PQ leader says his immigration comments were ‘distorted’ by opponents in campaign

MONTREAL — Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said comments he has made about immigration have been “distorted” by his opponents as Quebec’s political parties wrapped up the second week of the provincial election campaign on Friday.

Immigration and anglophone rights took centre stage over the week as leaders continued to campaign ahead of the Oct. 5 provincial election.

The Parti Québécois, which has maintained its lead in the polls despite growing support for the governing Coalition Avenir Québec, is facing criticism after St-Pierre Plamondon stirred up controversy with comments about immigrants in schools.

In recent days, the PQ leader has linked immigration to overcrowded schools and the decline of the French language. On Saturday, he held a press conference outside a Quebec City high school where modular classrooms are being used to accommodate students.

He said schools were “overflowing everywhere in Quebec,” and cited data about the increase that he attributed to immigrants. But the statistics he shared were actually adding up a combination of immigrants and Quebec-born children of immigrants.

Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal accused him of scapegoating immigrant children, while suggesting that the real problem was due to previous governments failing to adequately fund the education system.

“Who does the PQ consider a Quebecer? Isn’t being born here enough?,” said Ghazal on Wednesday. “My nieces and nephews were born here. They’ve never known anything but Quebec. How can we blame them for overcrowded schools? It’s hurtful.”

St-Pierre Plamondon addressed the backlash again on Friday, saying that his opponents were distorting his actual views. He said his party is “not targeting Quebecers of immigrant background.”

“To us, all Quebecers are 100 per cent Quebecers, but we just have a bad public policy that needs to be fixed,” he said. “The flip side of this issue is that many people hesitate to bring it up for fear of being accused of racism or intolerance.”

Frantz André, head of a Montreal-based migrant advocacy group, says the PQ is parroting electoral talking points from former Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault.

In both 2018 and 2022 — when Legault’s party formed successive majority governments — the Coalition Avenir Québec made immigration and religious minorities the focus of its campaigns. Legault had vowed to slash temporary immigration and permanent residency, and to accept fewer asylum seekers.

On the campaign trail, St-Pierre Plamondon has claimed that Legault’s government — in which current Coalition Avenir Québec leader Christine Fréchette was once immigration minister — “lost control” over its immigration system despite promises.

“The reality is we need immigrants,” said André. “Immigration is challenging, but it’s also a solution to our population decline and labour shortage.”

St-Pierre Plamondon said a PQ government would reduce the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec per year from more than 500,000 to between 200,000 and 250,000, arguing current levels have exceeded the province’s capacity to provide housing and public services. He also promised to reduce permanent immigration to 35,000 people a year, down from the government’s current target of 45,000.

But André says that number is “totally arbitrary” and does not take into consideration Quebec’s needs.

He agrees with Ghazal’s claims that the PQ is scapegoating immigrants, saying it can often be a winning strategy as seen by Legault and politicians south of the border.

Listening to St-Pierre Plamondon’s press conferences, André hears electioneering. He believes the PQ is trying to court voters who were favourable to Legault’s positions.

Philippe Fournier, who created poll aggregator 338Canada, says he has noticed a shift in the Coalition Avenir Québec’s priorities under Fréchette, who is focusing her campaign on the economy and businesses.

According to the pollster, targeting immigration is a “slippery slope” based on “risk and reward.”

“In 2022, when the CAQ focused heavily on identity and immigration, it didn’t go well,” said Fournier. “They didn’t pay the price at the polls, but Mr. Legault got bogged down a few times on the issue of immigration, and it wasn’t a winning issue for them.”

According to Fournier, the party fared best when talking about stability and good governance.

Meanwhile, Fréchette’s party was under fire after Élections Québec said language laws were forcing it to provide printed voter guides in French only.

Lobby groups representing anglophones accused the government of voter suppression after the provincial election authority said its request to be exempt from legislation forcing government entities to communicate in French only was denied. A group of lawyers also threatened to take legal action.

Liberal Party Leader Charles Milliard published an open letter addressed to Fréchette on Thursday evening expressing his disapproval.

“This decision … constitutes an unjustifiable attack on the electoral rights of English-speaking Quebecers,” he wrote.

Fournier expects the campaign to ramp up next week, after Labour Day, as party leaders prepare for upcoming debates.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2026.

Erika Morris, The Canadian Press