Voters in Quebec’s 127 ridings are heading to polling stations across the province on Monday to choose a new government, as polls suggest the Parti Québécois is on track to win either a majority or minority mandate.
After two straight Coalition Avenir Québec majority governments, the PQ’s Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has spent most of his campaign on the offensive, capitalizing on Quebecers’ desire for change.
St-Pierre Plamondon has promised Quebecers he will hold a referendum to separate Quebec from Canada if his party forms a government, but not before U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House in 2029.
“The change you are hoping for is in your hands,” St-Pierre Plamondon said as he went to cast his own ballot in his eastern Montreal riding of Camille-Laurin.
He added that he was proud of his party’s campaign, noting it was the only one to visit all of the province’s regions. He spent his last day of the campaign in Montreal, where the PQ is hoping to flip seats after a decade of weak PQ support.
Latest polling by Leger for Journal/TVA Nouvelles shows the PQ sitting at 29 per cent, with a 16-percentage point advantage among francophone voters.
According to the Leger poll, 77 per cent of voters are looking for a change, after eight years of leadership from the CAQ that St-Pierre Plamondon said has produced “catastrophic results.”
Whether or not the PQ would sweep the National Assembly with a majority is still unclear, but St-Pierre Plamondon has risen the ranks of the party that has not held government since 2014. Securing a majority government requires winning 64 out of the 127 seats in Quebec’s legislature.
But while St-Pierre Plamondon leads in the election polls, the latest polling on the possibility of a Quebec referendum swing in favour of the federalists.
St-Pierre Plamondon’s rivals ended their campaigns by warning voters against choosing a party that will trigger a referendum.
Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard voted in North Hatley, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships region, where he is trying to get elected for the first time. Milliard said he was confident but taking nothing for granted. “We will work hard until the last minute,” he said. “It is part of my personality.”
Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette voted in the central Quebec riding of Trois-Rivières, taking a final shot at the PQ’s sovereignty aspirations. “I’m inviting Quebecers to reflect about what happens next,” she said. “Do they want a government who will commit us to a referendum campaign that shakes up everything, or to remain with a government that is betting on economic stability and improving services?”
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Ruba Ghazal, the Québec solidaire co-spokesperson, also voted in the Montreal-area riding of Mercier, where she is seeking re-election for a third time. “We’ve been talking about this for 40 days,” said Ghazal as she arrived at the polling station. “Today, it is Quebecers who will have their say.”
Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime voted in a riding on the south shore of Quebec City, where he is hoping to be elected for the first time. “The election campaign is over,” Duhaime said. “Today, Quebecers have a unique opportunity to continue to show our (commitment) to our democracy.”
When the election was called, the CAQ held 79 seats, the Liberals had 18, Québec solidaire 11 and the PQ held seven seats. There were nine Independents and one Conservative.
Fréchette said her party is the only one that offers an alternative to the province’s sovereigntist-federalist dichotomy, by focusing on nationalism and economic growth within Canada.
Fréchette said she was proud of her campaign, but also expressed regret over failing to put more emphasis on the threat posed by a referendum.
“It’s important for people to realize this, because it’s not just a decision that could affect Quebec in three years,” she said Sunday. “There will be impacts because uncertainty will become part of Quebec’s political and economic calendar.”
Fréchette ended her campaign by door-knocking in her riding.
Milliard described his party on Sunday as the only federalist option. He urged voters who want to avoid a PQ government to vote strategically for his candidates.
He warned that a PQ minority would be seeking support for a referendum among the other parties.
“One party that Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon won’t be calling up is the Liberal Party of Quebec, because we’re proudly federalist and not ashamed to say it,” he said.
During a campaign stop Sunday in St-Victor, Que., Milliard said his party had gained momentum since the start of the campaign, when he was criticized for not having a picture of himself on his party’s campaign bus — an image that was added later. He said the Liberal vote was likely underestimated in certain regions.
Duhaime, meanwhile, urged his supporters to cast enough votes on Monday to give his party a strong voice in the legislature. Duhaime has promised to use his leverage to act as a “guard dog” that will protect taxpayer interests and attempt to block a referendum vote.
The Quebec Conservatives haven’t won a seat under Duhaime’s leadership, but they are expected to make a breakthrough that could give them the balance of power if no party wins a majority in the legislature. Duhaime said he’s hoping his party wins at least 12 seats and official party status.
“I’m very, very serene, and I have confidence,” Duhaime said. “The only thing is, we have to make sure people go out and vote.”
In Montreal, Ghazal was making a final appeal to progressive sovereigntist voters who don’t identify with the “austerity” proposed by the PQ, and other parties, including Duhaime’s Conservatives.
“Send a signal that not all of Quebec has swung to the right or turned conservative, and also send people who will be the only ones to stand up to Éric Duhaime’s influence in the next parliament,” she said on Sunday.
Élections Québec said nearly 30 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots by the middle of the day.
Polls were scheduled to close across the province at 8 p.m.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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