Quebec separatist leader says no independence referendum until Trump leaves office

The leader of Quebec's separatist party says he would delay any independence referendum until Donald Trump is no longer U.S. presidentByROB GILLIES Associated PressTORONTO -- The leader of Quebec’s separatist party said Tuesday he would delay any referendum on independence from Canada until Donald Trump is no longer U.S. president.Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose party is out of power but could win Quebec’s next election that must be held by Oct. 5, said a PQ government would still hold a referendum during its first term — but not before Jan. 20, 2029, when Trump’s term ends. He said a question as consequential as Quebec’s future requires a clear and calm debate.“It must not be hijacked by the upheavals of American politics, nor by the outbursts of an unpredictable president, nor by fear campaigns,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.“This unpredictability of the American administration will harm our process as well as the quality of the debate on our future as a nation."Trump’s tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have complicated the separatist case in Quebec, fueling Canadian nationalism and prompting some French-speaking Quebecers to see gr...