MONTREAL — Quebec appears poised to elect a separatist government for the first time in more than a decade as voters prepare for Monday’s provincial election, with the Parti Québécois leading polls despite limited appetite for a new independence referendum, The Globe and Mail reported.
Polls show the PQ likely to take power from the governing Coalition Avenir Québec after a six-week campaign in which voters expressed a desire for change but little enthusiasm for any party. PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold a sovereignty referendum within a first mandate, though not before U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029.
The separatist party could claim a majority of the 127 seats in the National Assembly even though support for the PQ — and for sovereignty — has not climbed above 30 percent during the campaign, the Globe reported. The CAQ, under new Leader Christine Fréchette, is lagging, with forecasters suggesting the party could be left with few seats after eight years in power.
Voters have focused more on cost of living, homelessness, infrastructure, immigration and emergency-room waits than on independence or U.S. trade tensions. The Quebec Liberals are expected to remain the Official Opposition. For the first time, Éric Duhaime’s Conservatives are also projected to win several seats. Analyst Raphaël Melançon described the campaign as selling “the status quo,” with parties constrained by a legal requirement to balance the provincial budget by the end of the decade.
Sources: The Globe and Mail
—
