François Legault re-elected premier of Quebec, leads CAQ to second majority

Confirming what polls have suggested since the beginning of the campaign, François Legault was re-elected premier of the province on Monday, leading Coalition Avenir Québec to a second consecutive majority government.

His overwhelming victory was confirmed within minutes of polls closing at 8 p.m.

The CAQ won 90 seats – the most seats any party has won since 1989 – and earned 40.97 per cent of the vote.

The Liberal Party of Quebec was re-elected as the official Opposition with a projected 21 seats and 14.37 per cent of the vote.

Over. 4.1 million of the eligible 6 million plus voters came out to the polls – 66.01 per cent of voters.

In his victory speech, Legault says that while elections can be divisive, he wants to be the premier for all Quebecers, regardless of age, religion or origin.

He says some priorities for his second mandate include investing in education and reforming the health-care system.

The CAQ was widely expected to cruise to a second majority. Legault and his party started the election campaign strong but lost some popularity along the way, sitting at 38 per cent in the latest polls before Election Day.

Some critics argued Legault did not perform well in the two French-language debates. But that did not translate to a drop in support on Oct. 3.

Legault largely campaigned on protecting the French language, capping immigration at 50,000 people per year, tax cuts, and promoting a strong economy.

WATCH: Francois Legault’s victory speech

How the other main parties fared

While failing in their bid to become the official Opposition, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Québec solidaire gained one seat with 11 total, surpassing the 10 they won in 2018.

Nadeau-Dubois said the results reflect a “broken” electoral system. QS with 15.42 per cent of the vote.

The PQ, whose leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was virtually unknown on the Quebec political scene prior to the campaign, managed to turn the campaign around. Plamondon increased his support by six points in the polls from the beginning to the end of the campaign. Most Quebecers polled also said he won the two French language debates.

But this did not result in more seats for the PQ. They fell from seven seats to three seats.

The Conservative Party of Quebec, which started out strong in the campaign and tried to court Anglo voters – particularly with their stance against Bill 96 – failed to keep that momentum. They held one seat before the dissolution of the legislature. They won no seats this year, with leader Eric Duhaime losing in his riding.

The PQ and Quebec’s revived Conservative Party, both earning 14.6 per cent and 12.92 per cent of the vote respectively. The Conservatives were strongest across ridings ultimately won by the CAQ.

Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime said in his own speech, “As I speak to you, we have exactly the same number of votes as the Quebec Liberal Party, but there are 20 elected members missing when you compare one party with the other.”

He called it the “democratic distortion of the century.”

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Quebec solidaire members on stage on Oct. 3, 2022. (Credit: CityNews/Pamela Pagano)

CAQ’s first mandate

During its first mandate, the Legault government passed two controversial laws: strengthening the province’s French-language law (Bill 96) and banning certain public servants, including teachers, from wearing religious symbols on the job (Bill 21). The CAQ also proactively invoked the notwithstanding clause to protect both from Charter challenges.

The CAQ government has been criticized, by all four other main parties in Quebec, for its climate track record. During its last mandate it aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37.5 per cent by 2030, but the province missed its 20 per cent reduction target set for 2020 and instead reached just six per cent. Legault has said reaching the 2030 targets isn’t possible without a new hydroelectric dam.

His government has also pushed for more autonomy from Ottawa, including more power over immigration.

Apologies, controversial comments

During the campaign trail, Legault apologized twice for comments made in regards to immigrants, citing “violence and extremism” as reasons to limit immigration. On another occasion he said non-Francophone immigrants were “a threat to national cohesion”.

He also apologized to the family of Joyce Echaquan, an Indigenous mother who filmed staff making disparaging comments about her on her death bed in a Joliette hospital. Legault said last month that the racism problem in that hospital had been “solved.”

There was more controversy for the CAQ in the final days of the campaign. Quebec Immigration Minister Jean Boulet said last week at a candidates debate that most immigrants to Quebec “don’t work, don’t speak French or don’t adhere to the values of Quebec society.”

While Legault described Boulet’s comments as unacceptable, he said Boulet knows what he said isn’t true.

The reaction from other party leaders was strong.

Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade said Boulet should be immediately removed as a cabinet minister, but she didn’t go as far as Conservative Leader Eric Duhaime, who called for Boulet to withdraw his candidacy altogether.

CAQ popularity remained strong, despite stumbles

But the CAQ remains widely popular in the regions outside Montreal – where several ridings are long-time Liberal strongholds. Legault was also widely praised by his supporters for his response during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health care was again top of mind this election campaign, as it was four years ago. In 2018, Legault promised a family doctor for all Quebecers. This time, the CAQ dropped the promise, saying it wasn’t realistic. Instead, they plan to create two private mini-hospitals – one in Montreal and one in Quebec City – to help with the strain on the public system. Care at those private hospitals would be refunded by the province.

This campaign, the CAQ also promised to create a digital platform to allow citizens to get a non-urgent appointment with a health-care professional within 36 hours.

In 2018, the CAQ took power for the first time, becoming the first party other than the Parti Quebecois and the Liberals to win a Quebec election in more than 50 years.

Before the dissolution of the legislature, the CAQ had 76 seats, while the Quebec Liberals had 27, Québec solidaire had 10 and the Parti Québécois had seven. The Conservative Party of Quebec held one seat and there were four Independents.

Founded in 2011 by Legault, a former PQ cabinet minister and airline executive, and Charles Sirois, a businessman who had supported the Liberals, the centre-right party sought to move past the debate on independence by instead promoting Quebec nationalism rather than separation from Canada.

—With files from The Canadian Press