1976 Quebec general election

1976 Quebec general election

← 1973 November 15, 1976 1981 →

110 seats in the 31st National Assembly of Quebec
56 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout85.27% (Increase4.88%)
  First party Second party Third party
  UN
Leader René Lévesque Robert Bourassa Rodrigue Biron
Party Parti Québécois Liberal Union Nationale
Leader since October 14, 1968 January 17, 1970 May 22, 1976
Leader's seat Taillon Mercier (lost re-election) Lotbinière
Last election 6 seats, 30.22% 102 seats, 54.65% 0 seats, 4.92%
Seats won 71 26 11
Seat change Increase65 Decrease76 Increase11
Popular vote 1,390,351 1,135,056 611,666
Percentage 41.37% 33.78% 18.20%
Swing Increase11.15% Decrease20.87% Increase13.28%

  Fourth party Fifth party
  RC PNP
Leader Camil Samson Jérôme Choquette
Party Ralliement créditiste Parti national populaire
Leader since May 11, 1975 October 24, 1976
Leader's seat Rouyn-Noranda Outremont (lost re-election)
Last election 2 seats, 9.92% pre-creation
Seats won 1 1
Seat change Decrease1 Increase1
Popular vote 155,451 31,043
Percentage 4.63% 0.92%
Swing Decrease5.29% Increase0.92%

Premier before election

Robert Bourassa
Liberal

Premier after election

René Lévesque
Parti Québécois

The 1976 Quebec general election was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Robert Bourassa.

The Parti Québécois's campaign focused on providing good government, in contrast the many scandals that had plagued the Liberals since 1973, The PQ's stated goal of achieving independence for Quebec from Canada was portrayed as only secondary, but the election of a sovereigntist government in Quebec caused great upset in the rest of Canada and led to extensive discussions about reforming the Canadian Confederation and finding ways of accommodating Quebec.

The Parti Québécois used its term in office to introduce numerous bills to implement its agenda. The first bill introduced in the new session of the National Assembly was legislation to confirm French as the sole official language of Quebec, and to implement measures to make this a social reality. The legislative number of this bill, "Bill One," was intended to signify the importance of the bill for the new government. The bill was withdrawn and significantly altered, however, and was eventually re-introduced as "Bill 101" (or la Loi 101 in French), also known as the Charter of the French Language. With some modifications, the Charter of the French Language remains in effect today and has shaped modern Quebec society in far-reaching ways.

The 1976 election also set the stage for the 1980 Quebec referendum on the PQ's proposal for political independence in an economic union with the rest of Canada called sovereignty-association. The proposal was soundly defeated in the referendum.

Bourassa had called the election after only three years, well before the maximum possible term of five years. It is possible that he may have counted on a boost from his successful rescue of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal after cost overruns and construction delays by the Montreal municipal government of Mayor Jean Drapeau. If so, he badly miscalculated. He not only lost the election, but was resoundingly defeated in his own riding by a PQ challenger. Bourassa resigned as Liberal leader, and his political career appeared to be over. He left Quebec and took up teaching positions in the United States and Europe. However, he later made a remarkable comeback in the 1985 general election.

The once-powerful Union Nationale made a modest comeback after being evicted from the legislature three years earlier. It won 11 seats under Rodrigue Biron and, for the first time, won significant support from some anglophone voters. An anglophone UN member, William Shaw was elected to the National Assembly. However, this proved to be the party's last hurrah. Successive floor-crossings, retirements, and resignations reduced the UN to only five members during the term. The party lost all of those remaining seats five years later, never to return; it would continue to exist nominally until 1989.

Campaign

The Liberals and péquistes both fielded full slates. The Unionists and the créditistes decided not to nominate candidates in Beauce-Sud, in order to clear the way for the pénépiste Fabien Roy to hold the riding. The Unionists did not have a candidate in Outremont. Otherwise, all other constituencies experienced at least four-way contests.

The election also saw the emergence of two other political groups. The Democratic Alliance, led by Nick Auf der Maur, ran 13 candidates in the anglophone areas of the Island of Montreal, while the Parti national populaire (founded by Fabien Roy and Jérôme Choquette) had 36 candidates provincewide but ran a less-organized campaign. The PNP had attempted to merge with the UN earlier in August, but the effort was called off in September because of a falling-out between Choquette and the UN leader Rodrigue Biron.

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1976)
Candidates PQ Lib RC UN PNP Ind NDP-RMS Comm DA Lab LSO Total
3 1 1 1 3
4 49 49 49 49 196
5 24 24 24 24 16 3 3 1 1 120
6 20 20 20 19 9 9 8 3 5 7 120
7 12 12 12 12 7 6 7 8 5 2 1 84
8 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 24
9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Total 110 110 109 108 36 22 21 14 13 12 1 556

Results

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1976)
Political party Party leader MPPs Votes
Candidates 1973 1976 ± # ± % ± (pp)
Parti Québécois René Lévesque 110 6 71 65Increase 1,390,351 492,542Increase 41.37% 11.15Increase
Liberal Robert Bourassa 110 102 26 76Decrease 1,135,056 488,678Decrease 33.78% 20.87Decrease
Union Nationale Rodrigue Biron 108 11 11Increase 611,666 465,457Increase 18.20% 13.28Increase
Ralliement créditiste Camil Samson 109 2 1 1Decrease 155,451 139,255Decrease 4.63% 5.29Decrease
Parti national populaire Jérôme Choquette 36 1 1Increase 31,043 31,043Increase 0.92% New
Democratic Alliance Nick Auf der Maur 13 17,762 17,762Increase 0.53% New
Independent 22 12,984 6,023Increase 0.39% 0.16Increase
New Democratic-RMS coalition Henri-François Gautrin 21 3,080 3,080Increase 0.09% New
Communist Sam Walsh 14 1,776 1,612Increase 0.05% 0.04Increase
Labour 12 1,249 1,249Increase 0.04% New
Ligue socialiste-ouvrière 1 88 88Increase New
Total 556 108 110 3,360,506 100.00%
Rejected ballots 70,446 15,686Increase
Voter turnout 3,430,952 405,214Increase 85.27 4.89Increase
Registered electors 4,023,743 259,132Increase
Seats and popular vote by party
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
 Parti Québécois
71 / 110
41.37%
11.15 11.15
 
 Liberal
26 / 110
33.78%
-20.87
 
 Union Nationale
11 / 110
18.20%
13.28 13.28
 
 Parti créditiste
1 / 110
4.63%
-5.29
 
 Parti national populaire
1 / 110
0.92%
0.92 0.92
 
 Independent
0 / 110
0.39%
0.16 0.16
 
 Other
0 / 110
0.71%
0.65 0.65
 

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1976 Quebec general election
Riding Winning party Turnout
Votes
Name 1973 Party Votes Share Margin
#
Margin
%
PQ Lib UN Cr PNP DA Ind Oth Total
 
Abitibi-Est Lib PQ 11,265 40.15% 3,881 13.83% 69.47% 11,265 6,338 3,067 7,384 28,054
Abitibi-Ouest Lib PQ 8,533 36.51% 1,224 5.24% 80.57% 8,533 5,456 2,073 7,309 23,371
Anjou Lib PQ 19,440 56.15% 8,324 24.04% 88.99% 19,440 11,116 2,938 744 233 151 34,622
Argenteuil Lib Lib 9,452 34.89% 1,275 4.71% 82.34% 8,177 9,452 6,660 2,803 27,092
Arthabaska Lib PQ 12,465 38.95% 3,474 10.86% 89.36% 12,465 8,991 7,536 3,009 32,001
Beauce-Nord Lib PQ 10,974 37.12% 412 1.39% 85.29% 10,974 10,562 6,412 830 786 29,564
Beauce-Sud Cr PNP 17,238 68.24% 11,573 45.82% 83.62% 2,356 5,665 17,238 25,259
Beauharnois Lib PQ 15,508 46.29% 3,936 11.75% 90.09% 15,508 11,572 5,224 1,195 33,499
Bellechasse Lib UN 8,501 36.85% 798 3.46% 81.68% 5,881 7,703 8,501 692 294 23,071
Berthier Lib PQ 8,673 34.27% 402 1.59% 85.00% 8,673 8,271 6,907 1,454 25,305
Bonaventure Lib Lib 9,771 48.63% 3,603 17.93% 80.87% 6,168 9,771 3,836 318 20,093
Bourassa Lib PQ 14,465 44.94% 2,162 6.72% 88.04% 14,465 12,303 4,457 601 249 109 32,184
Bourget Lib PQ 17,122 54.85% 7,047 22.58% 87.99% 17,122 10,075 3,250 573 195 31,215
Brome-Missisquoi Lib UN 11,380 49.27% 5,930 25.67% 82.93% 4,772 5,450 11,380 1,087 262 147 23,098
Chambly Lib PQ 21,029 47.32% 5,201 11.70% 90.62% 21,029 15,828 6,776 811 44,444
Champlain Lib PQ 12,514 40.73% 4,428 14.41% 87.67% 12,514 8,086 7,882 2,240 30,722
Charlesbourg Lib PQ 19,985 48.92% 4,785 11.71% 89.20% 19,985 15,200 4,078 1,301 285 40,849
Charlevoix Lib Lib 12,419 54.58% 4,899 21.53% 83.27% 7,520 12,419 1,670 1,146 22,755
Châteauguay Lib PQ 15,600 43.00% 5,261 14.50% 88.30% 15,600 10,339 9,262 851 229 36,281
Chauveau Lib PQ 21,472 47.48% 5,054 11.17% 88.87% 21,472 16,418 4,829 2,507 45,226
Chicoutimi PQ PQ 20,638 62.51% 13,742 41.62% 88.55% 20,638 6,896 4,429 1,053 33,016
Crémazie Lib PQ 16,463 50.40% 4,612 14.12% 89.09% 16,463 11,851 3,449 461 277 163 32,664
D'Arcy-McGee Lib Lib 21,248 68.03% 14,190 45.43% 83.86% 1,476 21,248 7,058 83 950 417 31,232
Deux-Montagnes Lib PQ 13,449 41.42% 2,466 7.59% 86.17% 13,449 10,983 6,431 1,352 256 32,471
Dorion Lib PQ 15,486 52.36% 5,343 18.06% 84.55% 15,486 10,143 2,661 798 390 100 29,578
Drummond Lib PQ 14,605 42.45% 6,394 18.58% 89.05% 14,605 7,778 8,211 3,601 211 34,406
Dubuc Lib PQ 11,337 44.67% 3,661 14.42% 85.23% 11,337 7,676 4,442 1,926 25,381
Duplessis Lib PQ 20,100 58.60% 11,324 33.01% 78.85% 20,100 8,776 3,050 461 1,916 34,303
Fabre Lib PQ 24,067 51.94% 9,078 19.59% 89.24% 24,067 14,989 5,658 1,156 463 46,333
Frontenac Lib PQ 11,047 38.86% 1,558 5.48% 88.16% 11,047 6,395 9,489 1,494 28,425
Gaspé Lib UN 8,305 34.53% 420 1.75% 82.01% 7,630 7,885 8,305 233 24,053
Gatineau Lib Lib 13,444 48.98% 6,148 22.40% 78.30% 7,296 13,444 5,285 1,425 27,450
Gouin Lib PQ 14,360 53.53% 5,345 19.92% 84.45% 14,360 9,015 2,482 797 172 26,826
Hull Lib PQ 12,031 40.57% 2 0.01% 79.05% 12,031 12,029 4,193 1,402 29,655
Huntingdon Lib UN 9,465 42.31% 2,728 12.19% 84.21% 5,428 6,737 9,465 743 22,373
Iberville Lib PQ 11,740 35.71% 1,533 4.66% 87.38% 11,740 9,129 10,207 1,802 32,878
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Lib PQ 3,387 47.89% 60 0.85% 87.16% 3,387 3,327 298 60 7,072
Jacques-Cartier Lib Lib 10,390 35.34% 1,255 4.27% 84.86% 8,666 10,390 9,135 523 683 29,397
Jean-Talon Lib Lib 14,339 49.46% 2,807 9.68% 88.54% 11,532 14,339 2,706 417 28,994
Jeanne-Mance Lib PQ 22,891 45.48% 4,606 9.15% 86.39% 22,891 18,285 7,732 905 275 245 50,333
Johnson Lib UN 11,184 45.33% 4,805 19.48% 86.65% 6,379 5,348 11,184 1,761 24,672
Joliette-Montcalm Lib PQ 15,807 42.41% 5,311 14.25% 88.14% 15,807 10,496 9,612 1,172 89 97 37,273
Jonquière Lib PQ 20,373 58.23% 9,511 27.18% 89.26% 20,373 10,862 2,220 1,535 34,990
Kamouraska-Témiscouata Lib PQ 7,862 33.88% 310 1.34% 79.37% 7,862 7,552 4,957 2,837 23,208
L'Acadie Lib Lib 14,082 45.50% 4,406 14.24% 86.08% 9,676 14,082 6,434 276 327 152 30,947
L'Assomption Lib PQ 26,449 54.49% 14,439 29.74% 89.24% 26,449 12,010 8,155 1,724 205 48,543
Lac-Saint-Jean Lib PQ 14,744 50.91% 6,911 23.86% 86.97% 14,744 7,833 3,971 2,414 28,962
LaFontaine PQ PQ 20,627 61.79% 12,469 37.35% 86.95% 20,627 8,158 3,082 1,039 283 191 33,380
Laporte Lib PQ 23,129 56.56% 11,086 27.11% 87.64% 23,129 12,043 4,561 1,027 133 40,893
La Prairie Lib PQ 17,122 38.13% 647 1.44% 87.88% 17,122 16,475 10,375 930 44,902
Laurentides-Labelle Lib PQ 13,794 49.25% 4,069 14.53% 83.32% 13,794 9,725 2,992 1,499 28,010
Laurier Lib Lib 11,858 41.68% 2,275 8.00% 82.79% 9,583 11,858 4,962 678 921 446 28,448
Laval Lib Lib 17,605 42.94% 2,285 5.57% 88.42% 15,320 17,605 6,629 1,129 319 41,002
Laviolette Lib PQ 11,003 39.32% 2,174 7.77% 86.41% 11,003 6,074 8,829 1,603 357 115 27,981
Lévis Lib PQ 17,227 48.49% 5,887 16.57% 88.81% 17,227 11,340 5,585 1,375 35,527
Limoilou Lib PQ 14,424 45.33% 3,707 11.65% 86.09% 14,424 10,717 4,656 1,723 176 52 74 31,822
Lotbinière Lib UN 12,355 52.23% 6,713 28.38% 87.55% 4,605 5,642 12,355 1,055 23,657
Louis-Hébert Lib PQ 22,850 58.22% 9,543 24.31% 90.80% 22,850 13,307 2,705 386 39,248
Maisonneuve PQ PQ 15,390 62.15% 9,074 36.64% 80.89% 15,390 6,316 2,040 652 220 22 123 24,763
Marguerite-Bourgeoys Lib Lib 14,551 36.65% 806 2.03% 84.91% 13,745 14,551 10,492 603 312 39,703
Maskinongé Lib Lib 9,124 35.84% 403 1.58% 88.24% 8,721 9,124 6,561 1,055 25,461
Matane Lib PQ 11,042 48.79% 2,684 11.86% 82.23% 11,042 8,358 2,319 598 316 22,633
Matapédia Lib PQ 10,741 56.27% 5,458 28.59% 81.76% 10,741 5,283 1,552 1,512 19,088
Mégantic-Compton Lib UN 8,539 39.58% 2,502 11.60% 82.63% 4,809 6,037 8,539 2,188 21,573
Mercier Lib PQ 13,450 51.38% 3,736 14.27% 81.76% 13,450 9,714 1,975 647 58 332 26,176
Mille-Îles Lib PQ 25,134 53.80% 10,070 21.55% 90.84% 25,134 15,064 4,687 1,290 342 204 46,721
Mont-Royal Lib Lib 18,408 62.23% 13,295 44.94% 83.36% 4,776 18,408 5,113 153 885 247 29,582
Montmagny-L'Islet Lib Lib 9,220 37.44% 2,370 9.62% 81.84% 6,849 9,220 6,850 1,710 24,629
Montmorency Lib PQ 17,300 50.42% 5,190 15.13% 88.23% 17,300 12,110 3,187 1,713 34,310
Nicolet-Yamaska Lib UN 8,763 34.62% 750 2.96% 87.93% 7,195 8,013 8,763 1,340 25,311
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Lib Lib 13,161 43.88% 4,429 14.77% 84.26% 4,100 13,161 8,732 167 119 3,497 117 103 29,996
Orford Lib Lib 8,321 32.90% 636 2.51% 81.40% 7,685 8,321 6,979 2,077 228 25,290
Outremont Lib Lib 13,219 45.30% 2,387 8.18% 84.31% 10,832 13,219 350 4,129 380 270 29,180
Papineau Lib PQ 12,967 36.32% 67 0.19% 79.55% 12,967 12,900 7,483 1,947 409 35,706
Pointe-Claire Lib UN 15,610 44.96% 3,431 9.88% 85.51% 3,284 12,179 15,610 127 164 943 2,412 34,719
Pontiac-Témiscamingue Lib Lib 8,149 43.57% 3,581 19.14% 74.98% 3,209 8,149 4,568 2,141 638 18,705
Portneuf Lib Lib 10,362 40.47% 2,783 10.87% 89.04% 7,579 10,362 3,815 3,741 106 25,603
Prévost Lib PQ 20,075 49.59% 7,569 18.70% 84.94% 20,075 12,506 5,707 2,195 40,483
Richelieu Lib PQ 16,141 51.98% 4,274 13.76% 90.28% 16,141 11,867 2,189 854 31,051
Richmond Lib UN 7,778 39.15% 1,907 9.60% 86.17% 5,294 5,871 7,778 925 19,868
Rimouski Lib PQ 15,232 53.04% 5,146 17.92% 86.34% 15,232 10,086 1,664 1,651 87 28,720
Rivière-du-Loup Lib PQ 9,415 38.53% 1,904 7.79% 84.49% 9,415 7,511 5,230 2,281 24,437
Robert-Baldwin Lib Lib 14,476 36.11% 3,947 9.84% 86.95% 7,430 14,476 10,529 410 2,188 5,060 40,093
Roberval Lib Lib 11,767 39.67% 932 3.14% 80.90% 10,835 11,767 3,139 3,923 29,664
Rosemont Lib PQ 15,455 51.07% 5,380 17.78% 85.25% 15,455 10,075 3,547 596 309 283 30,265
Rouyn-Noranda Cr RC 9,009 37.90% 1,456 6.13% 83.77% 7,553 4,923 2,283 9,009 23,768
Saguenay PQ PQ 15,491 69.16% 11,212 50.06% 78.48% 15,491 4,279 2,054 575 22,399
Saint-François Lib PQ 11,115 41.60% 3,623 13.56% 84.96% 11,115 7,492 6,114 1,996 26,717
Saint-Henri Lib PQ 14,246 47.72% 4,142 13.87% 83.78% 14,246 10,104 4,549 701 253 29,853
Saint-Hyacinthe Lib UN 10,002 33.63% 58 0.20% 86.38% 9,944 7,694 10,002 1,753 350 29,743
Saint-Jacques PQ PQ 13,058 60.31% 7,180 33.16% 75.34% 13,058 5,878 1,686 579 451 21,652
Saint-Jean Lib PQ 14,570 45.73% 3,695 11.60% 87.87% 14,570 10,875 5,439 977 31,861
Saint-Laurent Lib Lib 14,837 46.18% 6,297 19.60% 84.76% 8,540 14,837 7,409 294 327 719 32,126
Saint-Louis Lib Lib 9,628 42.07% 1,776 7.76% 75.22% 7,852 9,628 3,460 422 1,151 371 22,884
Saint-Maurice Lib PQ 12,836 45.77% 4,788 17.07% 88.64% 12,836 8,048 4,749 2,005 405 28,043
Saint-Anne Lib PQ 9,059 38.62% 689 2.94% 75.67% 9,059 8,370 3,783 497 121 649 896 79 23,454
Sainte-Marie Lib PQ 13,617 54.97% 5,043 20.36% 81.54% 13,617 8,574 1,711 674 197 24,773
Sauvé PQ PQ 23,647 58.60% 13,372 33.14% 84.99% 23,647 10,275 5,204 977 123 129 40,355
Shefford Lib Lib 9,662 31.81% 384 1.26% 87.20% 8,134 9,662 9,278 3,085 217 30,376
Sherbrooke Lib PQ 12,440 42.51% 3,895 13.31% 84.69% 12,440 8,545 6,255 1,872 150 29,262
Taillon Lib PQ 34,098 62.65% 22,345 41.06% 85.32% 34,098 11,753 6,189 2,129 256 54,425
Taschereau Lib PQ 9,929 45.14% 1,832 8.33% 80.05% 9,929 8,097 2,531 1,179 151 107 21,994
Terrebonne Lib PQ 21,298 50.61% 7,899 18.77% 89.48% 21,298 13,399 5,723 1,661 42,081
Trois-Rivières Lib PQ 13,821 43.79% 3,182 10.08% 85.26% 13,821 10,639 5,662 1,437 31,559
Vanier Lib PQ 16,640 49.80% 5,063 15.15% 87.41% 16,640 11,577 3,372 1,827 33,416
Vaudreuil-Soulanges Lib PQ 11,524 35.85% 534 1.66% 86.69% 11,524 10,990 8,548 905 174 32,141
Verchères Lib PQ 16,796 48.24% 4,990 14.33% 88.89% 16,796 11,806 5,224 992 34,818
Verdun Lib Lib 13,201 44.09% 3,261 10.89% 83.60% 9,940 13,201 5,833 499 315 150 29,938
Viau Lib PQ 13,513 43.44% 1,932 6.21% 84.67% 13,513 11,581 4,892 760 361 31,107
Westmount Lib Lib 14,724 50.74% 8,744 30.13% 82.23% 3,483 14,724 5,980 90 210 4,534 29,021
  1. ^ including spoilt ballots
= open seat
= turnout is above provincial average
= winning candidate was in previous Legislature
= incumbent had switched allegiance
= previously incumbent in another riding
= not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
= incumbency arose from byelection gain
= other incumbents renominated
= previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada
= multiple candidates


MPPs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

 PQ
 Liberal
 UN
 Créditiste
 Parti national populaire


Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place
Party in 1st place Party in 2nd place Total
PQ Lib UN RC
Parti Québécois 65 4 2 71
Liberal 17 9 26
Union Nationale 2 9 11
Ralliement créditiste 1 1
Parti national populaire 1 1
Total 20 75 13 2 110
Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party
Parties 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
 Parti Québécois 71 20 18 1
 Liberal 26 75 9
 Union Nationale 11 13 80 4
 Parti créditiste 1 2 1 91 8
 Parti national populaire 1 1 31
 Democratic Alliance 1 8 4
 Independent 5 5
 New Democratic-RMS coalition 7
 Labour 4
 Communist 1
Resulting composition of the 31st Quebec Legislative Assembly
Source Party
PQ Lib UN RC PNP Total
Seats retained Incumbents returned 6 21 1 28
Open seats held 3 3
Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance 1 1
Previous incumbent from other riding 1 1
Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated 52 9 61
Open seats gained 13 1 14
Byelection gain held 1 1
Incumbent changed allegiance 1 1
Total 71 26 11 1 1 110

See also

External links


This page was last updated at 2024-02-10 02:02 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari