New NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says if Quebecers voted to separate in a new independence referendum, he would respect the province's decision.
"We will respect the decision of the people, without fault, without doubt, because it is a right that is so important, a human right.," he told an audience in Alma, in the Lac St. Jean region on Tuesday. "We are talking about the right of self-determination."
Singh is in Quebec campaigning on behalf of Gisèle Dallaire, the NDP's standard-bearer in an upcoming by-election in the Lac St. Jean riding on Oct. 23. The seat was vacated by former Harper government minister Denis Lebel.
He told the crowd, in French, that he would prefer if Quebec stayed in Canada, but wouldn't stand in the way if Quebecers wanted out.
Singh won the leadership of the federal NDP on Oct. 1 at a party convention in Toronto.