For the first time in decades, three parties have a real shot at forming the next government of Quebec.

A generation of voters has chosen its governments from just two parties: the Parti Québécois and the Liberals. But in the past few years, a viable third choice has emerged and now, for the first time since René Lévesque took the PQ to power in 1976, Quebecers have got themselves a three-way race.

The man in the centre of that throng changed the dynamic. Although Action Démocratique du Québec leader Mario Dumont was the only member of his party to win a seat in the past two general elections, the ADQ has started this campaign with the support of a large number of Quebecers. They have apparently found something new -- and appealing -- in the boyish, populist and deeply conservative Dumont.

"People will be reassured by a party that wants to pay back the debt, that wants to take care of the long-run future of this population," Dumont says. "And at the end of the day, we have a platform I think that the people will end up supporting."

That message of fiscal responsibility is a major plank in the ADQ platform. By comparison, the Liberals are promoting a better relationship with Ottawa, and the separatist Parti Québécois is only gently pushing sovereignty.

Indeed, for the first time in decades, Quebec sovereignty is not expected to be the focus of an election. Premier Bernard Landry, although still an avowed separatist, is committed to another referendum under winning conditions. But that's not a position that's popular with a substantial number of voters; the "winning conditions" that will allow him to form the next government are somewhat more pressing.

"We're going to see more of a debate between what the proper role of government should be, how big government should be, how much spending should be set aside for health, education, those big ticket items," says Antonia Maioni, a political scientist at McGill University. "That's what this particular election is going to be fought on."

For his part, Liberal leader Jean Charest offers an alternative to the ruling PQ that's rooted in self-affirmation for Quebecers: if they look closely at his party, he says, they'll find what they're looking for.

"The Liberal Party of Quebec has been the party of openness, of diversity, has always been a party that, in its values, has been able to rally around it the vast majority of Quebecers," he claims.

All three leaders are heading out on the road to rally Quebecers around them.

Three leaders, three parties, each striving to define a vision of where Quebec should be headed. The campaign will allow each to display its virtues, but at the risk of exposing its vulnerabilities in the process.

THE LIBERALS

The last time Quebecers went through this exercise, Jean Charest had just quit the leadership of the federal Conservative Party, and he didn't have much time to prepare. This time around, he has had four years to craft his message.

The first priority of a Liberal government, he says, would be the health of all Quebecers. Their plan calls for an investment of more than $7 billion within five years. The money is earmarked for hiring more doctors and nurses, and shortening waiting times in hospital emergency rooms.

The Liberals' second priority is education. They've promised to invest more than $1billion to give students an extra 90 minutes in class each week, and to develop an after-school program to help students with their homework.

Charest gets most of his support from anglophone and allophone ridings. To become premier, he'll need to change his image among francophones, particularly in rural ridings.

That could be tough, given a recent surge in popularity for the PQ and the growing strength of the ADQ. But campaigning is Charest's strong suit, and one veteran observer says the Liberals appear to be the best organized when it comes to the nuts and bolts of the campaign.

He'll need to make the most of those assets to win over francophone voters. Charest won't go to the National Assembly with a majority unless he can attract more than the 44 per cent of French-speaking Quebecers who cast votes for his party in 1998.

PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS

Pollster Jean-Marc Léger says the electorate wants something rather awkward: a Liberal government with PQ policies and ADQ leader Mario Dumont as premier.
In the weeks leading up to the election, the PQ government of Bernard Landry has made a concerted effort to win over the hearts of Quebec voters. As a result, they entered the campaign in better shape than anyone expected for a party that was third in the polls just months ago.

The PQ will run on good government, social programs and Quebec's strong economy. The planks in its platform -- which is loaded with something for just about every voter -- include proposals to institute a four-day work week for parents of small children, and civil service hiring quotas for minorities.

On the other hand, Landry is downplaying his party's long-standing goal of seeking Quebec independence from Canada. Sovereignty is not an issue for many voters in this election, and the premier knows it.

"We will talk of sovereignty," Landry said as he kicked off the 2003 campaign, "but also health care and education and all the other things that are important for the people."

One of Landry's weaknesses is a propensity for shooting from the lip. His comment this month that he" would rather meet with the head of Sun Life than women's groups" was seen as typical of a leader who too often speaks without considering how his words will be perceived.

A larger danger may be posed by the electorate's craving for change. The PQ has been in power for a decade, and Landry is facing his first election as leader of a party that some will feel has simply worn out its welcome.

ADQ

The ADQ is campaigning on the need for change -- and the young party certainly knows all about change. Since provincial by-elections held just six months before the election call, ADQ membership has grown from 10,000 to 50,000.

The most controversial plank in the ADQ platform is its health program, which promises to open the public system to private user-pay services. "It's the only way to recognize what is already going on today," says ADQ candidate Judy Fay.

And that's not where the opposition ends. Housing advocates don't want to see an ADQ government loosen regulations that protect tenants. And the Quebec Federation of Labour asked members to vote for anyone but the ADQ after it promised to cut civil-service jobs.

Dumont has proved alert to some criticism, backing away from his flat-tax plan when it proved unpopular. A sovereignty supporter, he's also been careful to place Quebec independence well down on his list of "things to do" if he's elected.

But one thing he can't change -- Dumont is just 32 years old -- could prove his undoing. The party had hoped that high-profile candidates, like former Montreal mayor Pierre Bourque, would give the young captain the bench-strength his team desperately needs. But it's still possible that his age may prove as unappealing to some voters as it is attractive to others.

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