Joly accuses PQ leader of steering Quebec toward Trump with U.S. outreach

Minister Mélanie Joly says the PQ’s push for closer U.S. ties risks “throwing Quebec into Trump’s arms,” while the party defends its plans for sovereignty and a Quebec currency.

Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says she is troubled to hear the Parti Québécois (PQ) leader call for a “closer relationship” with the United States if Quebec were to become an independent country.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, she said PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon wants “to make Quebec much weaker in the face of an America that is gaining enormous power,” adding that he risks “throwing Quebec into the arms of Donald Trump.”

For several weeks, St-Pierre Plamondon has been gradually unveiling his Blue Book, which lays out his vision for a sovereign Quebec. Earlier this month, he presented an overview of its section on international relations.

He argued that Quebec has every reason to maintain “direct and constructive” relations with its southern neighbor, even amid global instability, and has said that Canada is “no longer a shield but a cacophony.”

“We have a vested interest in speaking with our own voice and establishing our own diplomacy in Washington — a diplomacy that is less arrogant and far more down-to-earth than Canada’s in recent years,” he said at a news conference.

The PQ leader also plans to tour the United States in early 2026.

Joly said the PQ’s proposed “closer relationship” with Washington is “extremely concerning,” particularly “at a time when Canadian sovereignty in general is being undermined by the United States,” the Liberal minister said.

Responding to her comments, PQ MNA Alex Boissonneault countered that “the only person actually handing Quebec over to Donald Trump is Mark Carney and the Liberal Party of Canada.