The separatist "Quebec" party won Monday's provincial elections in Canada, according to preliminary results published by the Canadian press, ending 8 years of rule by the Quebec Future Coalition, and returning the issue of the province's independence from Canada to the forefront of the political debate.

Party leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon has pledged to hold a new referendum on Quebec's independence, but stressed that he will wait for US President Donald Trump to leave office, while his party's victory does not mean the majority of the province's population supports secession from Canada.

Agence France-Presse quoted Daniel Bélan, a professor of political science at McGill University, who said that the result reflects the distribution of voters' votes among several parties, and not the increase in support for independence, which remains at about 30%, while the election in Quebec comes two weeks before the people of Alberta vote to hold a referendum on secession from Canada.