The Parti Québécois is alive but weaker than ever. Although its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, will officially enter the National Assembly, his party will suffer there as only three elected separatists oppose the government.
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It is true that expectations were low for the PQ, which started the campaign with a low 9% voter intent.
Boss Paul St-Pierre Plamondon managed to reverse a certain trend after the debates, but he was running out of time. The leader’s good result was not reflected in the other PQ strongholds that fell into the hands of the CAQ.
Worst result
Thanks to universal suffrage, the training ended up doing well. It is in third place, ahead of the Liberals and the Conservatives.
However, the PQ did not fare as well in 2018 when it received 17% of the vote and 10 seats. When the government was dissolved, the PQ had 7 seats. Now down 3 seats and 14%, it is the formation’s worst result since inception.
This time, only the Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Matane withstood the CAQ wave, which continued to spread in eastern Quebec.
The elected leader
The small surge of sympathy for Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will have enabled him to win after a long evening and a battle that had long been tough riding Camille-Laurin. The leader thus allows the PQ to take a ride in Montreal.
The announcement of his victory awakened the activists present in Boucherville for the party rally. Until then, they hadn’t put anything in their mouths to rejoice. As soon as the numbers began to rise, activists exploded with joy.
Throughout the evening, however, the PQ found itself at the center of several fights, most notably riding Bonaventure in Gaspésie. They all ended in heavy defeats. They lost the two north coast counties, in addition to Jonquière and Joliette.
The future of the movement
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon had put the future of the independence movement in the hands of the electorate.
According to polls, between 30% and 40% of Quebecers would vote yes in a third referendum. They responded weakly to the PQ leader’s call.
During the campaign, the PSPP tried everything to convince the PQ members, who voted for the CAQ in 2018, to oust the PLQ from power.
He hammered in that the door to the sovereign house was wide open and they had to vote on their beliefs.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon also portrayed François Legault as a federalist fueling the decline of the French language.
It will now have the difficult task of asserting itself as the 3rd opposition in the National Assembly in front of a CAQ with a strong majority.