CTV News has stated that the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) will maintain its official opposition status.
The news was met with thunderous applause in the Liberal headquarters at the Corona Theatre.
While it is still unclear how strong the official opposition powers will be, the PLQ team is likely breathing a sigh of relief after a campaign full of uncertainty for the party’s future.
That’s because several constituencies traditionally considered deep-red liberal strongholds on the west side of Montreal and Laval were polling with considerable support for other parties.
There are several reasons for this change: pundits have criticized him for being unhappy with the party’s performance during his last term. Francois Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) led a divisive first term defined by broad legislation on language and secularism, and members of the Liberal base expressed dissatisfaction with the Liberals, who were unable to smooth it over.
A Quebec Liberal supporter looks at early results from the provincial election Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Liberal leader Dominique Anglade was at a disadvantage throughout the campaign as a relatively unknown candidate, compared to Legault. This was her first election as party leader, and support for her as a candidate has waned, with polls suggesting she could lose her own seat.
What voters can expect are considerably weaker opposition powers than the party has enjoyed in the past. The National Assembly has changed quite a bit in recent decades as the province has moved out of its two-party paradigm. Gone for now are the days of Liberal and Parti Quebecois dominance over Quebec politics, although the new era is still taking shape.
“We are still here, we are going to rebuild stronger,” said the Liberal candidate for Fabre, Monique Sauve. He told CTV that he thought Anglade ran an “amazing campaign,” despite the limitations of the pandemic.
“It was two years that people didn’t get to know her,” he said.
— More details to come.