PQ, Liberals make final campaign push Sunday before voters head to polls

It was the last chance for Quebec’s two oldest political parties to convince voters. The Parti Québécois (PQ) and the Liberals have both seen votes go to newer parties offering change.

On the final day of the campaign, PQ leader Jean-François Lisée took a break from the campaign bus and spent the night in the house he grew up in. Sitting at his mother’s kitchen table in Thetford Mines, he told reporters, “I started my leadership campaign here with my mother and these are my roots.”

“I’m very proud of my son, absolutely,” said Andrée Goulet, Lisée’s mother, but she admitted that she is still nervous about Monday night’s election results.

Goulet also told reporters that she was surprised by Lisée’s decision to attack Québec Solidaire spokesperson Manon Massé in the last week of the campaign.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” she said.

WATCH: Quebec heads to the polls on Monday where there could be a majority of outcomes. David Akin reports. 

2:13 Quebec heads to the polls

READ MORE: Desire for change could lead to minority CAQ government: Ipsos poll

Some people saw the move as a last-ditch attempt to try to sway Québec Solidaire voters. The PQ leader has campaigned hard, but his support has stayed stagnant, according to the polls that show his party hasn’t budged from third place.

Still, Lisée said he believes his message got through to voters, including some anglophones.

“I have testimonies of a number of voters that tell me, ‘I’m going to vote for the PQ for the first time in my life.’ How many will there be?” he said. “I don’t know, but there are some.”

READ MORE: Liberals, CAQ make final campaign push in neck and neck race

The Liberal Party is also trying to hold on to votes that are at risk of going to the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), especially for seats in the regions. On Sunday, Couillard made campaign stops in the Magdalen Islands, the Gaspé, Bagotville and Chicoutimi before going back to his own riding of Roberval where he will watch the election results Monday night.

Speaking with reporters in Percé early Sunday morning, Couillard tried to drive home that his party had the regions’ best interests at heart.

“We defended the Gaspé Peninsula when were told their projects were wasteful,” he said in reference to one of CAQ leader François Legault’s comments during the last leaders’ debate. 

WATCH: Dramatic shift as Quebec election campaign enters crunch time

3:04 Dramatic shift as Quebec election campaign enters crunch time