HOUSE EXPLOSION LEAVES ONE DEAD, ANOTHER INJURED

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT QUEBEC’S ELECTION

1 THE STANDINGS

The current seat breakdown in the 125-seat National Assembly: Quebec Liberal Party (Philippe Couillard): 68 Parti Québécois (Jean-françois Lisée): 28 Coalition Avenir Québec (François Legault): 21 Québec solidaire (Manon Massé): 3 Independent: 5 Candidates have until Sept. 6 to file nomination papers.

2 39-DAY CAMPAIGN

Quebec’s 39-day election campaign begins on Thursday. Voting day is five and a half weeks later, on Monday, Oct. 1. Quebec has fixed-date elections (every four years, on the first Monday of October), though a premier can decide to call a vote earlier. Campaigns can be as short as 33 days but Couillard opted for a longer one.

3 RIDING CHANGES

Quebec’s electoral map has changed since the last election, but the number of ridings remains the same — 125. Montreal Island now has 27 ridings, one fewer than in 2014. That’s because the Outremont and Montroyal electoral districts were merged. The Mauricie region also lost a riding. Two ridings were added in the Laurentides-lanaudière region.

4 THE R-WORD WON’T COME UP

In this campaign, no party is talking referendum. The Parti Québécois has not abandoned the independence idea — far from it — but that is not what the focus will be during the campaign. Instead, there is a far more powerful force lingering in the late summer air, one that has rattled sitting politicians. That is the desire for change after almost 15 years of Liberal rule. Poll after poll shows Quebecers are tired of the same old, same old. Add to the mix record levels of dissatisfaction with the way things are and you have a potent cocktail in your glass.

5 FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH, CAQ LEADS IN POLLS

Leading in the polls, the CAQ vote is especially fluid, says pollster JeanMarc Léger, Léger president. “When it comes to the CAQ vote, the Jell-o has not congealed,” Léger said. “It is an intention, a favourable feeling, but we are a long way from votes in the box.”

A woman was killed and

a man was airlifted to hospital after an explosion destroyed a home and started a fire in Kitchener, Ont., early Wednesday, police said. The blast took place at a home on a residential street a little after 8 a.m., police spokeswoman Cherri Greeno said. “It’s fair to say the house has been levelled. It’s still burning,” she said. Police said they believed everyone thought to have been