Another Canadian Party Promising an Independence Vote Wins a Provincial Election

The separatist Parti Québécois won Quebec's provincial election on Monday, becoming the latest party to rise to power after vowing to separate from Canada. However, it fell short of a majority to govern on its own.

The party was set to win about 60 seats, short of the 64 needed to achieve a majority in the 127-member National Assembly. "Quebecers elected the Parti Québécois asking it to work with the other parties, and I heard that message," said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon when addressing the public after the initial results.

St-Pierre Plamondon has vowed to pursue the independence referendum, calling it essential to preserve Quebec's identity and a "question of survival" for the French-speaking population. "I continue to dream and visualize that country," he said during his acceptance speech. He went on to say his idea would be maintaining close ties with Canada. "Quebec will never change its geographical position, so we have an interest in working together."

Canada is also facing a separatist push in Alberta. A non binding referendum to secede from the country will take place on October 19 after a group submitted hundreds of thousands of signatures with that goal. It will be the first time in the country's history in which a province different than Quebec seeks to break from Canada.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith she supports remaining in Canada but will hold the vote because she is "deeply troubled by an erroneous court decision that interferes with the democratic rights of hundreds of thousands of Albertans." She was making reference to the fact that a local judge had rejected a petition to that end.

However, even if the vote is passed, Alberta would not be independent automatically: there would have to be a negotiation with the federal government. And an Edmonton judge is set to rule on a challenge claiming that a separation would violate treaty rights.

The Alberta independence movement, long marginal in Canadian politics, has gained renewed visibility in recent years amid debates over energy policy and federal-provincial relations.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, told the outlet that he believes the referendum has a slim chance of passing. "Right now, support for independence in Alberta is rather low. Less than 30% and much lower if we only focus on hard core supporters. And the odds of a victory of the pro-independence camp appear to be low at this stage," he said.