As the final weekend of the Quebec election campaign unfolds, Parti québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has forcefully rejected what he labels a political maneuver designed to tie his campaign to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Speaking on Day 38 of the race, St-Pierre Plamondon addressed emerging media reports regarding a proposed meeting in Washington earlier this year, insisting that his party never engaged in such talks and accusing opponents of desperate tactics.
The Washington Meeting Controversy and State Department Response
The controversy ignited following reports that the PQ leader had solicited a meeting with U.S. State Department officials in Washington back in February, with a rendezvous initially slated for March before being canceled due to an American military strike in Iran. Speaking in Quebec City on Saturday morning, St-Pierre Plamondon flatly denied making any such formal approach or scheduling a rendezvous with American officials. He recalled that all parties have exchanges with consuls when they come to the National Assembly, and asserted that the report took liberties with the truth by claiming that speaking to the consul meant speaking to the State Department.
We saw a maneuver that I want to name, which is trying to stick me to the Trump administration, while you know that they didn’t have a meeting, that we didn’t have an approach, St-Pierre Plamondon stated during his press conference. He also pointed out a risk that the event could harm him and be politically exploited by the American government.
The U.S. State Department subsequently declined to confirm whether the PQ had formally requested a meeting earlier in the year. In an email statement to the press, the State Department emphasized that while it routinely engages with diverse political representatives at its own absolute discretion, the ongoing provincial election remains a decision exclusively for the people of Quebec. A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa, cited by The Gazette, explained that foreign party representatives visiting Washington frequently request meetings with the State Department, which then informs the embassy as a courtesy, but noted that in this specific case, the appointment did not take place because the trip was canceled.
Coalition Avenir Québec Counterattacks on the Campaign Trail
The timing of the diplomatic dispute has injected high-stakes friction into the final hours before the vote, particularly as the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) seeks to regain momentum amid sliding poll numbers. Le Devoir reported that France-Élaine Duranceau stepped onto the campaign trail to sharpen the CAQ’s attacks against the opposition. Following the turmoil surrounding a risk of interference in the Quebec campaign and the publication of polls showing a steep decline for the CAQ, exchanges with the media have become scarcer, with leader Christine Fréchette now limiting herself to a single press scrum per day.
During a lively stop at the Roussin community center in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Duranceau did not hold back during her media availability. When pressed by journalists regarding the CAQ’s sliding electoral fortunes, she leaned into the combative atmosphere and openly compared St-Pierre Plamondon’s political posture to that of Donald Trump. While visiting the center, Duranceau and Fréchette interacted with citizens, including an artist working on a colorful canvas who praised the work of outgoing CAQ MNA Chantal Rouleau before expressing hesitation about a potential referendum. Another woman looked at her brown painting and told Fréchette, Je ne sais pas vraiment comment ça va finir
, referring not to the electoral campaign, but to her artwork.
Asked by an English-language journalist if the incumbent administration had essentially given up, Duranceau offered a defiant negative before shouting out a final battle cry to the press corps: Fighting!
The Final Hours Before the Vote
With less than 48 hours remaining before voters head to the ballot boxes, the convergence of sovereignty debates, alleged foreign policy entanglements, and aggressive verbal sparring has transformed the closing stretch of the campaign. The Parti québécois enters the final weekend contending for power on an independence platform, while the CAQ fights to defend its legislative standing.
As accusations fly across the political spectrum regarding international perceptions and domestic campaign tactics, voters are left to weigh competing narratives just as electoral silence approaches.
