Lawyer seeks order forcing Quebec legislature members to swear oath to the King

MONTREAL – Lawyers are asking Quebec Superior Court to grant an emergency order that would force the new crop of elected members of the provincial legislature to swear an oath of allegiance to the King.

Lawrence David and the Consumer Law Group are asking the court to stay the application of a 2022 law that made swearing the oath optional.

The Quebec legislature adopted the law after Parti Québécois members were temporarily barred from taking their seats after they refused to swear allegiance to King Charles. 

David argues that politicians who don’t swear the oath won’t be constitutionally entitled to sit in the legislature, and the laws they pass will have no legal effect.

David has already filed a challenge against the law, and believes its application should be suspended to make incoming legislature members take the oath until the case is heard on its merits.

The Parti Québécois won a minority mandate in Monday’s election, and leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has already said he will once again refuse to swear allegiance to the King.

The PQ leader also said he’s seeking legal advice on how to further cut ties with the monarchy, including stripping the lieutenant-governor of her roles and funding.

“There’s something abnormal about a foreign king coming to tell us what to do right at the start of a legislative term, a mandate,” he told reporters Tuesday. “People might say it’s symbolic, but I would reply that it’s still totally abnormal.”

Bill 4, adopted in 2022, amended a section of the 1867 Constitution Act to exempt Quebec from the section that requires the oath.

David argues that the law infringes on Quebecers’ right to vote and right to effective representation, because they’ll be represented by politicians “who are not constitutionally qualified to hold office and whose votes on legislation and other activities in the National Assembly are constitutionally void,” the stay application reads.

He believes the constitutional amendment included in the law requires the consent of the federal government and all Canadian provinces.

David said the hearing date for his stay request hasn’t yet been set, but he will ask for a decision to be delivered before the legislature reconvenes in mid-November.

David is also prepared to file more legal challenges if the Parti Québécois follows up on its plans to break from the monarchy, “including any attempt to unilaterally abolish the office of lieutenant governor,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2026.