Anxiety in Indo-Canadian community as separatist Quebec party set to win poll
There is anxiety and tension within the Indo-Canadian community in the Francophone province of Quebec as a separatist party, promising an independence referendum, looks poised to emerge victorious in the provincial election on Monday.
Leader of the Parti Quebecois (PQ) Paul St-Pierre Plamondon speaks during the third and final televised Quebec election debate in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on September 23. (AFP)According to poll aggregator 338 Canada, Parti Québécois led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is close to a potential majority in the provincial Assembly even as the vote takes places on Monday. Among its principal planks is holding a referendum for an independent Quebec after US President Donald Trump has demitted office in January 2029. The party, which forms the government after Monday’s vote, will have a four-year term, extending till October 2030.
Montreal-based physician and Indo-Canadian community leader Shivendra Dwivedi was among those expressing concern over the PQ assuming power. Pointing out he is more fluent in French than English, he said, “Despite that integration, we came to Canada as immigrants. We identify as Canadians.”
He said that was the reality for most immigrants, adding, “We’re a little bit anxious and nervous.”
That sentiment was echoed by Gurinder Johal, a resident of the township of Hudson, as he said, “The worry is about the referendum. We don’t want any separation, we want to be part of Canada.” Johal, who has been volunteering for the provincial Liberal Party during the election, said division within communities could get “worse” if the PQ were to come to power, displacing the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec or CAQ, which has been power since 2018.
The PQ garnered just three seats in the 127-member Assembly in 2022, but its fortunes have changed since then. Quebec has a population of between 100,000 and 125,000 Indo-Canadians. Ambica Sharma, presenter with the Montreal-based Radio Humsafar, said the community will never support a party like PQ which has a separatist agenda and will largely back the provincial Liberals. “They would never support anything like that (separation),” she said. However, she felt with this provincial election, there was a “different kind of climate” with the parties for Canadian unity, trailing the PQ.
Pushti Vyas, a teenager born and raised in Quebec, said youth like her had no interest in such a referendum and it was non-issue for them. However, she said, those like her from the Hindu community, needed to be active participants in the political process. “Find a bit of time to educate yourself and go vote,” she said.
Quebec has witnessed two independence referenda, in 1980 and 1995, with both failing. Appetite for separation has weakened, with only about 30 per cent support, as per data from 338Canada.
But a referendum will prove divisive, and adverse for immigrants like Indo-Canadians. For now, Dwivedi felt the best outcome that could be hoped for was that the PQ fell short of a majority on Monday night.
Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More
