Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (; often identified by his initials: PSPP; born February 17, 1977) is a Canadian lawyer, television columnist and politician.
He has been the leader of the
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
since October 9, 2020. He represents Camille-Laurin in the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
.
Education
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon began his college studies at
Collège André-Grasset
Collège André-Grasset is a private college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located near the Quebec Autoroute 40 and the Crémazie metro station.
The college was founded in 1927 by the priests of Saint-Sulpice Seminary (Montreal)
The Sa ...
and graduated in 1997.
He holds a BA in Civil and Common Law from
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
(2001), an MBA from
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(2006), and a Certificate in International Law from
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion
Social and political engagement
In 2007, he co-founded ''Génération d'idées'', a nonprofit thinking group whose mission is to engage young people of 20-35 year-olds in public debate by inviting them to express themselves on social themes in the various platforms of ''Génération d'idées''.
In 2009, with the aim of promoting ''Génération d'idées'' and to sound out the opinion of Québec's
Generation Y
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s ...
, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon visited 19 Québec cities in 63 days and gathered the thoughts of 500 young people. Following this exercise, he published the essay ''Des jeunes et l'avenir du Québec: les rêveries d'un promeneur solitaire''.
In 2011, he began as co-host of the radio show ''Génératrice'' on Radio-Canada’s Première Chaîne. In October 2011, the ''Génération d’idées'' group planted more than 250 brooms in front of the National Assembly in Québec City and stepped up public interventions to call for a public inquiry into the construction industry in Québec. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s interventions in favour of this commission of inquiry led Radio-Canada to request that he be removed from the program as a co-host.
In 2012, he defended students on walkout in front of the courts and participated in the demonstration of lawyers against Bill 78 (now Bill 12). In September 2013, he resigned as president of ''Génération d’idées''. In February 2014, he became a journalist for ''Les Affaires'' newspaper.
In October 2014, he published a second essay entitled ''Les Orphelins politiques: plaidoyer pour un renouveau du paysage politique québécois'', in which he advocated for the emergence of a new movement that would fill the void felt by several political orphans.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is the author of several open letters and media interventions on various current issues, including politics.
Parti Québécois (2016–present)
In 2016, he was a candidate in the 2016 Parti Québécois leadership race, finishing fourth with 6.84% support. One of his main commitments during this race was to reconnect the party with all Québécois.
On October 23, 2016, the leader of the Parti Québécois, Jean-François Lisée, announced the appointment of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to the position of Special Advisor to the leader of the Parti Québécois, after he had joined the Party. Under the project “Dare to rethink the PQ”, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s mandate includes consulting the people of Québec on the renewal of the Party and drafting, at the end of this process, a report and recommendations on the relaunch of the Parti Québécois. The open consultation is particularly aimed at the business community, particularly entrepreneurs and other professionals, members of Québec’s diversity and those under the age of 40. After 162 consultations with more than 3,600 people, it tabled a report with 156 recommendations in April 2017. At the PQ National Congress in September 2017, 44 recommendations were accepted by the PQ National Executive Council. The majority of the other recommendations will finally be adopted at the extraordinary Parti Québécois convention in Trois-Rivières in November 2019.
PQ candidate in the county of Prévost in the 2018 general election, he faces former Liberal minister Marguerite Blais, who now represents the Coalition Avenir Québec. During this local election campaign, Plamondon prioritized the environment, the quality of public services and support for families. Presented as a star contestant, he was defeated by Marguerite Blais.
On January 28, 2020, he officially announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Parti Québécois. Its slogan - OUI - announces a positive and unifying campaign, firmly focused on independence and the celebration of Québec in 2020. Contrary to its constitutional position of 2016, it now promises a popular consultation on independence in a first mandate. As part of this leadership race, he will publish his third essay ''Rebâtir le camp du OUI'' where he presents his game plan to revive the Parti Québécois and the idea of sovereignty. He won the leadership race on October 9, 2020 with 56% of the vote in the third round.
In the beginning of 2022, he announced that he would be a candidate in the riding of Camille-Laurin, in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. MNA Richard Campeau, of the Coalition Avenir Québec, has been elected since the last elections in 2018. He won the riding on election night, and his party won a total of 3 seats, down from the last legislature.
During the
2022 Quebec general election
The 2022 Quebec general election was held on October 3, 2022, to elect the members of the National Assembly of Quebec. Under the province's fixed election date law, passed in 2013, "the general election following the end of a Legislature shall b ...
he had some controversy with Plamondon's use of the word '' nègre'' during a televised debate.
Personal life
St-Pierre Plamondon lives with his wife on
Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans (; en, Island of Orleans) is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage ...
, near
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...