Alberta's independence movement is celebrating Quebec's election result. Leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project say Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon - now premier-designate after Monday's vote wiped out the governing Coalition Avenir Quebec - is a genuine ally of the Alberta cause, with 12 days to go before Albertans vote on Oct. 19.
Jeff Rath, a leading figure in the independence movement, said Tuesday that Plamondon's election could reshape Canadian politics, pointing to a three-hour dinner meeting with him in Calgary over the past year and describing a real personal rapport. Fellow organizer Mitch Sylvestre said he met Plamondon in Calgary for four hours and came away considering him a friend.
Plamondon has previously told a Calgary audience that, were he premier of Quebec, he would recognize an independent Alberta if Albertans voted to separate. The PQ is set to form a minority government and Plamondon has pledged a third Quebec sovereignty referendum - though not until after Donald Trump leaves office.
On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on whether to remain in Canada or hold a second, binding vote on leaving - a referendum Premier Danielle Smith called after competing petitions each gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Two independence movements pressing Ottawa at once is a scenario federalists have long dreaded.
