[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f3u7czmtixcxc0":3},{"_id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"subtitle":7,"kind":8,"cards":9,"tags":57,"categories":59,"source":61,"lang":64,"author":65,"audioState":68,"stats":69,"publishedAt":72,"renderer":73},"6abb90e1ca21c797c7e9d154","the-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0","The persistence of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon brings the PQ to a critical point","When he was a teenager, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon went to Denmark and organized a referendum.","news",[10,12,17,22,27,32,37,42,47,52],{"headline":6,"body":7,"imageUrl":11,"sourceImageUrl":11},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theglobeandmail.com\u002Fresizer\u002Fv2\u002FJ25ZFG7XK5GODCRVYO4FKTVTHY.JPG?auth=b6b00d19ecfea76f69a03a4a9379162e5cb3d037bc4aec71d429200c5799759b&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true",{"headline":13,"body":14,"imageUrl":15,"images":16},"Another exchange student might have preferred to blend","Another exchange student might have preferred to blend into the background at a foreign upper-secondary school thousands of kilometres from home. But at 17 years old, almost as a joke, Paul ran for class president.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F1.webp",{"local":15},{"headline":18,"body":19,"imageUrl":20,"images":21},"He didn’t speak Danish at the time, though","He didn’t speak Danish at the time, though he took pains to learn the language that year, said Nikolaj Callesen, who was a year ahead of him in school. And though his foray into politics may have started as a gag, he took the job seriously. He eventually became student body president and proposed a plebiscite on smoking at the school.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F2.webp",{"local":20},{"headline":23,"body":24,"imageUrl":25,"images":26},"Smoking bans were unheard-of in Denmark at the","Smoking bans were unheard-of in Denmark at the time, according to Mr. Callesen, a member of the family that hosted Paul that year. A self-described hippie with long hair and a heavy smoking habit, he was “very opposed” to the idea, he added.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F3.webp",{"local":25},{"headline":28,"body":29,"imageUrl":30,"images":31},"But Paul defied the odds and the ban","But Paul defied the odds and the ban passed. “No one knew him,” said Mr. Callesen. “And the next day, everyone knew Paul.”","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F4.webp",{"local":30},{"headline":33,"body":34,"imageUrl":35,"images":36},"Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, now 49 and leading the","Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, now 49 and leading the Parti Québécois into a provincial election Oct. 5, told the story of his time in Denmark during a speech in Montreal earlier this year, mostly for the laughs. But in that teenage stunt, it’s hard not to see the outline of the ambitious political operator he would become.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F5.webp",{"local":35},{"headline":38,"body":39,"imageUrl":40,"images":41},"After returning home and voting for independence in","After returning home and voting for independence in the 1995 referendum, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon spent years in search of a vehicle for his talents, taking a winding path that would see him disavow sovereignty before readopting the cause.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F6.webp",{"local":40},{"headline":43,"body":44,"imageUrl":45,"images":46},"Along the way, he authored books, rubbed shoulders","Along the way, he authored books, rubbed shoulders with the federal Liberals and considered the possibility of creating a new political party. Few who knew him as a young man would have guessed he would eventually settle on the sovereigntist PQ as his vessel.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F7.webp",{"local":45},{"headline":48,"body":49,"imageUrl":50,"images":51},"Thirty years after his victory in Denmark, Mr","Thirty years after his victory in Denmark, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon – commonly known as PSPP – has defied the odds once again.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F8.webp",{"local":50},{"headline":53,"body":54,"imageUrl":55,"images":56},"Days ahead of the election, he seems destined","Days ahead of the election, he seems destined to become Quebec’s 34th premier, and could eke out a majority win that would pave the way for him to hold the third referendum on independence he has promised since taking over the party.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fthe-persistence-of-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-brings-the-pq-to-730861f0\u002F9.webp",{"local":55},[58],"us",[60],"World & Politics",{"name":62,"url":63},"Globe and Mail","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theglobeandmail.com\u002Fcanada\u002Farticle-paul-st-pierre-plamondon-parti-quebecois-election\u002F","en-ca",{"handle":66,"displayName":67},"spots","Spots","queued",{"views":70,"likes":71,"saves":71,"shares":71,"completions":71,"opens":71,"skips":71,"depthSum":71},4,0,"2026-09-29T10:20:17.975Z","local"]