For years, Quebec separatism was considered a relic of the past — a fading political movement that had lost its momentum and its influence. But now, something unexpected is happening.
On this episode of Breaking Battlegrounds, host Sam Stone sat down with Canadian journalist Elie Cantin‑Nantel to discuss a surprising political development: the resurgence of Quebec’s separatist party. And while most Americans may not be paying attention, the implications could be significant — not just for Canada, but for North America as a whole.
A Movement Once Considered Dead
According to Cantin-Nantel, Quebec’s separatist party — the Parti Québécois — was widely believed to be finished after its last election performance. The party had been reduced to just a handful of seats, and support for Quebec independence remained relatively low. Recent polling suggests that roughly 71% of Quebecers still want to remain part of Canada. But despite those numbers, the party has quietly begun gaining momentum. The latest sign? A surprising victory in the Chicoutimi riding — the Canadian equivalent of a congressional district — marking the party’s fourth special election win in a row.
Why Is This Happening?
The answer, according to Cantin-Nantel, lies less in separatism itself and more in political dissatisfaction. The current provincial government led by François Legault has seen declining approval ratings amid controversy, policy reversals, and broken promises. At the same time, the leader of the separatist party has gained popularity — not necessarily because voters want independence, but because they like his leadership style. Cantin-Nantel described the leader as charismatic, politically savvy, and — notably — skeptical of what many voters view as “woke” cultural trends.
A Cultural Divide
Quebec has always been culturally distinct from the rest of Canada. The province is predominantly French-speaking and maintains a strong sense of identity rooted in its history and language. That cultural identity plays a major role in the separatist conversation — even when independence itself remains unpopular. As Cantin-Nantel explained, many Quebec voters are drawn to politicians who emphasize cultural preservation and push back against perceived outside influence.
A Political Shift… But Not Yet a Separatist Wave
Interestingly, Cantin-Nantel noted that while the separatist party is gaining support, the broader independence movement is not necessarily growing at the same pace. Instead, voters appear to be rallying around leadership and political alternatives — not necessarily separation from Canada. However, the momentum is enough to raise new questions about Canada’s political future. Because once a separatist party becomes competitive again, the conversation about independence inevitably returns.
Why This Matters
Canada has faced separatist tensions before — particularly in Quebec — but many believed those days were over. Now, with shifting political dynamics and growing dissatisfaction, the issue may once again move toward the forefront of Canadian politics. For Americans watching from across the border, it’s a reminder that political shifts abroad can quickly reshape regional dynamics. And as this conversation on Breaking Battlegrounds shows, Canada’s political story may be far more complicated — and far more consequential — than many realize.
Transcript
Sam Stone: Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds. We’re continuing on now with Elie Cantin-Nantel, Canadian journalist. Follow him on X @elie_mcn. Elie, before we went to break, we’re talking about kind of general politics, Canada and the US , but I want to get into some of the specifics of the two separatist movements kind of pulling at the fabric of Canada right now.
We’re going to spend some time on the Alberta one, but first I want to touch really quickly on a piece you had or an ex-post you had about Quebec’s separatist party won the riding of Chiquitame. Tell us first what that means. I think probably most Americans like me have no idea. And then second, give us a quick rundown of what’s going on there.
Elie Cantin-Nantel: Sure. So just for clarification, the writing is a Canadian version of a congressional district. And in the case of the Quebec example, it’s an equivalent of a statehouse seat, basically, that the Parti Québécois, which is a separatist party in Quebec, a long-time separatist party in Quebec, recently won. There’s some very important contexts here. So first of all, everybody thought that the Parti Québécois was dead after the last election. They had their worst result. They were reduced to just three seats.
The Quebec separatism remains actually very unpopular. There was a poll done just the other day and they found 71% of Quebecers would vote to stay in Canada. But the PQ had been on the rise. This is their fourth special election in a row that they flipped for a few reasons. First of all, the incumbent government of governor, the premier of Quebec, Francois Legault, is very, very unpopular. Quebec has very different political parties from a two party system, it’s a multi-party system and their party is also very different from the rest of Canada.
This guy was supposed to be a conservative kind of nationalist premier and he ended up just being all over the place, flip-flopping. There was a bunch of scandals in his second term, including a lot of money giving to corporate subsidies that ended up not working out, broken promises. So he became very unpopular. And the leader of the separatist party is a very likable guy. He’s very charismatic. He’s very smart.
He’s supposed to be a left-winger, but he’s very anti-woke. In fact, he even once said he would never be compelled to use they, them pronouns. So he and people in Quebec, even though they’re liberal, they really don’t like woke culture. They actually view it as Americanization of their culture. Given that lot of the wokeness comes from places like Harvard, Yale, et cetera.
Sam Stone: Well, and the background to all of this is that Quebec is a very Francophile area.
Elie Cantin-Nantel: Yes. Exactly. So in the background of all of this, the PQ started to rise, but not the separatist movement. So that’s why you started to see these seats flip, including the one in Chicoutimi, because people started liking this party. But now that people see that the separatist party could actually form government again, we’ve actually seen the polls change and the provincial liberals are also now gaining steam.
Sam Stone: Interesting. All right.
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