For the first time since 1878, Quebec will be governed by a minority government as the Liberals won only 48 seats of out 125 in the provincial elections Monday night.
The Liberals obtained a significantly low 33 per cent share of the vote while the ADQ got an impressive 31 per cent. Mario Dumont’s party won 41 seats and will now form the official opposition. Gathering 28 per cent of popular suffrage, the PQ will only have 36 representatives in the National Assembly.
While a minority government was an expected outcome of these elections, very few predicted the ADQ would come out so strong. Erman Alves, a militant at a Liberal gathering on Sherbrooke St. expressed what many thought after seeing the results: “I’m stunned when I see the number of seats they’ve got, I didn’t expect Mario Dumont to make it this far without a team to back him up,” said Alves.
While the Liberals retained their usual ridings in Montreal and Laval, the ADQ made much of its gains in the ridings surrounding the Montreal Island and in the Quebec City and Chaudi
