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Quebec votes today: separatist PQ poised to end eight years of CAQ rule
Quebec goes to the polls Monday, with some 6.4 million voters electing 127 National Assembly members. Polls point to a Parti Québécois win that would end eight years of CAQ government; the campaign has been dominated by Trump's tariffs, not the independence question.
Why it matters
Quebec is Canada's second-most populous province, and today's vote will reshape federal–provincial politics. An Oct. 3 Léger poll put the PQ at 29%, the Liberals at 25%, the Conservatives at 20% and the CAQ at just 14%. Some 77% of voters told Léger they want change — a desire for change that runs stronger than separatism: only about 30% of Quebecers back independence.
How the vote works
Polls are open 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. About 6.4 million registered voters are electing 127 members of the National Assembly, with 64 seats needed for a majority. Élections Québec says provisional results should be clear by midnight.
Tariffs dominate the campaign
The biggest issue is not independence but Trump's tariffs, which have hit Quebec's aluminum, steel and manufacturing exports hard. The PQ, which once promised an independence referendum in its first term, now says it will wait until Trump is out of office; leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has ruled out bilateral talks with Washington for tariff relief.
What to watch
A PQ win would test Prime Minister Mark Carney, who stresses national unity to handle Trump. Meanwhile, oil-rich Alberta will hold a non-binding vote in October on whether its residents want independence.
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