Carney rebukes Quebec premier’s letters to U.S. officials

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Canada should have a “single negotiator” in trade talks with the United States, after Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon sent letters to 59 newly elected or re-elected U.S. governors and senators.

St-Pierre Plamondon answered within hours, telling reporters in Quebec City that “Mr. Carney is not my boss” and that he will not stop Quebec from maintaining an international presence.

The letters were first revealed by Le Journal de Québec, according to the National Post, which obtained copies of two of them. They congratulate the officials on their midterm victories and invite them to work with the Quebec government on shared goals.

The letter to Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed notes that trade between Quebec and Michigan reached nearly US$4.6 billion in 2025, the National Post reported. It refers recipients to the nearest Quebec government office, in cities such as Chicago or Boston. The premier’s recent letters also went to New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, CBC News reported.

Le Journal de Québec reported that the outreach is meant to lay the ground for a “diplomatic offensive” in the United States, to be followed by the unveiling of a “Team Quebec” led by chief negotiator Pascal Paradis.

Carney was asked at an unrelated news conference in Montreal, where he was promoting culture funding in last week’s federal budget, whether Quebec’s efforts could affect Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. He said they could.

“The decision-makers of commercial agreements and initiatives for the next two, three years is the executive of the U.S.,” Carney said, according to the National Post. “It’s not necessarily the legislators.”

“In a negotiation, it’s always a good idea to have a single negotiator,” he added, saying such matters fall within the federal government’s purview.

St-Pierre Plamondon, whose Parti Québécois won the Oct. 5 election, said the letters match what previous Quebec governments have done. “Mr. Carney would prefer that we not put on our skates or even step onto the ice, because he wants the rink all to himself,” he said.

He said Quebec will keep asserting its place on the world stage over the coming months. He spoke after meeting Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet at his Quebec City office, CBC News reported.

The exchange is the latest friction between the two leaders since the PQ took office. CBC reported that St-Pierre Plamondon withdrew from the Canada-EU summit in Montreal after Carney denied him speaking time, and sent Quebec’s chief diplomat to represent him. Carney and the premier had set a first meeting for Cambodia after the premier accepted the prime minister’s offer, and Quebec said last week that the federal budget ignored its key demands.

The PQ campaigned on a referendum on sovereignty, as our election coverage noted. Carney has said repeatedly that Ottawa leads trade talks with Washington.

Sources: CBC News, National Post via Yahoo News Canada.

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