Quebec election: talk of minority government, money hidden out of country

MONTREAL — The possibility of a minority government and insinuations of money hidden outside the country dominated on Day 34 of the Quebec election campaign Tuesday.

Questions of coalition governments arose after Monday’s election in New Brunswick, where neither of the two main parties won a majority of seats and the balance of power rested with two smaller parties holding three seats each.

Moreover, an Ipsos poll published Tuesday suggested support for the front-running Coalition Avenir Quebec has dropped since the start of the campaign and no Quebec party is in majority territory, less than one week from the vote.

Parti Québécois Leader JeanFrancois Lisee rejected the idea of a formal coalition government with the Coalition or with Quebec solidaire, but said he is open to co-operating to block the Liberals if they win a minority next Monday.

“We are not in that situation now — there is a small chance of that,” Lisee said about the Liberals winning the election. “We’ll ask ourselves that question when we get there, if we need to.”

The Ipsos survey indicates Francois Legault’s Coalition party is tied with the Liberals, with 30 per cent each, while the PQ has 20 per cent support and Quebec solidaire 16 per cent.

Polling projections indicate the PQ could hold the balance of power if neither the Liberals nor the Coalition wins a majority of Quebec’s 125 ridings.