Quebec residents are gearing up for a provincial election on Monday.
The four leading parties that want to form the province’s government are Coalition Avenir Québec, Québec Solidaire, Liberal Party of Quebec, and the ruling party–the Parti Québécois (PQ)–led by Premier Pauline Marois.
The most up-to-date poll conducted by Ipsos Reid for CTV News shows that the Liberals are likely going to win the election.
John Wright, Senior Vice-President of Ipsos Global told Teaching Kids News that, “The election is only days away and while the outcome for the Liberals forming the next government appears likely, we can’t predict if it will be a minority or a majority result and that’s what makes the final days so interesting to watch.”
If it’s a majority government, the Liberals will have a much easier time getting their ideas through.
If the Quebec election were held tomorrow, the Parti Quebecois would receive 28 per cent of the vote, according to Ipsos Reid. That’s four points lower than the Quebec Liberals (led by Philippe Couillard).
Pauline Marois faced a challenge last year after she recommended there be a province-wide referendum to ask the people of Quebec whether they would consider separating from Canada. Recently she pulled back on that idea because it wasn’t as popular as she thought it would be.
But the damage was done. Many Quebec residents think separation is the main idea Marois stands for and they are not ready for it, they say.
Some of the province’s residents are also against a PQ idea to stop all public servants (people who work for the government) from wearing cultural clothing, like hijabs and turbans.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
The PQ made big news when they put forward their bill to remove cutlural symbolism among public servants, such as teachers and judges. Do you think people who work for the government should be allowed to wear cultural items?
Reading Prompt: Analysing Texts
Today’s article has a very clear structure where each paragraph tells a different part of the story. Reread today’s article and identify the different topics in each paragraph. How does this structure help the reader gain a clear and deep understanding?
Junior
Analyse texts and explain how various elements in them contribute to meaning (OME, Reading: 1.7).
Intermediate
Analyse a variety of texts, both simple and complex, and explain how the dif- ferent elements in them contribute to meaning and influence the reader’s reaction (OME, Reading: 1.7).
Math Feature: Data Management
Today’s article explains that polls were held to predict who will win the upcoming Quebec election. Create three polls of your own. One question should be a trivia question, another should ask for their opinion, and the last should ask for their prediction. Be sure to supply your survey participants 4-6 different choices.
