilievre will govern based on the interests and concerns of the Canadian west,” St-Pierre Plamondon said at his first news conference of 2025. “He doesn’t need Quebec to win and so he won’t consider our interests and concerns.”
St-Pierre Plamondon went so far as to say Poilievre “reflects” the same kind of contempt for Quebec that many western Canadians hold when it comes to the independence movement.
“The problem is not Justin Trudeau. It’s the regime, it’s Canada. The system is conceived to hamper or simply ignore Quebec’s interests because we only have one-fifth of the seats in the Canadian Parliament.
“Whether it is Trudeau’s left-wing multiculturalism or the conservative right of the Canadian west, the contempt for Quebec is the same and striking,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.
St-Pierre Plamondon said he called in the media because he found Premier François Legault’s response to Trudeau’s resignation Monday lukewarm and not a reflection of the difficulties Quebec experienced in the nine years Trudeau was PM.
On Monday, Legault stuck to the positive in his comments on Trudeau’s departure.
“Although our opinions have often diverged, I want to salute today the public service of Justin Trudeau and his commitment to Canada,” Legault said in a statement. “We have significant challenges ahead, particularly with the arrival of Donald Trump on Jan. 20. I will continue to work with Mr. Trudeau, his successor and the current government to avoid those tariffs.”