With two final days of the election campaign, leaders of Quebec’s four main parties are making their final pitches to voters as the polls indicate more and more we’re heading for a minority government.
READ MORE: Without sovereignty as issue, Quebec leaders struggled to offer vision
It’s been a campaign full of surprises. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), which has never governed, was in the lead out of the gate, but support for the party shrank as leader François Legault backtracked several times when explaining his immigration plan.
That lost CAQ support appears to have helped the fourth-runner, Québec Solidaire, which could see its seat count double on Monday night.
READ MORE: Québec Solidaire gaining support from voters looking for change
The latest Ipsos poll commissioned by Global News and La Presse shows the CAQ ahead of the Liberals by just one point.
The CAQ leader reiterated his plea to Quebecers to give him a chance after 15 years of Liberal government during a speech at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce.
“We are daring to hope that come Monday Quebecers will give us the opportunity to make a change and to form a new government,” Legault said.
“First, it’s not a game, where everybody has a chance at a turn. This is not the way it works,” said Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard during a press conference in Quebec City Friday morning.
Couillard said lives of Quebecers are better since he took office in 2014. Up until now, he has refused to answer any question about the possibility of a minority government.
However, on Friday, he was forced to admit that it appears Quebecers are still divided over who should lead the province for the next four years.
“We are going to win this election. I hope for a majority government,” he said.
“We’ll see what citizens decide.”
The Parti Québécois warned that the other parties are only “mirages of change” and that Quebecers looking for something different should vote for his party.
However, the real difference in this election might be the fact that Quebecers have more choice than they did in the past, something leader Jean-François Lisée says is a good thing.
“It’s okay we are no longer in a bi-partisan system and we have to adjust our political system, which we will do,” he said.
READ MORE: Historic number of women candidates in Quebec might not mean more women MNAs
In some ridings the race is so close, it will depend on which party can get out the vote on election day.
Quebecers head to the polls on Monday, Oct. 1.
Comments