Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Click the map for more details.
The2007 Quebec general election was held in theCanadian province ofQuebec on March 26, 2007 to elect members of the38th National Assembly of Quebec. TheQuebec Liberal Party led by PremierJean Charest won a plurality of seats, but were reduced to aminority government, Quebec's first in 129 years, since the1878 general election. TheAction démocratique du Québec, in a major breakthrough, became the officialopposition. TheParti Québécois was relegated to third-party status for the first time since the1973 election. The Liberals won their lowest share of the popular vote sinceConfederation, and the PQ with their 28.35% of the votes cast won their lowest share since 1973 and their second lowest ever (ahead of only the 23.06% attained in their initial election campaign in 1970).[1] Each of the three major parties won nearly one-third of the popular vote, the closest three-way split (in terms of popular vote) in Quebec electoral history until the2012 election. This was however, the closest three-way race in terms of seat count. Voter turnout among those eligible was 71.23%, a marginal difference from theprevious general election in 2003.[2][3]
This was the first time since the 1970s that a government was not returned for its second term with a majority.
With just over a year left in the government's five year mandate, the Liberals called an election for March 26, 2007.
In August 2006, there were widespread rumours of an election to be held in the fall with speculation thatPremierJean Charest wanted to hold elections before afederal election would be held.
Benoît Pelletier, the minister responsible for electoral reform, had announced his plan totable two bills about election reform during the fall, possibly leading to areferendum onvoting system reform to be held concurrently with the election.[4] However, by December 2006, the plan was put off indefinitely due to strong resistance to the idea of proportional representation from within the Liberal Party.[5]
Speculation grew that a provincial election would be held following the federal budget. It was thought that the federalConservative government would present a budget that would address the perceivedfiscal imbalance. This measure would help Charest argue that his government was more effective in getting concessions from the federal government than a PQ government would be. With polls showing Charest's Liberals ahead of the opposition for the first time in several years, speculation intensified that Charest would not wait until the federal budget to call a provincial election but call one in the winter to take advantage of both of these developments. Charest recalled the legislature early in order to table a provincial budget on February 20, 2007. On the same day, federalMinister of FinanceJim Flaherty announced that the federal budget would be tabled on March 19, clearing the way for Charest to set a provincial election for a week later in hopes of benefiting from Flaherty's budget. On February 21, Charest called the election for March 26.
André Boisclair, leader of theParti Québécois, had said he would hold a referendum (or "popular consultation", as in the party platform) on the issue of Quebec independence as soon as possible after an election win.[6]
Multiculturalism,secularism and the place of cultural and religious minorities in Quebec were issues in this election. There was a large scale debate over "reasonable accommodation" towards cultural minorities, and a few political leaders expressed their views on the question.Mario Dumont, leader of theAction démocratique, took a clearer position on the question than the others, calling on the majority to protect some elements of national identity and values such asgender equality, and suggesting that a QuebecConstitution be written, in which the privileges cultural minorities are to be given would be clarified.[7]
February 28 - Raymond Bachand enterscabinet as Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade. In this samecabinet shuffle,Thomas Mulcair loses the job of Environment minister toClaude Béchard. Somepundits speculate that Mulcair was punished for his opposition to theMont Orford condo development project.
April 10 - The Parti Québécois keeps the riding ofSainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques in a by-election.Martin Lemay is elected with 41.2% of the vote. Notably,Manon Massé, the candidate from Québec solidaire, finishes third with 22.2% of the vote in this working-class district, while theAction démocratique only gets 1.9% of the vote, down from 8.3% in the2003 general election.
August 14 - By-elections are held inPointe-aux-Trembles andTaillon. André Boisclair is unsurprisingly and easily elected in Pointe-aux-Trembles, the Liberals and Action démocratique having declined to field candidates against him. The Greens place second with 12% and Québec solidaire, third with 8%.Marie Malavoy of the Parti Québécois is elected in Taillon.
August 22 - Boisclair and Malavoy are sworn in as members of the National Assembly. Boisclair becomesopposition leader.
October 17 - The fall session of the National Assembly starts, with the current crisis in Quebec's forestry industry as the most important issue.
November 27 - In a vote of 266 to 16, TheHouse of Commons of Canada voted to recogniseQuébécois as anation within a unified Canada, once again putting the issue of independence in the spotlight.
January 19 - Radio-Canada reveals that Pierre Descoteaux, Liberal member fromGroulx, almostcrossed the floor to the Parti Québécois during the fall 2006.[8]
January 22 - During a visit toFrance, André Boisclair meetsSégolène Royal,Socialist candidate for the2007 presidential election. At this occasion, Royal expresses her support for the "liberty and sovereignty" of Quebec.[9] After being criticized by several French media and French and Canadian politicians, such asprime ministerStephen Harper andopposition leaderStéphane Dion, Royal clarifies her thought by saying that she was not interfering in Canadian internal affairs or trying to dictate Quebec's policy, but that the future of Quebec will have to be decided by Quebecers.[10]
February 14 -Pierre Arcand, former president of Corus and presumed Liberal candidate inMont-Royal, expresses his displeasure with Action démocratique leaderMario Dumont by comparing him withJean-Marie Le Pen. In response, Dumont threatens legal action but Arcand refuses to apologize.PremierJean Charest stands by his candidate, and is called a "little partisan premier" by Dumont.[11]
February 20 - Finance ministerMichel Audet tables a budget. Among other measures, this budget promises income tax reductions of 250 million dollars and allocates new sums of money to the health and education systems, as well as to the maintenance of roads and bridges. Spending is also increased for the protection of the environment and for the regions' economic development.[12]
March 1 - Radio DJLouis Champagne ofSaguenay creates a controversy by attacking André Boisclair and the Parti Québécois candidate in Saguenay,Sylvain Gaudreault, over their homosexuality, saying that the factory workers ofJonquière would never vote for gays. He also says the Parti Québécois is like a "club of fags". (Gaudreault went on to win the riding.) Boisclair responds that Champagne's remarks are insulting towards the people of Saguenay. Premier Charest and Action démocratique leader Dumont also condemn the attacks. Champagne is later suspended from his job and has to apologize.
March 4 -Jean-François Plante, the Action démocratique candidate inDeux-Montagnes, makes controversial comments about women on his blog. Among other things, he questions the provincial government's policies of affirmative action for women and of wage equity between traditionally masculine and feminine occupations, claiming that they lead to discrimination against men. He retracts his comments on the next day, but also accuses André Boisclair of "playing" his homosexuality when it helps him. As a result, he is forced to withdraw his candidacy on March 8. He is replaced as ADQ candidate in Deux-Montagnes byLucie Leblanc.
March 6 - Premier Jean Charest brings the issue of Quebec independence at the forefront of the campaign by saying, while speaking with an English-language journalist, that he does not believe that in the case of separation, Quebec would necessarily keep its territorial integrity. Charest later claims that what he had actually wanted to say was that Quebec was indivisible, but his opponents recall comments he had made in1996, while he was the leader of the federalProgressive Conservatives, to the effect that in the case of a "yes" result in the1995 referendum, theCree andInuit would have had a good legal basis on which to declare independence from Quebec.
March 8 - NewspaperLa Presse publishes an article claiming that in a 2003 book,Robin Philpot, Parti Québécois candidate inSaint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, had denied that agenocide had taken place inRwanda in 1994. Philpot later says that he had not denied that massacres had taken place, but that he wanted people to remember that they had been committed by all parties to the conflict. André Boisclair says that he is "hurt" by his candidate's comments and reminds that the existence of the Rwandan genocide is not in question.
March 13 - Theleaders debate took place inQuebec City. The Liberals, the Parti Québécois and the Action démocratique du Québec took part but Québec solidaire and the Green party were not invited to participate.
March 19 - The federal government releases a budget which gives Quebec 2.3 billion dollars.
March 23 - There is widespread outcry when poll clerks are instructed on how to let women wearing theniqāb, an Islamic face veil, vote. After the longstanding policy was criticized by all three main parties, the chief electoral officer reversed his decision and stated that all voters would have to show their face, but not before being inundated by complaints from people opposed to this form ofreasonable accommodation for the immigrant population. Meanwhile, women who actually wear the niqāb say they were never opposed to showing their face when voting.[15]
^All parties with more than 1% of the vote are shown individually. Independent candidates and other minor parties are aggregated separately. Parties are presented in the order shown on EQ data.
= open seat
= turnout is above provincial average
= winning candidate was in previous Legislature
= incumbent had switched allegiance
= previously incumbent in another riding
= not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
^abcDrouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017)."Élections québécoises de 2007" [2007 Quebec elections].donneesquebec.ca (in French). Atlas des élections au Québec.
^Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017)."Élections québécoises de 2007" [2007 Quebec elections].donneesquebec.ca (in French). Atlas des élections au Québec.
^Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017)."Élections québécoises de 2003" [2003 Quebec elections].donneesquebec.ca (in French). Atlas des élections au Québec.
0.81%)
.png)
.jpg)
