Parti Québécois Chief Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says he’s apprehensive the federal authorities is spying on his occasion.
St-Pierre Plamondon advised reporters on Tuesday he has no proof however says there’s a protracted historical past of spying and surveillance in opposition to his occasion.
“If there’s one fixed within the historical past of the Parti Québécois, it’s that the chief and influential members are spied on,” he advised a information convention on the legislature.
Nonetheless, he added that “the reality is, we don’t have the means to confirm that.”
The Parti Québécois is main the polls with solely months to go earlier than October’s basic election and has promised to carry a sovereignty referendum by 2030 if it varieties authorities.
St-Pierre Plamondon mentioned smartphones make it so much simpler to eavesdrop, and he’s engaged on the idea that Ottawa is making an attempt to pay attention.
“It’s a lot simpler than again within the day when somebody needed to tape a recorder to their abdomen,” he mentioned.
He says occasion members are taking precautions by placing their telephones into signal-proof baggage and eradicating them from the room throughout conferences.
Ballot aggregator Qc125 suggests the PQ would win about 64 seats, or a slim majority, if the vote was held immediately.
St-Pierre Plamondon isn’t incorrect to say that the federal authorities has been within the PQ in years previous. For instance, the not too long ago deceased Claude Morin, an architect of the PQ’s 1976 election victory, was a paid informant for the RCMP.
“We all know that every decade, the Authorities of Canada has taken ethically and legally very questionable steps to watch elected PQ members,” Plamondon mentioned.
Québec solidaire spokesperson Ruba Ghazal mentioned she wasn’t apprehensive about being spied on by Ottawa, regardless of main a sovereigntist occasion. “I don’t have these worries,” she mentioned.
The province’s home safety minister, Ian Lafrenière, mentioned he was stunned by St-Pierre Plamondon’s assertion.
“I’m not saying it’s unattainable. I actually doubt it,” he mentioned, including that the PQ’s technique and want for a referendum was “fairly clear.”
“I hope they’re not apprehensive that one of many members of their caucus is a spy,” added Lafrenière, who mentioned he considers overseas interference to be a much bigger concern.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Might 12, 2026.
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