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Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will not be allowed to speak at this week’s Canada-EU summit in Montreal, according to the Parti Québécois (PQ).
A PQ spokesperson wrote in a statement yesterday that the federal government refused the premier’s request to make a speech at the event, despite the fact that it will be held on Quebec soil.
In the statement, the PQ called the situation “surreal,” and wrote that Quebec should have a right to speak at the summit, given that “strategic and economic agreements will be discussed,” that “risk binding Quebec for several years.”
The party argues that, since Quebec had a seat at the table during negotiations for the Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), not allowing the province to speak for itself at the summit is a step backward.
According to the PQ, the federal government also refused Quebec’s request to host a reception on the sidelines of the summit, which it said was made over a month ago by former premier Christine Fréchette.
Quebec’s Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Marie-Claude Sarrazin added in the statement that the federal government’s decision shows a “basic lack of respect for Quebec and a denial of the role of our parliament, which reminds us of the need to be in control of our own destiny.”
The Carney government has not yet responded to a request for comment, however a federal source told Radio-Canada that St-Pierre Plamondon, along with every provincial leader, is invited to a dinner during the event. The source also emphasized this is a federal summit.
Canada strengthening ties with Europe
The Canada-EU summit will take place Oct. 28 and 29 in Montreal.
It comes just over a month after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed creating a path for Canada to become the European Union’s first associate member.
In the face of tariffs from the United States, Carney has also advocated for a stronger alliance between Canada and the EU, particularly in areas of critical minerals, defence, artifical intelligence and energy security.
In a news release published ahead of the summit this week, the prime minister wrote that in response to a more dangerous and divided world, “Canada and the European Union are building on each other’s strengths — deliberately, systematically, and rapidly — to form a new, ambitious alliance.”
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