The Coalition for the Future of Quebec (CAQ for its acronym in French) won this Monday with a wide margin the elections of the Canadian province. Its chef, François Legault (Montreal, 65), thus obtains a new term as Prime Minister for the next four years. The CWC won 90 of the 125 constituencies up for grabs. It was enough for him to win in at least 63 to govern with a majority. “We got a clear message: Quebecers told us to keep going,” Legault said in his victory speech. The CWC won just over 41% of the overall vote.

Legault’s party will have more representation in Quebec’s National Assembly than it did in the October 2018 election, when it won 74 ridings. As in these elections, he won thanks to the great support he garnered outside the Montreal metropolitan area. “Elections divide. However, I believe there are more things in Quebec that unite us than divide us,” Legault said. “I will be the premier of all Quebecers,” he added. The Liberal Party of Quebec won 21 ridings, while Quebec solidaire (a left-wing group) won 11.

The campaign, which lasted 36 days, focused on inflation, health, education, environmental protection and immigration (an area in which the French-speaking province enjoys a high degree of autonomy ). As in the 2018 elections, the question of independence played a marginal role. It is not a surprise that the Parti Québécois, the main secessionist force, obtained the worst result in its history.

If four years ago he triumphed in 10 constituencies (30 in 2014), this time he won only three. Its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, underlined in the campaign that there is a way to “get out of perpetual failure”: for Quebec to become “a normal country”. The Parti du Québec has governed for nearly 20 years (for five different terms) since its founding in 1968; a political force that transformed various spheres of Quebec society and unsuccessfully organized two secessionist referenda (in 1980 and 1995).

The CAQ, a group created in 2011, managed in 2018 to break with the alternation between liberals and “pequistas”, largely thanks to a nationalist discourse in which the question of identity is not linked to separation from Canada. Indeed, Legault holds portfolios in the governments of the Parti Québécois and defends the independence project, but later founds the CAQ under the idea of ​​a strong Quebec, but within the Canadian federation.

Legault is distinguished by a conservative economic vision and a tendency to populist discourse. He does not hesitate to stand up to Ottawa to defend the competitions of his province. He made headlines during the pandemic for authoritarian politics. For example, he launches a curfew and announces a tax for the non-vaccinated for the expenses they generate in the health system (he abandons the idea shortly after). Under his first mandate, Legault enacts a law to strengthen the protection of the French language. The Anglophone community and immigrant associations expressed their rejection, while the Parti Québécois voted against, deeming it “decaffeinated”.

The Legault government has also imposed a “Quebec values” test on newcomers and banned civil servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols – such as veils and turbans – during working hours. These decisions have earned the CWC criticism and accusations, both inside and outside the province. In the case of the veto of religious symbols, Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, indicated that he respects the powers of Quebec, but considers the measure “worrying” because it promotes division and discrimination. Trudeau praised Legault on Twitter for the election results, underscoring his willingness to continue working hand in hand for all Quebecers.

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