Quebec general election, 1981
Encyclopedia
The Quebec general election of 1981 was held on April 13, 1981, to elect members of the National Assembly
of the Province of Quebec
, Canada
. The incumbent Parti Québécois
, led by René Lévesque
, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Claude Ryan
.
The PQ won re-election despite having lost the 1980 Quebec referendum
on sovereignty-association, the party's proposal for political independence for Quebec in an economic union with the rest of Canada. To some extent, they were helped by Claude Ryan's old-fashioned campaign style: he refused to tailor sound bites for the evening news and ran a generally TV-unfriendly campaign.
The Union Nationale, which had won 11 seats in a modest comeback in the 1976 general election
, was wiped off the map in this election, and never won another seat in any subsequent election. It is now disbanded. The party were not helped by the fact that its leader in the 1976 election, Rodrigue Biron
, had resigned from the party and joined the Parti Québécois.
Note:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election of information not available.
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
of the Province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The incumbent Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
, led by René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan, was a Canadian politician and leader of the Parti libéral du Québec from 1978 to 1982. He was also the National Assembly of Quebec member for Argenteuil from 1979 to 1994.-Early life and career:...
.
The PQ won re-election despite having lost the 1980 Quebec referendum
1980 Quebec referendum
The 1980 Quebec referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois government, which strongly favoured secession from Canada...
on sovereignty-association, the party's proposal for political independence for Quebec in an economic union with the rest of Canada. To some extent, they were helped by Claude Ryan's old-fashioned campaign style: he refused to tailor sound bites for the evening news and ran a generally TV-unfriendly campaign.
The Union Nationale, which had won 11 seats in a modest comeback in the 1976 general election
Quebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
, was wiped off the map in this election, and never won another seat in any subsequent election. It is now disbanded. The party were not helped by the fact that its leader in the 1976 election, Rodrigue Biron
Rodrigue Biron
Rodrigue Biron is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was leader of the Union Nationale political party from 1976 to 1980, when he joined the Parti Québécois.-Background:...
, had resigned from the party and joined the Parti Québécois.
Results
| Party | Party leader | # of candidates |
Seats | Popular vote | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 Quebec general election, 1976 The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada... |
Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change |
Parti Québécois Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal... |
René Lévesque René Lévesque René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec... |
122 | 71 | 80 | +12.7% | 1,773,237 | 49.26% | +7.9% |
Liberal | Claude Ryan Claude Ryan Claude Ryan, was a Canadian politician and leader of the Parti libéral du Québec from 1978 to 1982. He was also the National Assembly of Quebec member for Argenteuil from 1979 to 1994.-Early life and career:... |
122 | 26 | 42 | +53.8% | 1,658,753 | 46.07% | +12.9% |
Union Nationale | Roch LaSalle | 121 | 11 | - | -100% | 144,070 | 4.00% | -14.2% |
Workers Communist | Roger Rashi | 33 | * | - | * | 4,956 | 0.14% | * |
Freedom of Choice Parti de la Liberté de Choix The Parti de la Liberté de Choix is a former political party in the Canadian province of Quebec. Focused on anglophone rights issues, it ran candidates in provincial elections from 1979 to 1982.... |
Duncan McDonald | 12 | * | - | * | 4,955 | 0.14% | * |
Marxist-Leninist Parti marxiste-léniniste du Québec The Parti marxiste-léniniste du Québec or PMLQ is a Quebec communist political party. Its orientation is Marxism-Leninism. The PMLQ is the Quebec branch of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada... |
Robert Verrier | 40 | * | - | * | 3,299 | 0.09% | * |
Libertarian | Victor Levis | 10 | * | - | * | 3,178 | 0.09% | * |
United Social Credit Ralliement créditiste du Québec The Ralliement créditiste du Québec was a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada that operated from 1970 to 1978. It promoted social credit theories of monetary reform, and acted as an outlet for the expression of rural... |
Jean-Paul Poulin Jean-Paul Poulin Jean-Paul Poulin was a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was active in the Canadian social credit movement and led the Parti crédit social uni through four general elections at the provincial level.... |
16 | - | - | - | 1,284 | 0.04% | -4.6% |
Workers Parti des travailleurs du Québec The Parti des travailleurs du Québec was a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec. It issued its first manifesto in 1976 and fielded candidates until the 1990s, never rising above fringe status... |
10 | * | - | * | 1,027 | 0.03% | * |
Communist | Sam Walsh Sam Walsh Sam Walsh was leader of the Communist Party of Quebec for 28 years, from 1962 to 1990, and was a leader in the Communist Party of Canada and Labour-Progressive Party since the 1940s.... |
10 | * | - | * | 768 | 0.02% | * |
Independents/no designation | 29 | 4,570 | 0.12% | ||||||
| Total | 525 | 110 | 122 | +10.9% | 3,600,097 | 100% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: Elections Quebec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note:
See also
- List of Quebec premiers
- Politics of QuebecPolitics of QuebecThe politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of the province is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Premier, the legislature, and cabinet reside.The...
- Timeline of Quebec historyTimeline of Quebec historyThis article presents a detailed timeline of Quebec history. Events taking place outside Quebec, for example in English Canada, the United States, Britain or France, may be included when they are considered to have had a significant impact on Quebec's history....
- List of Quebec political parties
- 32nd National Assembly of Quebec32nd National Assembly of QuebecThe 32nd National Assembly of Quebec is the provincial legislature in Quebec, Canada that existed between April 13, 1981 and December 2, 1985. The Parti Québécois led by René Lévesque and Pierre-Marc Johnson were in power for the second mandate in a row...