Quebec's new premier once posed for Norwegian chip packaging

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the 49-year-old leader of the Parti Québécois, will become Quebec’s premier after his party won a minority government. Earlier in his life he and his Norwegian partner took part in a last-minute photoshoot that was paid about $100 and later featured on First Price potato chip bags sold in Norway for roughly ten years, according to a 2024 TikTok video he posted. Norgesgruppen’s communications director confirmed the design appeared in black-and-white form around 2009-2010 and was replaced in 2012.

Plamondon has vowed to call a referendum on Quebec’s separation from Canada, but intends to wait until after Donald Trump departs the White House, making the earliest possible date 2029. The province previously held two independence votes, the last in 1995, when a slim majority chose to stay in Canada. A separate referendum on sovereignty is also scheduled in Alberta within the next week.