Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, says his province should take a page from Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's playbook. Duhaime was in Regina earlier this week promoting his newly released book, Destination Autonomy: Expanding Quebec's Powers Within the Canadian Confederation, and met with Moe on Monday.
Speaking with the Regina Leader-Post after the meeting, he praised Moe's government for declaring provincial autonomy through the 2023 Saskatchewan First Act, which asserts the province's control over its natural resources as a way to protect against federal interference.
"It was very inspiring to have something very concrete to fight for more autonomy, and how to denounce every single intervention in their provincial jurisdictions," said Duhaime.
While Quebec used to be at the forefront of pushing for greater provincial autonomy, Saskatchewan and Alberta are now leading that charge, said Duhaime. In Quebec, separatist sentiment emerged in defence of cultural identity and language rights, while in Saskatchewan and Alberta, angst has been largely economic and related to wanting more say over natural resources.
Moe was asked by media later that morning about his conversation with Duhaime. The premier replied that there should be respect from the federal government in areas of provincial autonomy, such as natural resources, just as provinces need to respect areas under national jurisdiction, like immigration.
"We very much believe in a nation where co-operative federalism is practised as opposed to coercive federalism," Moe said, noting that some restrictive national policies on industry have been coercive.
Duhaime says provinces should remain in a united Canada, but they should also have greater say in certain matters of jurisdiction. Since Prime Minister Mark Carney took office in March 2025, Moe's tone toward Ottawa has softened, with political differences put aside to address the economic impact of U.S. tariffs. That could change any day, warned Duhaime, who wants Conservative leaders to band together to avoid any more separatism rhetoric.
"I think we need to build an alliance of Conservatives all across Canada," he added. "Conservatives are always the ones who think power should be closer to the individual."
