Parti Québécois leader worries — without proof — that Ottawa is spying on his party

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon replies to the government budget speech at the legislature in Quebec City, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot. The Canadian Press

QUÉBEC — Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says he’s worried the federal government is spying on his party.

St-Pierre Plamondon admits he has no proof but says there’s a long history of spying and surveillance against his party.

The Parti Québécois is leading the polls with only months to go before October’s general election and has promised to hold a sovereignty referendum by 2030 if it forms government.

St-Pierre Plamondon says smartphones make it a lot easier to eavesdrop, and he’s working on the assumption that Ottawa is trying to listen.

He says party members are taking precautions by putting their phones into signal-proof bags and removing them from the room during meetings.

Poll aggregator Qc125 suggests the PQ would win about 64 seats, or a slim majority, if the vote was held today.

St-Pierre Plamondon isn’t wrong to say that the federal government has been interested in the PQ in years past. For example, the recently deceased Claude Morin, an architect of the PQ’s 1976 election victory, was a paid informant for the RCMP.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2026.

Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press