Coalition party wins Quebec election
CAQ victory ends 48-year reign of Liberals and Parti Québécois
MONTREAL — The Coalition Avenir Quebec shattered nearly a half-century of two-party political rule in Quebec on Monday by winning a majority government that will redraw the province's electoral map.
The party was elected or leading in nearly 75 of the province's 125 ridings, compared with about 30 for the incumbent Liberals.
Coalition Leader Francois Legault guided his right-leaning, seven-yearold party to victory Monday following a 39-day campaign.
His win knocked Philippe Couillard’s Liberals from power.
Legault’s party surged out to a strong start shortly after polls closed, leaving the Liberals in second and the Parti Québécois in a distant third.
With support for independence sliding, the PQ is now facing an existential crisis. The party has steadily watched its support slide after spending about 20 of the last 48 years in office.
The numbers began flowing in following a tightly fought campaign that many had predicted would shake up the political landscape.
It was more like an earthquake. The Coalition was leading in 74 ridings. The Liberals were leading in about 31 ridings, while the Parti Québécois and Quebec solidaire were each leading in 10.
The once-mighty PQ appeared poised to suffer a resounding defeat as it battled with the leftwing Quebec solidaire for the distant third place.
Legault won his riding of L’Assomption, while Quebec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois won in Gouin.
Legault, a former businessperson and co-founder of Ait Transat, ended nearly 15 years of continuous Liberal rule with the victory.
The Liberals have been in power since 2003, with the exception of a 19-month PQ minority government between 2012 and 2014.
The Coalition party gathered significant support, even though the Liberals were in power as Quebec’s economy surged in recent years.
Opinion polls, however, had suggested for months that voters were looking for a change.
As party history goes in Quebec, Legault’s victory represented change.
The Coalition win delivered something Quebec hasn’t seen in 48 years — a provincial government headed by a party other than the Liberals or the Parti Québécois.
The Union Nationale won the 1966 election and held power until 1970. Since then, however, it’s been a two-party show.
The emergence of Legault’s party, which won just 22 seats in 2014 to finish third, came in large part at the expense of the PQ.
Polls have consistently indicated the pro-independence PQ, which is led by Jean-Francois Lisee, will come in a distant third.
The PQ’s raison d’être — Quebec sovereignty — has lost its lustre with voters.
For the first time in decades, talk of a referendum on independence was not a ballot-box issue.