Quebec premier skips Canada-EU summit, sends letter

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said Wednesday evening he will not take part in the Canada-European Union summit that opens Thursday in Montreal, after Prime Minister Mark Carney refused him an official speaking role.

Quebec will instead be represented by its new chief diplomat, Pascal Paradis, The Canadian Press reported. The premier sent a letter to the European representatives warning them of the risk of reaching an agreement without Quebec’s approval.

“The federal government has decided to exclude Quebec from the discussions that will be held there,” St-Pierre Plamondon wrote in the letter (translated from French). He said his government, in office since the Oct. 5 election, has “neither a seat at the negotiating table nor the opportunity to speak” to present Quebec’s general orientations to European partners (translated from French).

He argued that Ottawa has a duty to consult the provinces to secure their agreement before implementing international agreements, and said the lack of information on what Canada wants to discuss creates uncertainty about how any deal would apply. He also described Quebec as an ally and a gateway to North America for Europe.

Carney said Wednesday morning that the premier’s invitation to the head-table dinner with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa still stood. The dinner is a chance to “establish personal relationships” at the start of a formal process, he said, adding he hoped St-Pierre Plamondon would reconsider. Carney also said four consultation sessions had been held with the Quebec delegation.

The premier, speaking to reporters in Quebec City earlier in the day, called it disrespectful not to give Quebec’s premier a place at an event held in the province where its economic interests are being negotiated. “The most logical solution would be for Ottawa to reverse its mistake,” he said (translated from French). He pointed to the Gerin-Lajoie doctrine, under which Quebec says it can defend its own areas of jurisdiction on the international stage, and to former premier Jean Charest’s role in negotiating the current EU free trade agreement.

St-Pierre Plamondon also noted that Quebec ran a trade deficit of $16.5 billion with the EU in 2025, importing $30.3 billion in goods and exporting $13.8 billion, according to The Canadian Press.

The dispute began Tuesday, when the premier accused Ottawa of trying to silence him and Carney said he had chosen to leave “an empty chair”. As reported earlier, Carney and the premier traded barbs over his role, and Industry Minister Melanie Joly said the summit is federal in nature and geopolitics falls under federal jurisdiction.

Quebec solidaire spokesperson Ruba Ghazal called on all party leaders to press Carney to let the premier speak. Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard said he would have expected to speak if he were premier, according to Radio-Canada.

The European Union had originally aimed to offer Canada a new associate member status, but some member states have raised reservations. Our earlier report said four EU states have blocked the label. The Parti Quebecois premier also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.

The summit runs Thursday and Friday.

Sources: The Canadian Press (English and French), Radio-Canada, Le Devoir.

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