World

Secessionists Win Quebec Vote

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 1, 1998 / 7:26 AM EST / CBS

The secessionist Parti Quebecois was returned to power in Quebec's provincial election Monday, dashing the hopes of English-speaking Canadians and heightening the chances of another referendum on independence for the French-speaking province.

Victorious Parti Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard, 59, gained a fresh five-year term as Quebec premier in which to press on with his dream of sovereignty.

"We solicited a mandate to assemble the winning conditions for a sovereignty referendum for Quebec," Bouchard told cheering supporters late Monday night.

Although the Parti Quebecois win was narrower than expected, it was a humbling defeat for Jean Charest, the 40-year-old leader of the Quebec Liberals who just a month ago was touted as the "savior of Canada" and the best hope of those seeking to halt the secessionist drive.

Charest told supporters in his native Sherbrooke east of Montreal that he accepted the election result with humility, but would stay on as Liberal leader to defend Quebec's interests within Canada.

"To those who only a few days ago said that the Parti Quebecois would win in a landslide with 10 points, the result tonight speaks to a different reality, one that reflects the fact that the people of Quebec, like the people of all of Canada, want this country of ours to work and to be a success," Charest said.

Charest's Liberals were defeated in terms of seats on the legislature, but the pro-Canada party eked out a slight edge in the popular vote, garnering 44 percent versus 43 percent for the secessionists.

In Ottawa, Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien said the election indicated that Quebec voters were most concerned about the economy, jobs, health, education, and the future of its youth.

"So long as Mr. Bouchard and his colleagues respect these priorities and improve our country, that is Quebecers and of Canadians, they will have our full cooperation," Chretien said.

"When the time comes to defend Canada, we will be there every step of the way," Chretien added, referring to the Parti Quebecois' secessionist aspirations.

A fiery orator and savvy political strategist, Bouchard led a grueling 33-day campaign that crisscrossed the province of 7.3 million which is four times the size of France.

Bouchard, who lost his left leg and almost died from an attack of flesh-eating bacteria four years ago, easily won his home district of Jonquiere in the province's separatist heartland north of the provincial capital Quebec City.

But Charest had a tough fight to take his own seat in his native Sherbrooke, in the Eastern Townships, east of Montreal.

Jaws dropped among the small number of Liberal supporters that had gathered for an election party in Sherbrooke when CBC television called a Parti Quebecois majority just 35 minutes after the polls closed at 8 p.m. EST.

"I was hoping...people [who] wre voting would change their mind and say finally, 'No, I don't want to see another referendum. I want to see the economy grow'," lamented Charest campaign volunteer Carole Davis.

"They were able to get their message out better than we were," Liberal campaign director Alain Cousineau admitted.

But the seat tally and breakdown in support were less than the landslide pundits and surveys had predicted for the Parti Quebecois.

Projections by the CBC showed the Parti Quebecois winning 75 seats of the 124 contested in the 125-seat legislature, two less than it won in the 1994 election. The Liberals were heading for victory in 48 districts, one more than they took four year ago.

Because Liberal support was concentrated in Montreal and in the Eastern Townships and western Quebec near Ottawa, the challengers needed a four-point lead to win a majority.

A third party, the Action Democratique, proved a spoiler for both of the major parties, picking up 11.8 percent of the popular vote and retaining its one seat in the legislature.

Monday's election could be crucial in deciding Canada's future as a united country, the world's second-largest in terms of territory.

Bouchard has promised that if returned to power, he will hold another plebiscite on sovereignty if he believes the separatists can win.

As a personality, the charismatic Bouchard is by far the most popular politician in Quebec. But many Quebeckers who voted for his party are not keen on secession; recent polls indicated about 70 percent didn't want another referendum.

Quebec has rejected separation twice before. The first time was by a 20-percentage point margin in 1980. The second was by a razor-thin margin of 1.2 percentage points in October 1995.