Front Burner

Quebec's election and a political crossroad

Quebec voters head to the polls on Monday to decide who leads their government. CBC investigative journalist Jonathan Montpetit discusses what this election could tell us about the consolidation of conservative nationalism in the province.
Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault, Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, Parti Québecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, Québec Solidaire Leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime pose on set prior to a leaders debate in Montreal, Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

For decades, Quebec voters made the choice between the provincial Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois (PQ).

But in 2018, that changed. François Legault led the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) to a landslide victory by offering voters an option between the Liberals' federalism and the PQ's focus on sovereignty.

On Monday, the province heads back to the polls for its first election after the pandemic, amid a health-care crisis and two very controversial bills about individual rights. While Legault is still projected to win a majority, the bigger question is who will form the official opposition.

Today, CBC's Jonathan Montpetit takes us through what happened in the campaign for premier, and what the results could say about the consolidation of conservative nationalism in the province.   

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