Quebec general election, 1976
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
The Quebec general election on November 15, 1976 was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivaled perhaps only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in Canada. The Parti Québécois under René Lévesque defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party under Robert Bourassa.
This was the first election ever won by the Parti Québécois, and resulted in a flurry of legislation as the PQ implemented its program, most notably the Charter of the French Language (commonly known as "Bill 101" or la Loi 101 in French), which confirmed French as the sole official language of Quebec and took measures to make this a social reality rather than a wish. With some modifications, the Charter of the French Language remains in effect today and has shaped modern Quebec society in far-reaching ways.
The 1976 election also set the stage for the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty-association, which however was soundly defeated.
Bourassa resigned as Liberal leader and his political career appeared to be over. He left Quebec and took up teaching positions in the United States and Europe. However he later made a remarkable comeback in the 1985 general election.
Bourassa had called the election after only three years, well before the five-year maximum possible term. It is possible that he may have counted on a boost from his successful rescue of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal after cost overruns and construction delays by the Montreal municipal government under Jean Drapeau. If so, he badly miscalculated.
The once-powerful Union Nationale made a modest comeback, winning 11 seats under Rodrigue Biron, and for the first time won significant support from some anglophone voters and even elected an anglophone member of the National Assembly, William Shaw. However, this proved to be the party's last hurrah: it never won another seat in any subsequent election, and no longer exists. In any case, vote-splitting between the Liberals and Union Nationale may have made a contribution to the Parti Québécois victory.
|
Preceded by: | List of Quebec general elections |
Succeeded by: |
