Pauline Marois

Greg Farries — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:34:42 -0600

Pauline Marois is Leader of the Parti Québécois. Currently, she serves as Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Charlevoix, a riding she won in a by-election on September 24, 2007.

Marois was acclaimed Parti Québécois leader on June 27, 2007, after André Boisclair resigned. It was Marois’ third bid for the party leadership. She was runner-up to Boisclair in the leadership contest held in 2005. She also ran for the leadership in 1985 following the resignation of Premier René Lévesque, but came in second. Marois emerged from retirement expressly to run for the PQ leadership.

As PQ leader, Marois has put the plan for referendum on sovereignty on hold; her focus is on rebuilding voter support for Quebec independence. She has proposed a strategic plan to assist the province’s forestry sector, which has been hard hit in recent years due to mill closures. In October 2007, she proposed the Quebec Identity Act, which would require immigrants to learn French in order to obtain rights. Her proposal was heavily criticized both within Quebec and beyond. In April 2008, Marois proposed revising Bill 101, the French Language Charter, in order to address a decline in the use of French language in the province. Among her proposals are additional French courses in elementary and secondary schools; a requirement that newcomers to the province learn French; and more power for the Office of the French Language.

Though the PQ Party has long been the main Quebec sovereigntist and social democratic party in Quebec, it performed poorly in the election held March 26, 2007, and was replaced by the Action Démocratique du Québec (ADQ) Party as the official opposition.

During her political career, Marois has served as a Cabinet Minister under René Levesque, Jacques Parizeau, Lucien Bouchard, and Bernard Landry. She has been responsible for portfolios in key areas, including status of women, labour, administration and public service, finance, revenue, and education. She was first elected MNA in 1981; she subsequently lost her seat in 1985, but was re-elected to the provincial legislature in 1989.

In the 1970s, Marois gained experience with several community organizations prior to working as press attachée for then-finance minister Jacques Parizeau. She also served as chief of staff for Lise Payette, minister responsible for the condition of women, and taught for some time at Université du Québec en Outaouais.

Marois was born on March 29, 1949 in Quebec City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Université Laval, and an MBA from HEC Montréal. She is married to Claude Blanchet, and they have four children: Catherine, Félix, François-Christophe and Jean-Sébastien. She currently resides in Île-Bizard, on Montreal’s West Island.

François Gendron

Greg Farries — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:30:36 -0600

Biography currently not available.

2003 Quebec General Election

Jay Makarenko — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0700

On April 14, 2003, Quebec voters elected Jean Charest and the Quebec Liberal Party to a majority government. The Liberal win, the first for the Party since 1989, changed the political landscape of the province, ending nine years of rule by the Parti Québécois. The upstart Action démocratique du Québec, and its leader Mario Dumont, also had a successful election, winning four seats in the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), the province’s provincial legislature. This article summarizes the 2003 Quebec general election, including election history, information on party leaders and platforms, and the final results of the election.

Quebec Electoral Backgrounder

Previous elections and pre-election polls

Political Parties in 2003 Quebec Election

Policies and leaders of the major parties in the election

2003 Quebec Election Results

Liberal Party wins a majority government

Sources and Links for More Information

List of links for more on this topic

Quebec Electoral Backgrounder

Previous election and pre-election party polls

1998 General Election Results

The previous Quebec general election was held in 1998, in which the Parti Québécois won a majority government, with 76 of 125 seats in the provincial legislative assembly. The Liberal Party came in second with 48 seats, forming the Official Opposition. The Action démocratique du Québec, which first emerged in the 1994 general election, won one seat.

(Source: Le Directeur général des elections du Québec)

Provincial By-elections (1998-2003)

Between the general elections of 1998 and 2003, 12 by-elections were held. Of these twelve, the Liberal Party won five, while the Action démocratique du Québec won four. The Parti Québécois only managed to win three of the by-elections during this period.

For more information on Quebec by-election between 1998 and 2003:

Official Website of Le Directeur général des elections du Québec

Pre-election Public Opinion Polls

Following several decisive by-election victories in 2002, the Action démocratique du Québec and its leader Mario Dumont were riding high in the polls. However, several new polls in March 2003 indicated that support for the Action démocratique du Québec had dropped substantially.

In a 2003 survey completed by the Montreal-based CROP polling firm, the Parti Québécois were leading with 35 percent support, the Liberals in second with 31 percent, and the Action démocratique du Québec in third with only 17 percent support. The survey also found 17 percent of voters were undecided.

In another 2003 survey, done by Leger Marketing, the Parti Québécois and Liberals were neck-in-neck at 42 percent each, with the Action démocratique du Québec a distant third at 16 percent. Other findings of the 2003 Leger Marketing survey were as follows:

Linguistic Voting Patterns

	Francophone Voters	Non-francophone Voters
Parti Québecois	49%	08%
Liberal Party	31%	84%
Action démocratique	18%	5%

Trust in Leaders

	Entire Population	Francophones	Non-francophones
Bernard Landry (PQ)	37%	44%	8%
Jean Charest (Liberal)	29%	23%	57%
Mario Dumont (ADQ)	17%	19%	11%
None of the Above	07%	06%	09%

Political Parties in 2003 Quebec Election

Policies and leaders of the major parties in the election

Overview of the Major Political Parties

The three major parties in the 2003 general election are the Parti Québécois, the Quebec Liberal Party, and the Action démocratique du Québec.

The Parti Québécois is committed to Quebec independence, unlike the Quebec Liberal Party. The PQ also envisions a large role for government in economic and social policy, unlike the Action démocratique du Québec. The PQ party was founded in 1968 and first came to power in 1976 under Premier René Lévesque. Over its history, the Parti Québécois has introduced controversial legislation, including prohibiting the use of English on signs and in most commercial transactions, and has twice held provincial referendums on Quebec sovereignty.

The Quebec Liberal Party traditionally supports Canadian federalism, unlike the separatist Parti Québécois. Compared to the Action démocratique du Québec, the Quebec Liberals support a large role for government in the economy. Under the recent leadership of Jean Charest, however, the Party has moved somewhat to the right in terms of economic policy, advocating lower levels of taxation and less government involvement in economic activities. The Quebec Liberal Party has held power during some important events in Quebec history, including Liberal Premier Jean Lesage’s government during the 1960s Quiet Revolution and Liberal Premier Robert Bourassa’s government during the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords.

The Action démocratique du Québec has supported independence in the past; however, during the 2003 election campaign, it supported striking a partnership with Canada. The ADQ strongly opposes a large government role in the economy. The Party was founded in 1994 by Mario Dumont and Jean Allaire following a split with the Quebec Liberal Party. Recently, the ADQ began gaining in the polls and won additional seats in by-elections during 2002.

Leaders of the Major Parties

Bernard Landry is the leader of the Parti Québécois and Premier of Quebec going into the 2003 general election. He was born in March 9, 1937, in Saint-Jacques-de-Montcalm, Quebec. He studied law at the Université de Montréal and economics and finance at the Institut d’études politiques in Paris. He helped found the Parti Québécois in the 1960s and was first elected to Quebec’s National Assembly in 1976. Mr. Landry was appointed deputy premier in 1994 and finance minister in 1996. He became leader of the Parti Québécois and premier of Quebec in 2001. Mr. Landry has three children.

Jean Charest is the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and leader of the Official Opposition in Quebec’s National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) going into the 2003 election. He was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, on June 24, 1958. Mr. Charest earned a law degree at the University of Sherbrooke and was called to the Quebec bar in 1981. He was elected to the federal House of Commons in 1984 as a member of the federal Progressive Conservative Party. Following the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum, Mr. Charest left federal politics. In 1998, he became leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and was elected to the Quebec Assemblée Nationale.

Mario Dumont is leader of the Action démocratique du Québec for the 2003 general election. He was born May 19, 1970, in Cacouna, Quebec. In 1993, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Concordia University in Montreal. He first entered politics in 1986 as a member of the youth commission of the Quebec Liberal party; in 1988, he was elected to its executive body, and later became chairman in 1991. In 1994, following a split with the Liberal Party leadership on the Charlottetown Accord issue, Mr. Dumont quit the Liberals and helped found the Action Démocratique du Québec. He became leader of the ADQ in April 1994 and was elected to the Quebec Assemblée Nationale.

2003 Party Election Platforms

The following provides a comparison between the three major political parties on three key election issues: family, health care, and the economy.

	Parti Québécois	Liberal Party	Action démocratique
Family	- Maintain public daycare - Four-day work week for parents with children aged 12 and under. - Increase the number of allowed family days from three to four weeks.	- Maintain public daycare program with more private centers.	- Expand public daycare program. - Increase the number of allowed family days from two to four weeks.
Health	- Maintain public health care. - Invest hundreds of millions of dollars on community clinics, home care and reducing waiting lists for surgery.	- Maintain public health care with some private services. - Invest $7.5 billion over five years to hire more doctors and nurses and shorten waiting times.	- More private-sector health care clinics. - Shorten emergency rooms waiting times.
Economy	- Economic growth through subsidies to business, increased job training and running a zero-deficit budget.	- Economic growth through fiscal responsibility and moderate tax cuts.	- Economic growth through paying down the debt, large tax cuts, and large cuts to public service.

2003 Quebec Election Results

Liberal Party wins a majority government

The Liberal Party won a majority government, with 76 of 125 seats in Quebec’s National Assembly. As a result, Liberal leader Jean Charest became the new Premier of Quebec. The Liberal win ended nine years of Parti Québécois rule, and was the first time the Party has been elected to government since 1989. The Parti Québécois came in second, winning 45 seats in the legislature, a drop of 31 seats from the 1998 general election. The upstart Action démocratique du Québec beat its 1998 seat totals, winning 4 seats in the legislature (in 1998, the Party only won one seat).

Sources and Links for More Information

Lists of links for more on this topic