Quebec Lieutenant Governor Won’t Attend Cabinet Swearing‑in at Incoming Premier’s Request

Manon Jeannotte is sworn in as lieutenant governor of Quebec, during a ceremony on Jan. 25, 2024 in Quebec City. The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot

Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and his incoming Parti Québécois (PQ) cabinet are set to be sworn in on Oct. 21, marked by a historic break with the British Crown.

Quebec’s Lieutenant Governor, Manon Jeannotte, has agreed to skip the ceremony following a request from St-Pierre Plamondon, who sent her a letter on Oct. 19 asking her not to attend, a government spokesperson has confirmed.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place in Parliament’s Red Room, with the Secretary General of the Government in attendance, according to the letter. The appointment documents, which require Jeannotte’s signature to take effect, will then be sent to the lieutenant governor’s office behind the national assembly for her signature later that same day.

The government says the appointments will be valid despite the change in procedure.

The office of the lieutenant governor did not respond to requests for comment on the decision as of publication time.

St-Pierre Plamondon’s letter comes after he announced earlier this month—just a day after winning a minority government during the Oct. 5 election—that he was seeking legal avenues to block the province’s lieutenant governor from participating in formal swearing-in ceremonies and the opening of the legislature.

St-Pierre Plamondon reiterated this stance in his letter.

“We firmly intend to abolish this monarchy in Quebec, both within our democratic institutions and in our civil society,” he wrote, adding that a “foreign sovereign” has “no democratic legitimacy.”

He told Jeannotte in the letter that these actions and statements imply “no lack of respect towards you personally.”

The PQ leader has been vocal in his opposition to the British monarchy throughout his 10-year tenure in politics.

The 49-year-old separatist promised during his 2026 election campaign to defund the office of lieutenant governor and redirect the annual operating budget of around $1 million to addressing homelessness.

He also suggested that lawyers would be “in charge of evaluating the scenarios” allowing the duties of the lieutenant governor, who also gives royal assent to all laws, to be transferred to an “entity to be reinvented.”

The PQ’s arrangement for its Oct. 21 swearing-in ceremony is a departure from how such ceremonies traditionally unfold.

Provincial legislators across most Canadian provinces are constitutionally required to take an oath before the lieutenant governor as representative of King Charles III.

Section 128 of the Constitution Act dictates that every member of a provincial legislative assembly must swear an oath to the reigning monarch before taking their seat. Quebec is currently the only province where the oath of allegiance to the monarch is optional.

Quebec passed Bill 4 unanimously in 2022, amending the application of Section 128 so the oath to the King is no longer mandatory for members of the national assembly.

Under the new legislation, MNAs pledge their allegiance exclusively to Quebec’s citizens and its constitutional framework. This provision is currently being contested in the Quebec Superior Court.

The lawsuit was filed by constitutional litigator and University of Ottawa law professor Lawrence David alongside the Public Interest Litigation Institute. It argues that MNAs who sit without taking the required constitutional oath lack the proper legal standing to serve in their positions.

The ruling is expected to take years, prompting David to file an injunction application asking the Quebec Superior Court to grant an emergency order forcing all elected members to swear an oath of allegiance to the King before the national assembly reconvenes. A ruling is expected before this week’s ceremony.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.