Voters in the province of Quebec made their feelings known on Monday, giving the Liberal party a majority government.
Majority means the Liberals got more votes than all of the other parties put together.
The Liberals beat the main rival, the Parti Quebecois (PQ), led by Pauline Marois.
Marois had been the premier of Quebec for 19 months, since she led the party to a minority victory in 2012.
When Marois called the election back in March 5, the PQ was very popular in Quebec. The PQ hoped to win the election and perhaps get a majority of the votes.
Instead, the PQ received its smallest share of the popular vote in 44 years, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper and Marois lost her seat. That means Marois didn’t win in her own riding (area) of Charlevoix-Côte-de-Beaupré.
In a speech after the election she said she is stepping down as leader of the PQ.
The leader of the provincial Liberal party in Quebec is Philippe Couillard, a former neurosurgeon. He will become the province’s next premier.
Many people say Marois helped bring about the downfall of the PQ in the election by recommending that there be a province-wide referendum (vote) to ask the people of Quebec whether they would consider separating from Canada.
She pulled back on that idea when it proved unpopular with the voters but it was too late to change the fate of the PQ in the election.
The Globe and Mail says that “survey after survey showed (voters in Quebec) were more preoccupied with jobs, Quebec’s sluggish economy, the province’s healthcare network or its staggering debt—‘les varies affaires’ or the real issues, as the Liberal slogan had it.”
Philippe Couillard has big shoes to fill. Before him, the leader of the Liberals in Quebec was the popular and charismatic Jean Charest.
Couillard campaigned on a platform of bilingualism and federalism. That means he wants people and businesses in Quebec to be able to operate in both of Canada’s official languages (English and French) and he values Quebec’s place within Canada.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Some people believe that Marois’ suggestion to have a vote (referendum) as to whether Quebec should separate from Canada was one of the reasons why her party lost the election. Although she backed away from this idea, people could not forget that she suggested it.
There is a popular saying: “it is easier to forgive than to forget.” While people may have forgiven Marois’ mistake of suggesting the referendum, they did not forget it.
Can you apply this saying to another news story or an experience in your own life?
Reading Prompt: Extending Understanding
The article explains, “The Globe and Mail says that ‘survey after survey showed (voters in Quebec) were more preoccupied with jobs, Quebec’s sluggish economy, the province’s healthcare network or its staggering debt.’”
How are Quebec’s issues similar or different to those in your own province or state?
Junior
Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Intermediate
Extend understanding of texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts, by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Language Feature: Translation
Couillard wants people and businesses in Quebec to be able to operate in both of Canada’s official languages (English and French).
Translate the following words from the article into French:
1. government
2. election
3. win
4. vote
5. popular
6. jobs
7. economy
8. shoes
9. people
10. business
How are these English and French words the same/different?
