By Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press
Posted November 14, 2026 11:53 am.
Last Updated November 14, 2026 1:41 pm.
In his first appearance on the international stage, Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon made a point of distancing himself from the Canadian government.
He suggested on Saturday that he was prepared to vote differently from Canada in the election of the Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).
St-Pierre Plamondon is in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, this weekend to attend the 20th Francophonie Summit.
On Monday, member states will elect a secretary general for a four-year term. Quebec has the right to vote, as do Ottawa and Fredericton.
Four candidates are in the running: the current secretary general, Louise Mushikiwabo of Rwanda, is seeking a third term.
Three opponents will try to unseat her: Juliana Amato Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dacian Ciolos of Romania, and Coumba Bâ of Mauritania.
During a press scrum following a meeting with Mushikiwabo on Saturday, St-Pierre Plamondon declined to say whom he was supporting in the race.
Will he vote alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, as expected?
“We are not bound by another player’s vote,” he said, adding that discussions were ongoing among member states.
One thing is certain: Mushikiwabo said she hopes for support from Quebec, with which she maintains “very good relations.”
“I would very much like to have Quebec’s support,” she said alongside her deputy, Quebec native Caroline St-Hilaire, whose position is also at stake.
The topic is sure to come up during the first one-on-one meeting scheduled for Sunday between St-Pierre Plamondon and Carney.
This first meeting comes amid tensions, as St-Pierre Plamondon has been making a series of outspoken remarks since taking office.
On issues ranging from the federal budget to immigration and culture, the Quebec premier nevertheless says he is “optimistic” about the upcoming discussions with Carney.
“We’re preparing an (economic) update, so there will be important discussions on that,” he noted.
From the Philippines, Carney also expressed confidence that he and St-Pierre Plamondon will be “able to work together.”
“I work with all the other premiers in Canada and leaders of countries around the world, so I’m sure we’ll find common priorities,” he said.
La francophonie représente un immense potentiel économique encore trop peu exploité. Avec 1,2 milliard de locuteurs francophones à travers le monde, nous avons tout intérêt à renforcer nos liens commerciaux, à multiplier les partenariats et à faire du français un véritable…
Quebec premier pitches entrepreneurs
Earlier in the day, St-Pierre Plamondon had addressed a roundtable of Quebec entrepreneurs.
“The Francophonie gives Quebec a competitive advantage over any other jurisdiction in North America,” he told them.
“We should be able to use this leverage to increase our trade balance and pursue opportunities that others cannot.”
St-Pierre Plamondon then delivered a speech lasting about a dozen minutes at the Rencontre des entrepreneurs francophones (REF).
Before him, the president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, Neak Oknha Kith Meng, had spoken exclusively in English.
St-Pierre Plamondon reminded the several hundred participants that Quebec has been a full member of the OIF for over 50 years.
“The OIF is an example of what the exercise of our sovereignty can look like on the international stage,” the pro-independence leader remarked.
He later claimed during a press conference that Quebec’s independence was sparking curiosity among member countries of the OIF.
“I won’t hide the fact that we’ve had (…) several hallway conversations in which people have shown curiosity simply because we’re the Parti Québécois,” he said.
“So, we discuss the topic of independence, but in an informal way.”
His appearance on stage, however, led to a comical moment when he was introduced as the Prime Minister of Canada.
Embarrassed, the president of the Alliance patronat francophone, Ahmed Cissé, quickly added, “Perhaps that will be the next step.”
The head of the Quebec government received a warm welcome, and his message about the Francophonie as an “economic opportunity” struck a chord.
“The vision I’m sharing with you today is that of a new Francophone economic zone. (…) If we don’t organize ourselves, others will organize us,” he told the crowd.
He took advantage of his appearance at the REF to announce that a meeting of Francophonie economy ministers will be held in Quebec City in 2027.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
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