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CAQ Wins Majority in Quebec

Probably because they were feeling the heat from the PQ?

I think the CAQ victory was a healthy thing for Quebec.... it'd good that they now have an effective political voice on the right. For the last 50 years or so, they've been distracted by the whole separatism sham while the economy has been going around in circles as the center-left jostled with the far-left. If you want a boat to move forward, you have to row with both oars, do you not?

Cordeller:

Probably not on the feeling the heat issue as the PQ (Parti Quebecois) was formed out of an alliance of separatist parties and organisations in October of 1968, two months after the UN had lost the election to Robert Bourassa's Liberal Party.

The CAQ may throw out all notions of fiscal constraint which were at least adopted rather last minute by Phillipe Couillard's PLQ (Parti Liberal du Quebec) and that is a bad thing since quebec has the worst provincial debt to GDP ratio of all the provinces and territories.

Cheers.
Evilroddy.
 
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I have never learned about that period beyond the Lesage government as much of the sources I have found on it are in French.

Carjosse:

The Canadian Encyclopedia is English and online and covers this period in Quebec's political history. There are also plenty of school textbooks and histories in English from the period or immediately after it which could be found in second-hand book stores or local libraries if you're interested. If you want some specific recommendations the PM me and I'll shoot you some references.

Cheers.
Evilroddy.
 
When the economy is going well people tend to care far more about social issues than economic issues, the CAQ did not win on economic promises, and the Liberals no nonsense status quo approach was just not exciting enough for those outside of Montreal. Go figure the economic heart of the province knows who to support. The economy was pretty much a moot point in the election no matter how many times the Liberals tried to highlight it. The CAQ managed to take votes from the Liberals who cared more about social issues and were nationalist enough to steal the PQ votes. The Liberal support was also just not efficient, where they won they won big taking almost 70%-80% in some ridings (66% in mine), but only on the island. The Liberals essentially became the party of the rich and Montreal middle class after this election.

Quebec is much more divided along social issues and regionalism.

I always watch La Prairie where it comes to Quebec... how it votes always seems to be how the province votes. How'd it go this time around?
 
Cordeller:

Probably not on the feeling the heat issue as the PQ (Parti Quebecois) was formed out of an alliance of separatist parties and organisations in October of 1968, two months after the UN had lost the election to Robert Bourassa's Liberal Party.

The CAQ may throw out all notions of fiscal constraint which were at least adopted rather last minute by Phillipe Couillard's PLQ (Parti Liberal du Quebec) and that is a bad thing since quebec has the worst provincial debt to GDP ratio of all the provinces and territories.

Cheers.
Evilroddy.

Ahhh.. okay, I stand corrected. I thought Lévesque left the Liberals before then.
 
I always watch La Prairie where it comes to Quebec... how it votes always seems to be how the province votes. How'd it go this time around?

CAQ with 43% of the vote. However it is next door to very strongly Liberal ridings and the race in neighbouring South Shore ridings was much closer.
 
CAQ with 43% of the vote. However it is next door to very strongly Liberal ridings and the race in neighbouring South Shore ridings was much closer.

La Prairie is a good bridge between Montreal and the rest of the Province, though... it's not quite city, not quite country. If the Liberals are going to break out from Montreal, they'll win there.... and if the other main party (formerly PQ, now CAQ) is going to fight on Liberal territory, they'll make inroads there. It's a prime piece of strategic real estate.
 
La Prairie is a good bridge between Montreal and the rest of the Province, though... it's not quite city, not quite country. If the Liberals are going to break out from Montreal, they'll win there.... and if the other main party (formerly PQ, now CAQ) is going to fight on Liberal territory, they'll make inroads there. It's a prime piece of strategic real estate.

The Liberals need to figure out how to pander to those kind of voters again as they can no longer use economic issues unless the CAQ really ****s things up. Mainly they need to offer a more exciting social platform. Though I assume after one term of CAQ people may see that they are just like every other party and realize they don't actually offer anything since the CAQ's strength seemed to be that they were not Liberal or PQ. They don't have that rabid supporter base right-wing populists have to prop them up.
 
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You don't see the party being filled with communists representative of their policy decisions?

I wouldn't call the existence of groups and individuals within the party that might identify as communists as being equivalent to 'filled with'.

Communism/socialism above all generally isn't seen in their platform/policy.

The Liberals need to figure out how to pander to those kind of voters again as they can no longer use economic issues unless the CAQ really ****s things up. Mainly they need to offer a more exciting social platform. Though I assume after one term of CAQ people may see that they are just like every other party and realize they don't actually offer anything since the CAQ's strength seemed to be that they were not Liberal or PQ. They don't have that rabid supporter base right-wing populists have to prop them up.

Social spending seems like a good place to start after the CAQ gets done with its probable slash and burn austerity.
 
One clarrification and one correction. The Daniel Johnson UN government lasted only two years but I forgot to mention that Jean Jacques Bertrand succeeded Premier Johnson until 1970.

Cordelier:

A correction. My apologies for my faulty memory but the election defeat of the Union Nationale took place in 1970 and not 1968 as I incorrectly told you. Please disregard my first paragraph in post #26. Also apologies for mistyping your user name in the same post.

Cheers.
A red-faced Evilroddy.
 
I was reading that Quebec does not matter in Canada like it used to....it has a smaller slice of the population and of the GDP than it used to and that GDP per capita is one of the worst in Canada...does anyone want to talk about that? Because you know what that sounds like failed leadership, like a reason to vote for "Someone Else".
 
I was reading that Quebec does not matter in Canada like it used to....it has a smaller slice of the population and of the GDP than it used to and that GDP per capita is one of the worst in Canada...does anyone want to talk about that? Because you know what that sounds like failed leadership, like a reason to vote for "Someone Else".

Hawkeye10:

Quebec's per capita GDP in 2016 was $ 47,443.oo. (Can.) That placed it behind six other provinces and all three territories. However that GDP is still high compared to all but 20 or so countries in the world.

As to the "someone else" in Quebec politics, that does not really exist in Quebec as all parties are deeply connected to and sympathetic to the power of the Quebec economic elites and their allies in the Quebec government and senior civil service, informally called "Quebec Corp." here in the province. Neither left-leaning nor right-leaning mainstream political parties feel that they can challenge the combination of vested elite interests, economic nationalism and highly state-regulated and funded industry and commerce which exists in Quebec. So there really is no one else from a political standpoint.

Cheers.
Evilroddy.
 
I was reading that Quebec does not matter in Canada like it used to....it has a smaller slice of the population and of the GDP than it used to and that GDP per capita is one of the worst in Canada...does anyone want to talk about that? Because you know what that sounds like failed leadership, like a reason to vote for "Someone Else".

It still has a quarter of the population and growing, as well as beats the rest of the country in many measures including things like quality of life, education, and healthcare. And recently the economy has been surging as it seems Quebec has finally found its economic niche, tech and and other high skill services in two languages. Unemployment is the lowest it has been for decades, there have been budget surpluses, economic growth is very healthy. Quebec is finally reaping the benefits of long-term planning.
 
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