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| Quebec elections: separatist Parti Quebecois wins minority government | Quebec elections: separatist Parti Quebecois wins minority government |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Canadians in the French-speaking province of Quebec have voted for a change of government, electing the separatist Parti Quebecois and making its leader, Pauline Marois, the province's first female premier. | Canadians in the French-speaking province of Quebec have voted for a change of government, electing the separatist Parti Quebecois and making its leader, Pauline Marois, the province's first female premier. |
| The PQ is likely to form a minority government after winning fewer seats than required to take power outright, and the result leaves questions over whether it will be able to hold a referendum on leaving the Canadian federation. | The PQ is likely to form a minority government after winning fewer seats than required to take power outright, and the result leaves questions over whether it will be able to hold a referendum on leaving the Canadian federation. |
| The snap election was called after a student strike over raising tuition fees and the Liberal government's crackdown on student protesters caused unrest across the province. | The snap election was called after a student strike over raising tuition fees and the Liberal government's crackdown on student protesters caused unrest across the province. |
| Former student strike leader Leo Bureau-Blouin, 20, was elected in his district of Laval, making him the youngest elected to the national assembly. | Former student strike leader Leo Bureau-Blouin, 20, was elected in his district of Laval, making him the youngest elected to the national assembly. |
| Jean Charest, the leader of the federalist Liberal party, which has governed Quebec for the past nine years, was unseated in his own district of Sherbrook, while his party came in second behind the Parti Quebecois. Support for the party leader has waned due to his handling of the student strike, allegations of corruption in the construction industry and passage of Bill 78 – a widely condemned anti-protest law that brought hundreds of thousands of Quebecois into the streets during the spring. | Jean Charest, the leader of the federalist Liberal party, which has governed Quebec for the past nine years, was unseated in his own district of Sherbrook, while his party came in second behind the Parti Quebecois. Support for the party leader has waned due to his handling of the student strike, allegations of corruption in the construction industry and passage of Bill 78 – a widely condemned anti-protest law that brought hundreds of thousands of Quebecois into the streets during the spring. |
| Marois has promised a tuition freeze until a summit on higher education financing is held, has pledged to repeal Bill 78, and would like to pass a third referendum on Quebec sovereignty. Quebec separating from Canada is a bitterly contentious issue between in the French-speaking province and the election of the PQ only to minority government may indicate Quebec people are not ready to face a third referendum, the previous two having been defeated. | Marois has promised a tuition freeze until a summit on higher education financing is held, has pledged to repeal Bill 78, and would like to pass a third referendum on Quebec sovereignty. Quebec separating from Canada is a bitterly contentious issue between in the French-speaking province and the election of the PQ only to minority government may indicate Quebec people are not ready to face a third referendum, the previous two having been defeated. |
| Marois proposes to expand Quebec's language Law 101 preventing Francophones and immigrants from attending English junior colleges and has proposed a law that would prevent non-French speakers from running for office. | Marois proposes to expand Quebec's language Law 101 preventing Francophones and immigrants from attending English junior colleges and has proposed a law that would prevent non-French speakers from running for office. |
| More controversially she proposed a secularism charter banning public service employees from wearing overt religious symbols, like the Jewish yarmulke and the Muslim hijab. Shadak Islam, a digital technician who moved to Quebec from Bangladesh with his wife eight years ago, said it was the PQ's policy on religion that made him vote Liberal. "The headscarf is not a symbol, it's a duty to my religion," he said. | More controversially she proposed a secularism charter banning public service employees from wearing overt religious symbols, like the Jewish yarmulke and the Muslim hijab. Shadak Islam, a digital technician who moved to Quebec from Bangladesh with his wife eight years ago, said it was the PQ's policy on religion that made him vote Liberal. "The headscarf is not a symbol, it's a duty to my religion," he said. |
| Fear of a referendum could explain why anglophones and immigrants in the province opted for Charest's Liberal party or voted for the upstart Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), the nine-month-old party of former PQ cabinet minister, Francois Legault, who came in third with 19 seats. Legault proposes strengthening the laws that protect the French language, supports a more moderate student tuition hike while promising a decade-long moratorium on any sovereignty referendum. | Fear of a referendum could explain why anglophones and immigrants in the province opted for Charest's Liberal party or voted for the upstart Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), the nine-month-old party of former PQ cabinet minister, Francois Legault, who came in third with 19 seats. Legault proposes strengthening the laws that protect the French language, supports a more moderate student tuition hike while promising a decade-long moratorium on any sovereignty referendum. |
| In fourth place the two co-leaders of progressive left party Quebec Solidaire, Amir Khadir and Francoise David, were elected in two Montreal districts. The two leaders of the pro-sovereignty party have been in the streets supporting the student strike from the beginning, propose to abolish higher education tuition fees and have a green, pro-feminist, pro-minority platform. | In fourth place the two co-leaders of progressive left party Quebec Solidaire, Amir Khadir and Francoise David, were elected in two Montreal districts. The two leaders of the pro-sovereignty party have been in the streets supporting the student strike from the beginning, propose to abolish higher education tuition fees and have a green, pro-feminist, pro-minority platform. |
| Francoise David, who gained a high profile for having won the campaign debates, says her party would support Marois's PQ on a case-by-case basis, but their two seats won't swing the balance of power to form a pro-sovereignty majority government. | Francoise David, who gained a high profile for having won the campaign debates, says her party would support Marois's PQ on a case-by-case basis, but their two seats won't swing the balance of power to form a pro-sovereignty majority government. |
| The ousted Liberal premier, Jean Charest, told supporters he accepted responsibility for the defeat. In a riposte to separatism he declared: "The future of Quebec is in Canada." |