Quebec Cabinet Sworn In Without Lieutenant Governor, a First

Quebec's new government was sworn in on Wednesday without the lieutenant governor in the room, the first time in the province's history that the Crown's representative has not presided over the ceremony.

Premier designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon asked Lieutenant Governor Manon Jeannotte to skip the swearing in of his cabinet, and she agreed not to attend, CBC News reported. St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois, became Quebec's 34th premier as his ministers took office in Quebec City.

How it happened

The Parti Québécois won 59 seats in the Oct 5 provincial election, short of the 64 needed for a majority, and returns to power after 12 years in opposition. Before the ceremony, St-Pierre Plamondon said he had asked for a legal opinion on how the lieutenant governor could be kept out of the initial ceremony.

"I obviously do not intend to swear an oath to the King and make lying my first gesture" at the legislature, he said. "Do we really need someone to come and give the seal of a king before the people can speak? The answer is no."

He has also said he wants to defund the lieutenant governor's office and put the money toward fighting homelessness. St-Pierre Plamondon refused to take the oath of allegiance when he was elected as an opposition member in 2022. The government of the day later passed a law exempting Quebec from the oath provision in the federal constitution.

Why it matters

Canada is a constitutional monarchy. King Charles III is head of state, and the lieutenant governor is his representative in Quebec. Swearing in a government without that representative does not change who holds power, but it breaks a ceremony that has run the same way for the whole life of the province. For a party committed to Quebec independence, the move is a statement made with procedure rather than a bill: the new government is signalling, on its first day, that it does not accept the Crown's place in Quebec's public life.

The politics cut two ways. Polls cited in the reporting put support for Quebec secession at about 30 percent, well below a majority. Support for cutting ties with the monarchy runs higher than support for independence itself. A gesture against the Crown lets a minority sovereigntist government act on ground where it has more public backing than on its main project, which needs a referendum it cannot currently win.

The election also closed a chapter for the party that ran Quebec until this month. The Coalition Avenir Québec, which held 79 seats, failed to elect a single member on Oct 5. Former premier Christine Fréchette resigned the day after the election, and the party has named former Outaouais member Mathieu Lévesque as interim leader while it rebuilds.

What happens next

A minority government has to negotiate. The Parti Québécois holds 59 of 127 seats, so every major bill needs votes from other parties. After Wednesday's ceremony and cabinet announcement, the new National Assembly is scheduled to return on Nov 17, with the government's first bills and its first confidence tests to follow. St-Pierre Plamondon has told his caucus to stay ready for another election, since minority governments in Quebec tend to be short lived.

Key numbers

• 59 of 127: Parti Québécois seats in the National Assembly, 5 short of a majority
• 34th: St-Pierre Plamondon's place in the line of Quebec premiers
• About 30 percent: support for Quebec secession in polls cited in the reporting
• 0: seats won on Oct 5 by the Coalition Avenir Québec, which previously held 79