CAQ looks to hold its majority as Quebec kicks off election campaign this weekend

Quebec's political parties will officially kick off their election campaigns on Sunday with 36 days to convince voters they're the best choice to lead the province.

The election is scheduled for Oct. 3.
 
Premier François Legault, leader of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), made the announcement in a social media video broadcast Tuesday afternoon. The announcement was expected, as he had until Aug. 29 to do so.

"Of course, I want to wish a good campaign to all the candidates," said Legault. 

This electoral calendar comes from a law on fixed-date elections, adopted in 2013 under the Parti Québécois (PQ) government of Pauline Marois. 

The law made the default election day the first Monday of October every four years, while also setting the campaign length to vary between 33 and 39 days. 

On Sunday, Legault will ask Lt.-Gov. of Quebec Michel Doyon to dissolve the legislature and call a general election.

While the campaign will officially begin after Doyon makes that call, parties have already been broadcasting their messages for several weeks across the province.

Both the Liberals and Conservatives have revealed their campaign platforms. And other parties released their slogans last week.

There are currently 25 authorized provincial political parties in Quebec.

Only four succeeded in having candidates elected in 2018: the CAQ, the Liberals, PQ and Québec solidaire (QS). 

The province's Conservative party, led by Éric Duhaime, has never won a riding, but the party has been growing in popularity. CAQ defector Claire Samson joined Duhaime last year.

The CAQ currently has 76 MNAs, against 27 for the Liberals, 10 for QS, seven for PQ, one for the Conservatives and four independents.

The independents include ex-Liberals Guy Ouellette and Marie Montpetit as well as former PQ members Harold Lebel and Sylvain Roy.

Among these 125 parliamentarians, 34 have announced their intention not to run again.

No party has announced all of its candidates. However, most of the major parties have filled their slates. The Liberals and PQ are missing about 40 candidates.

To win a majority in Quebec, a party must have at least 63 MNAs elected. The CAQ won 74 seats in 2018.

The participation rate in Quebec elections has been falling since 2012. It went from 74.6 per cent that year to 71.44 per cent in 2014, then to 66.45 per cent in 2018.