Quebec faces the real possibility of a minority government for the first time in more than a century, as the province's main political parties remain locked in a virtual tie with voters heading to the polls on Monday.
Quebec has not elected a minority government since 1878, when a dispute over railroad laws erupted between the province's Liberal lieutenant-governor, Hon. Luc Letellier de St-Just, and Charles-Eugène Boucher, the Conservative premier. Boucher was fired, prompting an election in which the Tories, under new leader Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, squeaked by the Liberals with a one-seat advantage.PQ Leader André Boisclair has said his party's plan to hold a first-term referendum won't fall flat if Quebecers elect a minority government tomorrow.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)
Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotnibinière, the Liberal leader, recruited two Independent MNAs to outnumber the Conservative caucus, and assumed the premiership with a minority coalition that lasted 18 months before five members fled the fold.
When the Liberals attempted to call a new election, Quebec's new Conservative lieutenant-governor turned them down, allowing Chapleau's Conservatives to form the new government.
No minority tradition in Quebec
This unique precedent for minority governments in Quebec doesn't offer many lessons for modern-day politicians, said l'Université de Montréal political scientist Pierre Martin. "The party blocks were fluid [then], individuals had room to manoeuvre that they don't have today," he told Canadian Press.
A minority government scenario has not figured in contemporary Quebec politics because of the popular rise of the Parti Québécois, Martin theorizes. When former Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis's Union national faded from the province's political scene in the late 1960s, after ruling for much of the 30s, 40s and 50s, the nascent separatist movement that became the PQ quickly replaced it as the Liberal Party's counterpoint.
"The transition from the Union nationale-Liberal system to the rise of the PQ was very fast," Martin said. "There was no place for a transition situation where a minority government could have been conceivable with the three parties."
Several provinces have flirted with minority governments, including Ontario, where the Liberals ruled from 1985 to 1987 with NDP support. Saskatchewan's NDP governed from 1999 to 2003 despite only holding 29 of the legislature's 58 seats, and Nova Scotia currently has a minority Conservative government.
But Quebec is moving into unfamiliar territory. "I think the most useful [precedent] is the situation before us in the Canadian Parliament — that is to say a minority government that subsists on a case-by-case basis," Martin said.
Quebec parties divided on minority outcome
PQ Leader André Boisclair said his party's plan to hold a first-term referendum won't fall flat if Quebecers elect a minority government on March 26. The PQ is prepared to work with Mario Dumont's Action démocratique du Québec party on the constitutional front, to organize another provincial vote on sovereignty, Boisclair told CBC.
Dumont has repeatedly said he's an autonomist, not a sovereigntist — and during the debate told Boisclair he will not help him with a referendum. But the PQ leader is convinced otherwise.
Dumont is "sending confusing messages. Some days he says he doesn't want a referendum. Some other days he says to sovereigntists 'come to vote for the ADQ,'" he said. "My duty is to leave the door open, and I feel that it's still possible to build a coalition to have a referendum," Boisclair said recently.
Liberal Leader Jean Charest has warned voters a minority government will weaken Quebec's bargaining power with the federal government. "Quebec has never elected, or at least not for 100 years, a minority government, for a reason," he said during the campaign.
Dumont, who is the only leader to predict a minority government outcome, is confident the scenario will lead to greater political accountability, he told CBC.
Minority governments paradoxical
Voters do retain the impression that minority governments are more accountable, but they are also be paradoxical, said Vincent Marissal, a political columnist with La Presse, a Montreal daily.
"If you're not happy with [the government] you just fire them and have another election. But people don't like to have elections. It's expensive, and people have to make a choice. But because of cynicism in the population, people like the idea of keeping their government on a short leash," he told CBC.ca.
A minority government is a wake-up call and may force Quebec's leading parties to do some soul-searching, Marissal said. That's what happened to the federal Conservatives.
"When we elected Stephen Harper's minority government, some people said it was almost the end of the world. But the world is still turning, it's not that bad, he's managed to keep it together," Marissal said.
"To see today how green the Conservatives have become, it's the best example to show that a minority government can change a political party, in a deep way."
With files from Canadian PressRelated
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| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIB | 48 | 0 | 48 | 33.08% |
| ADQ | 41 | 0 | 41 | 30.80% |
| PQ | 36 | 0 | 36 | 28.32% |
| QS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.65% |
| GRN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.89% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | .26% |
| Last Update:March 27, 12:52:21 AM EDT | ||||
Quebec Votes 2007 Headlines »
- Que. Liberals take minority win with grain of salt
- Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he'll build bridges with the Parti Québécois and the Action Démocratique du Québec to ensure a stable minority government.
- Dumont will work with Quebec Premier Charest
- Quebec's new Opposition Leader Mario Dumont said he wants stability at the national assembly and pledged to work with the Liberal minority government on a case-by-case basis.
- Boisclair remains at helm after PQ finishes 3rd
- André Boisclair is staying on as leader of the Parti Québécois and vowed to help rebuild the fractured party after it suffered major losses in Monday's provincial election.
- Quebec election result 'good news' for Canada: PM
- Stephen Harper says voters in the Quebec election have used their ballots to reject calls for another referendum in a "great result" for Canada.
- Charest keeps seat as Liberals cling to power in Quebec
- Quebecers are waking up to a minority Liberal government — the first minority in the province in 130 years — and a new official Opposition.