‘We are ready for anything,’ federal minister says as Quebecers prepare to head to the polls with the PQ leading - National Post
Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages Marc Miller speaks to journalists before attending cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK/PostmediaArticle contentOTTAWA — Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller said the federal government is prepared to work with whomever will win the trust of Quebecers in the election in early October — even if he has some personal beef with the frontrunner.
“I am prepared for any eventuality. I have my own hopes, but we are ready for anything,” said the outspoken minister on his way to a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon.
The separatist Parti Québécois seems well on its way to forming the next government, possibly with a majority, judging by the most recent polling. Quebec Liberals are poised to be the official Opposition, while the incumbent Coalition Avenir Québec is sliding in the polls.
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Miller said the federal government will be working with the incoming government in Quebec, “whether it is a minority government or otherwise.”
“What we’re hearing from Quebecers is that they want different levels of government to work together,” he said.
“That is why (Quebecers) loathe referendums, because they are immensely divisive, highly emotional,” he added.
Miller has some recent history with PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
Last year, St-Pierre Plamondon accused the cultural sector in Quebec of “intellectual vacuity and spineless subservience” to Ottawa after some groups had welcomed Miller’s nomination as the federal minister for culture and official languages.
The PQ leader lashed out after Miller said, right after his nomination, that he was tired of the politicization of the debate around the decline of French in Quebec.
St-Pierre Plamondon went even further by suggesting that some in the cultural sector lacked loyalty to Quebec, which caused a firestorm in the province. Miller accused him of going too far with his comments, and the PQ leader apologized a few days later.
