Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was sworn in as Quebec's 34th premier on October 21, taking office at the head of a minority Parti Québécois government and placing the province's sovereignty debate inside his first cabinet.
The PQ controls 60 of the National Assembly's 127 seats after a judicial recount added one riding to its election result. That leaves the party four seats short of the 64 required for a majority, making cooperation with opposition legislators necessary for the government to survive confidence votes and pass its program. The party received 28 per cent of the vote in the October 5 election.
St-Pierre Plamondon named a cabinet of 23 ministers, smaller than the 29-member Coalition Avenir Québec cabinet it replaces. His first appointment was Catherine Gentilcore, who becomes deputy premier, government House leader and the minister responsible for both Quebec independence and immigration. Gentilcore entered the legislature in a 2025 by-election and will oversee the PQ's proposed reductions in immigration as well as work connected to the sovereignty debate.
The combination puts two of the new government's most politically sensitive files under one minister. St-Pierre Plamondon has promised a third referendum on Quebec independence, but has said it would not take place before US President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029. The minority government's lifespan could complicate that timeline. The premier has also said sovereignty will not be his immediate focus, identifying the cost of living and reductions in government waste as earlier priorities. He assigned himself responsibility for combating homelessness.
Experienced legislators received several prominent posts. Nicolas Marceau returns as finance minister, a role he held during the previous PQ government elected in 2012. Marie-Karlynn Laflamme becomes health minister and has been asked to abolish Santé Québec, the Crown corporation established by the former government to run the healthcare network. Former prosecutor Marie-Claude Sarrazin takes responsibility for justice, secularism and Canadian intergovernmental affairs, while Dieudonné Ella Oyono becomes international relations minister.
The administration is Quebec's first PQ government since Pauline Marois's minority government lost office in 2014. Its relationship with Ottawa is likely to be a defining issue. St-Pierre Plamondon used the swearing-in ceremony to criticize federal trade decisions and argue that Quebec's interests had been neglected.
The ceremony also carried a symbolic constitutional dispute. Quebec's lieutenant-governor did not attend at St-Pierre Plamondon's request. The premier has pledged to abolish the monarchy in Quebec, although acting on that promise would raise significant constitutional questions. For now, the government begins with a narrow legislative position and an agenda spanning affordability, public administration, immigration and the province's political status.
