MONTREAL — Here are the latest details from Quebec's provincial election (all times eastern):
11:40 p.m.
Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault says his party has received a clear message from voters: keep going.
Legault promised continuity rather than change during the campaign, and The Canadian Press is projecting that his party will form a second majority government.
In his victory speech, Legault says that while elections can be divisive, he wants to be the premier for all Quebecers, regardless of age, religion or origin.
He says some priorities for his second mandate include investing in education and reforming the health-care system.
---
11:10 p.m.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says the PQ’s comeback in the election shows it’s possible for a sovereigntist party to gain support while speaking about the issues it values.
Speaking to supporters, St-Pierre Plamondon says that though those gains didn’t translate into the results it had hoped for in terms of seats, the party appears poised to come in second in the popular vote.
The PQ was polling in last place when the campaign began, and political analysts have attributed its rise in support to St-Pierre Plamondon’s strong campaign.
St-Pierre Plamondon says Quebec independence, which he made a focus of his campaign, has been devalued by the Liberals and the Coalition Avenir Québec.
The Canadian Press is projecting that the PQ has won two seats and is leading in one.
---
10:55 p.m.
Québéc solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois says his members will form a vigilant and constructive opposition party by offering useful solutions and opposing bad decisions.
In his concession speech, Nadeau-Dubois urged Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault to act decisively on climate change in his second mandate, saying it’s a fight that can’t wait.
He says Legault has relentlessly attacked Québec solidaire's climate proposals, adding that it’s up to the newly re-elected CAQ government to make sure it’s taking proper action.
During the campaign, Nadeau-Dubois had increasingly pitched his party as a contender for official Opposition, a role the Liberals appear poised to retain.
---
10:40 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has won the Montreal riding of Camille-Laurin, ensuring he’ll have a seat in the legislature.
St-Pierre Plamondon took the reins of the party in 2020 but had not been elected before tonight.
His party held the east-end Montreal riding of Camille-Laurin — formerly known as Bourget — from 1994 to 2018, when it was taken by the Coalition Avenir Québec.
St-Pierre Plamondon made the protection of the French language a centrepiece of his campaign and said it was his goal to revive the issue of Quebec independence.
His strong campaign is credited with helping the PQ rise in the polls, after it began the campaign in fifth place and with support below 10 per cent. Preliminary results by Élections Québec have the party with more than 15 per cent of the popular vote.
---
10:20 p.m.
Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade says her party will fight for all Quebecers, regardless of who they voted for in this election.
In her concession speech, Anglade says that throughout the campaign, Liberals have sought to bring Quebecers together.
She says that over the next few days, months and years, she will make sure the voices of Quebecers of all origins are heard in the legislature.
The Quebec Liberals are poised to remain official Opposition, but The Canadian Press is projecting they will lose several seats.
---
10:10 p.m.
Conservative Party of Quebec Leader Éric Duhaime says he’s proud of what his party accomplished during the election, painting the campaign as a battle of David against Goliath.
In a speech to a crowd of cheering supporters, Duhaime says his party had a fraction of the resources of its opponents but managed to go from about 1.5 per cent of the popular vote in 2018 to 13 per cent this time — in line with early polling results by Élections Québec.
Duhaime compared politics to hockey, saying today’s election is only the end of the first period, with the second period starting tomorrow as the party prepares for the next campaign.
The Canadian Press is projecting that the Conservatives will not win a seat in this election.
---
9:45 p.m.
The Quebec Liberals are poised to remain official Opposition.
All four major opposition parties were polling in the teens as Quebecers cast their ballots, and some political observers suggested the campaign was a battle for second place.
The Liberals went into the campaign with 27 seats, and The Canadian Press is projecting they have lost several of them.
The Canadian Press is also projecting that Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade has been re-elected in her Montreal riding of St-Henri—Ste-Anne.
---
9:30 p.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is congratulating François Legault for being re-elected Quebec premier.
In a statement, Trudeau says he is looking forward to working with Legault on issues important to Quebecers and all Canadians, such as fighting climate change and addressing labour shortages.
The Canadian Press is projecting that Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec will form a second consecutive majority government after the party maintained a significant lead in the polls throughout the campaign.
---
9:25 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that Québec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade has been re-elected in her Montreal riding of St-Henri—Ste-Anne.
Anglade’s party was in a four-way battle for official Opposition in the polls leading up to today's vote, and political analysts had suggested she would face a tight race in her riding.
The Quebec Liberals have struggled to connect with francophones and have alienated part of their anglophone base in Montreal by being seen as weak on language issues.
---
9:15 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that Conservative Party of Quebec Leader Éric Duhaime has been defeated in the Quebec City-area riding of Chauveau.
Duhaime and his party rose in the polls by harnessing the public's anger toward COVID-19 restrictions, but it's unclear whether that anger will translate into seats.
Early polling results by Élections Québec have the party with 13 per cent of the popular vote — but not a single elected member.
---
9 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesman for Québec solidaire, has been re-elected in his Montreal riding of Gouin.
Throughout the campaign, Nadeau-Dubois painted himself as a champion for the environment and for immigrants, attacking CAQ Leader François Legault on both issues.
As the CAQ continued to dominate the polls, Nadeau-Dubois increasingly pitched his party as the true contender for official Opposition.
The former student activist was first elected to the provincial legislature in a byelection in 2017. The following year, he won his riding with 59 per cent of the vote.
---
8:50 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that CAQ candidate Bernard Drainville — former Parti Québécois minister who presented a so-called values charter when he was in government in 2013 — has been elected in the riding of Lévis.
Drainville made his return to provincial politics this election as a star candidate for the CAQ in the Quebec City region.
His decision to join the CAQ prompted some federalist cabinet members to issue public reassurances the party wouldn’t make a push for sovereignty.
Drainville's values charter called to ban people from wearing religious symbols in all public institutions.
---
8:30 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault has won his riding of L’Assomption, in Quebec’s Lanaudière region.
The incumbent premier was widely expected to hold on to his seat.
Legault offered continuity rather than change and has promised to cut taxes, increase seniors benefits and fight the rising cost of living.
He has faced backlash over controversial comments he made on immigration, and he has been accused by his rivals that he's not doing enough to combat climate change.
---
8:20 p.m.
The Canadian Press is projecting that François Legault's right-of-centre Coalition Avenir Québec will form a majority government after dominating in the polls since the start of the campaign.
Legault promised Quebecers his nationalist government would cut income taxes, increase the role of the private sector in the health-care system and maintain immigration levels at 50,000 people per year.
Legault, 65, led a rocky campaign during which he had to apologize for comments tying immigration to “violence” and “extremism.”
The CAQ, whose members include federalists and Quebec sovereigntists, says its mission is to fight for Quebec’s interests within a united Canada and to protect the French language and the Quebec nation’s distinct culture.
---
8 p.m.
Polling stations across Quebec are now closed, capping off a five-week election campaign.
François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec has maintained a solid lead in opinion polling throughout the campaign, with the latest Leger survey placing the party more than 20 percentage points ahead of its closest rival.
The Quebec Liberals, Québec solidaire, the Parti Québécois and the Conservative Party of Quebec have all been polling in the teens.
Legault voted in advance polls last week, while the remaining party leaders cast ballots today.
---
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2022.
The Canadian Press
