1998 Quebec general election

The 1998 Quebec general election was held on November 30, 1998, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Premier Lucien Bouchard, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Charest. To date this is the last election where the Parti Québécois won a majority of seats in the Quebec Assembly, although not the last in which it formed a government.

1998 Quebec general election

← 1994 November 30, 1998 2003 →

125 seats in the 36th Quebec Legislature
63 seats needed for a majority
Turnout78.32% (Decrease3.26%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Bouchardimg229us-signed (cropped).jpg
Jean Charest de face (Novembre 2010).png
MarioDumont.JPG
Leader Lucien Bouchard Jean Charest Mario Dumont
Party Parti Québécois Liberal Action démocratique
Leader since January 27, 1996 April 30, 1998 May 11, 1994
Leader's seat Jonquière Sherbrooke (won seat) Rivière-du-Loup
Last election 77 seats, 44.75% 47 seats, 44.40% 1 seat, 6.46%
Seats won 76 48 1
Seat change Decrease1 Increase1 Steady
Popular vote 1,744,240 1,771,858 480,636
Percentage 42.87% 43.55% 11.81%
Swing Decrease1.88% Decrease0.85% Increase5.35%

Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Click the map for more details.

Premier before election

Lucien Bouchard
Parti Québécois

Premier after election

Lucien Bouchard
Parti Québécois

After the narrow defeat of the PQ's proposal for political independence for Quebec in an economic union with the rest of Canada in the 1995 Quebec referendum, PQ leader Jacques Parizeau resigned. In January 1996, Bouchard left federal politics, where he was leader of the Bloc Québécois in the House of Commons of Canada, to lead the Parti Québécois and become premier.

Jean Charest had also left federal politics, where he had been leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Charest was initially seen as a bad fit for the Quebec Liberal Party, and for provincial politics. He later overcame this perception.

In terms of the number of seats won by each of the two parties, the result was almost identical to the previous 1994 general election. However, this time the Liberals won a slightly larger percentage of the popular vote, but nonetheless far fewer seats.

Mario Dumont, leader of the Action démocratique du Québec, repeated his success in winning his own seat, as he had done in the 1994 general election. However, his party also repeated its failure to elect any other member apart from its leader.

Results

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Elections to the National Assembly of Quebec (1998)[1]
Political party Party leader MNAs Votes
Candidates 1994 1998 ± # ± % ± (pp)
Parti Québécois Lucien Bouchard 124 77 76 1  1,744,240 7,202  42.87% 1.88 
Liberal Jean Charest 125 47 48 1  1,771,858 34,160  43.55% 0.85 
Action démocratique Mario Dumont 125 1 1   480,636 227,915  11.81% 5.36 
Socialist Democracy[a 1] Paul Rose 97 24,097 9,172  0.59% 0.26 
Equality Keith Henderson 24 12,543 1,017  0.31% 0.01 
Independent 39 12,441 53,780  0.31% 1.39 
Bloc Pot Marc-Boris St-Maurice 24 9,944 9,944  0.24% New
Natural Law Allen Faguy 35 5,369 27,837  0.13% 0.72 
Marxist–Leninist 24 2,747 1,576  0.07% 0.04 
Parti innovateur du Québec 20 2,484 623  0.06% 0.01 
Communist 20 2,113 1,051  0.05% 0.02 
Total 657 125 125 4,068,472 100.00%
Rejected ballots 46,991 31,548 
Voter turnout 4,115,163 123,136  78.32 3.26 
Registered electors 5,254,482 361,017 
  1. ^ comparison is with NDP 1994 results
Seats and popular vote by party
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
 Parti Québécois
76 / 125
42.87%
-1.88
 
 Liberal
48 / 125
43.55%
-0.85
 
 Action démocratique
1 / 125
11.81%
5.36 5.36
 
 Independent
0 / 125
0.31%
-1.39
 
 Other
0 / 125
1.46%
-1.24
 

Synopsis of results

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Results by riding - 1998 Quebec general election[1][2]
Riding Winning party Turnout
[a 1]
Votes
Name 1994 Party Votes Share Margin
#
Margin
%
PQ Lib ADQ PDS Eq Ind Oth Total
 
Abitibi-Est PQ PQ 12,302 50.85% 3,309 13.68% 74.27% 12,302 8,993 2,417 144 338 24,194
Abitibi-Ouest PQ PQ 14,733 59.48% 7,400 29.87% 74.39% 14,733 7,333 2,430 274 24,770
Acadie Lib Lib 26,316 75.19% 19,629 56.08% 78.05% 6,687 26,316 1,629 136 233 35,001
Anjou PQ Lib 12,097 44.51% 143 0.53% 82.31% 11,954 12,097 2,825 192 112 27,180
Argenteuil Lib Lib 16,684 42.47% 148 0.38% 78.29% 16,536 16,684 5,058 128 271 610 39,287
Arthabaska PQ PQ 19,469 53.69% 7,272 20.05% 81.06% 19,469 12,197 4,597 36,263
Beauce-Nord Lib Lib 12,137 46.39% 2,011 7.69% 79.98% 10,126 12,137 3,772 127 26,162
Beauce-Sud Lib Lib 15,784 48.77% 3,877 11.98% 76.08% 11,907 15,784 4,235 233 205 32,364
Beauharnois-Huntingdon Lib Lib 15,487 47.27% 2,038 6.22% 81.32% 13,449 15,487 3,461 147 218 32,762
Bellechasse PQ PQ 11,323 47.58% 2,179 9.16% 79.17% 11,323 9,144 3,149 184 23,800
Berthier PQ PQ 20,074 53.58% 8,364 22.33% 79.51% 20,074 11,710 5,113 297 268 37,462
Bertrand Lib PQ 15,666 46.63% 1,743 5.19% 77.38% 15,666 13,923 3,725 125 59 98 33,596
Blainville PQ PQ 17,692 50.99% 7,973 22.98% 82.82% 17,692 9,719 7,102 182 34,695
Bonaventure PQ Lib 10,681 47.23% 160 0.71% 75.63% 10,521 10,681 1,412 22,614
Borduas PQ PQ 16,785 55.42% 7,599 25.09% 83.50% 16,785 9,186 4,041 274 30,286
Bourassa Lib Lib 13,434 53.92% 5,076 20.37% 78.46% 8,358 13,434 2,734 189 199 24,914
Bourget PQ PQ 13,056 47.73% 2,105 7.69% 79.54% 13,056 10,951 2,899 185 265 27,356
Brome-Missisquoi Lib Lib 18,127 57.17% 8,338 26.30% 80.56% 9,789 18,127 3,599 194 31,709
Chambly PQ PQ 22,559 52.51% 7,329 17.06% 84.63% 22,559 15,230 4,550 117 131 378 42,965
Champlain PQ PQ 17,254 47.29% 4,264 11.69% 82.43% 17,254 12,990 5,962 137 146 36,489
Chapleau Lib Lib 24,288 59.22% 11,688 28.50% 71.26% 12,600 24,288 3,617 281 226 41,012
Charlesbourg PQ PQ 15,985 41.00% 33 0.08% 82.19% 15,985 15,952 6,309 273 296 170 38,985
Charlevoix PQ PQ 13,648 56.60% 5,326 22.09% 76.49% 13,648 8,322 1,800 183 158 24,111
Châteauguay Lib Lib 16,655 46.92% 1,364 3.84% 84.18% 15,291 16,655 3,217 114 216 35,493
Chauveau PQ PQ 20,204 43.42% 2,830 6.08% 78.60% 20,204 17,374 8,203 519 235 46,535
Chicoutimi PQ PQ 19,980 57.26% 10,025 28.73% 74.82% 19,980 9,955 4,653 177 127 34,892
Chomedey Lib Lib 28,293 69.87% 19,424 47.97% 79.24% 8,869 28,293 2,768 195 368 40,493
Chutes-de-la-Chaudière PQ PQ 22,577 49.62% 8,781 19.30% 81.96% 22,577 13,796 8,486 358 286 45,503
Crémazie PQ PQ 13,953 45.35% 309 1.00% 81.34% 13,953 13,644 2,579 218 374 30,768
D'Arcy-McGee Lib Lib 29,065 90.61% 27,668 86.26% 76.17% 1,002 29,065 400 135 1,397 77 32,076
Deux-Montagnes PQ PQ 21,831 47.03% 7,453 16.05% 81.08% 21,831 14,378 9,628 141 121 324 46,423
Drummond PQ PQ 20,521 52.35% 7,187 18.33% 79.72% 20,521 13,334 5,007 337 39,199
Dubuc PQ PQ 16,388 59.81% 8,234 30.05% 74.69% 16,388 8,154 2,858 27,400
Duplessis PQ PQ 15,406 59.32% 7,011 27.00% 69.44% 15,406 8,395 2,170 25,971
Fabre PQ PQ 19,859 45.95% 2,352 5.44% 84.18% 19,859 17,507 5,696 156 43,218
Frontenac Lib PQ 12,890 44.53% 903 3.12% 82.12% 12,890 11,987 4,073 28,950
Gaspé PQ PQ 11,047 50.41% 1,252 5.71% 74.62% 11,047 9,795 1,072 21,914
Gatineau Lib Lib 18,481 61.53% 9,222 30.71% 73.42% 9,259 18,481 1,794 202 298 30,034
Gouin PQ PQ 16,097 52.68% 5,824 19.06% 74.40% 16,097 10,273 3,276 624 61 224 30,555
Groulx PQ PQ 17,041 48.51% 4,577 13.03% 80.50% 17,041 12,464 5,263 171 191 35,130
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve PQ PQ 12,922 60.61% 7,478 35.08% 68.01% 12,922 5,444 2,454 292 208 21,320
Hull Lib Lib 18,873 59.30% 8,682 27.28% 70.87% 10,191 18,873 2,126 291 344 31,825
Iberville PQ PQ 17,657 47.03% 4,412 11.75% 81.28% 17,657 13,245 6,412 227 37,541
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Lib PQ 4,732 52.54% 588 6.53% 87.57% 4,732 4,144 130 9,006
Jacques-Cartier Lib Lib 32,924 83.67% 29,609 75.25% 79.62% 3,315 32,924 1,392 217 1,502 39,350
Jeanne-Mance Lib Lib 22,669 77.31% 17,890 61.01% 79.21% 4,779 22,669 1,596 78 139 62 29,323
Jean-Talon Lib Lib 12,817 45.33% 156 0.55% 85.04% 12,661 12,817 2,298 326 171 28,273
Johnson PQ PQ 14,292 48.33% 3,129 10.58% 80.96% 14,292 11,163 3,824 290 29,569
Joliette PQ PQ 19,784 56.15% 10,148 28.80% 80.69% 19,784 9,636 5,310 504 35,234
Jonquière PQ PQ 20,475 60.48% 13,923 41.12% 76.91% 20,475 6,552 1,686 5,023[a 2] 120 33,856
Kamouraska-Témiscouata Lib Lib 11,259 43.49% 110 0.42% 74.72% 11,149 11,259 3,149 334 25,891
Labelle PQ PQ 17,023 58.61% 7,999 27.54% 76.01% 17,023 9,024 2,781 218 29,046
Lac-Saint-Jean PQ PQ 21,498 70.56% 15,706 51.55% 76.78% 21,498 5,792 3,178 30,468
LaFontaine Lib Lib 22,984 57.59% 10,868 27.23% 80.06% 12,116 22,984 4,476 161 176 39,913
La Peltrie PQ PQ 20,996 46.44% 4,862 10.75% 84.37% 20,996 16,134 7,382 492 206 45,210
La Pinière Lib Lib 22,849 60.73% 11,736 31.19% 80.70% 11,113 22,849 3,330 125 130 75 37,622
Laporte Lib Lib 19,587 52.85% 6,360 17.16% 80.28% 13,227 19,587 3,431 317 188 315 37,065
La Prairie PQ PQ 23,580 50.59% 9,144 19.62% 82.78% 23,580 14,436 8,354 242 46,612
L'Assomption PQ PQ 21,071 51.50% 10,745 26.26% 81.79% 21,071 10,326 8,941 214 365 40,917
Laurier-Dorion Lib Lib 19,471 56.70% 8,603 25.05% 76.21% 10,868 19,471 2,561 490 113 836 34,339
Laval-des-Rapides PQ PQ 13,938 45.49% 1,441 4.70% 78.85% 13,938 12,497 3,771 117 320 30,643
Laviolette PQ PQ 14,411 54.13% 5,120 19.23% 79.07% 14,411 9,291 2,758 162 26,622
Lévis PQ PQ 15,473 49.10% 4,390 13.93% 79.92% 15,473 11,083 4,553 196 149 60 31,514
Limoilou PQ Lib 13,929 42.34% 1,298 3.95% 75.22% 12,631 13,929 5,576 345 307 109 32,897
Lotbinière PQ PQ 11,496 47.64% 2,348 9.73% 81.46% 11,496 9,148 3,486 24,130
Louis-Hébert PQ PQ 14,805 46.13% 1,838 5.73% 80.88% 14,805 12,967 3,977 169 178 32,096
Marguerite-Bourgeoys Lib Lib 23,234 68.15% 15,510 45.50% 79.93% 7,724 23,234 2,263 161 417 292 34,091
Marguerite-D'Youville PQ PQ 21,224 54.28% 9,283 23.74% 86.67% 21,224 11,941 5,370 240 327 39,102
Marie-Victorin PQ PQ 15,692 51.68% 5,816 19.16% 75.23% 15,692 9,876 4,054 245 495 30,362
Marquette Lib Lib 16,606 56.45% 6,845 23.27% 77.82% 9,761 16,606 2,615 264 173 29,419
Maskinongé PQ PQ 17,423 48.15% 4,193 11.59% 80.62% 17,423 13,230 5,225 308 36,186
Masson[a] PQ PQ 17,529 64.03% 12,615 46.08% 60.15% 17,529 4,453 4,914 143 42 295 27,376
Matane PQ PQ 11,847 57.63% 4,854 23.61% 72.97% 11,847 6,993 1,544 173 20,557
Matapédia PQ PQ 13,125 57.47% 5,715 25.02% 74.40% 13,125 7,410 1,882 238 184 22,839
Mégantic-Compton Lib Lib 12,675 50.49% 2,336 9.31% 79.89% 10,339 12,675 1,835 174 81 25,104
Mercier PQ PQ 17,552 55.38% 8,547 26.97% 75.28% 17,552 9,005 2,818 873 158 1,285 31,691
Mille-Îles PQ PQ 17,465 43.61% 865 2.16% 84.39% 17,465 16,600 5,440 156 390 40,051
Montmagny-L'Islet Lib Lib 11,047 45.99% 1,805 7.52% 75.32% 9,242 11,047 3,729 24,018
Montmorency PQ PQ 19,946 45.16% 5,128 11.61% 80.73% 19,946 14,818 7,154 267 1,774 204 44,163
Mont-Royal Lib Lib 24,367 80.24% 20,498 67.50% 72.77% 3,869 24,367 1,076 167 575 315 30,369
Nelligan Lib Lib 35,698 75.67% 28,206 59.79% 79.91% 7,492 35,698 2,848 156 840 140 47,174
Nicolet-Yamaska PQ PQ 14,166 50.23% 3,797 13.46% 84.59% 14,166 10,369 3,509 157 28,201
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Lib Lib 22,627 77.62% 18,741 64.29% 73.92% 3,886 22,627 980 256 1,163 239 29,151
Orford Lib Lib 21,164 50.96% 4,916 11.84% 81.32% 16,248 21,164 3,624 352 144 41,532
Outremont Lib Lib 18,050 58.31% 8,172 26.40% 73.79% 9,878 18,050 1,667 545 212 603 30,955
Papineau Lib Lib 16,025 54.78% 4,848 16.57% 74.93% 11,177 16,025 1,604 126 114 209 29,255
Pointe-aux-Trembles PQ PQ 15,946 53.83% 6,836 23.08% 78.79% 15,946 9,110 4,205 205 158 29,624
Pontiac Lib Lib 22,076 75.27% 17,933 61.15% 74.59% 4,143 22,076 963 108 1,757 112 169 29,328
Portneuf PQ PQ 15,572 47.98% 3,273 10.09% 80.70% 15,572 12,299 4,283 298 32,452
Prévost PQ PQ 19,663 53.43% 8,409 22.85% 77.89% 19,663 11,254 5,372 229 280 36,798
Richelieu PQ PQ 17,745 56.31% 9,027 28.65% 80.99% 17,745 8,718 4,543 246 261 31,513
Richmond Lib Lib 14,358 53.06% 4,654 17.20% 81.90% 9,704 14,358 2,998 27,060
Rimouski PQ PQ 16,687 56.36% 7,070 23.88% 75.43% 16,687 9,617 2,710 192 400 29,606
Rivière-du-Loup ADQ ADQ 10,897 46.34% 4,589 19.52% 76.80% 6,308 5,952 10,897 61 98 197 23,513
Robert-Baldwin Lib Lib 31,702 84.08% 28,208 74.81% 78.06% 3,494 31,702 1,173 1,042 295 37,706
Roberval PQ PQ 19,288 59.95% 11,310 35.15% 73.12% 19,288 7,978 4,616 294 32,176
Rosemont PQ PQ 14,116 47.95% 2,668 9.06% 77.36% 14,116 11,448 3,029 263 585 29,441
Rousseau PQ PQ 18,076 55.35% 8,543 26.16% 75.94% 18,076 9,533 4,805 243 32,657
Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue PQ PQ 15,922 49.29% 3,531 10.93% 76.25% 15,922 12,391 3,628 360 32,301
Saguenay PQ PQ 15,419 62.64% 10,418 42.32% 69.47% 15,419 5,001 4,036 159 24,615
Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques PQ PQ 16,530 52.94% 6,808 21.80% 67.51% 16,530 9,722 3,171 629 77 38 1,057 31,224
Saint-François Lib Lib 16,908 51.00% 3,679 11.10% 79.60% 13,229 16,908 2,575 296 148 33,156
Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne Lib Lib 14,240 48.35% 2,307 7.83% 73.75% 11,933 14,240 2,570 205 124 126 251 29,449
Saint-Hyacinthe PQ PQ 18,555 49.60% 5,107 13.65% 81.74% 18,555 13,448 5,112 295 37,410
Saint-Jean PQ PQ 19,562 47.08% 3,770 9.07% 81.23% 19,562 15,792 5,778 420 41,552
Saint-Laurent Lib Lib 28,280 78.03% 22,551 62.22% 76.78% 5,729 28,280 1,468 129 472 165 36,243
Saint-Maurice PQ PQ 13,947 49.52% 3,728 13.24% 80.68% 13,947 10,219 3,998 28,164
Salaberry-Soulanges PQ PQ 21,588 51.82% 6,656 15.98% 82.99% 21,588 14,932 4,884 253 41,657
Sauvé Lib Lib 14,125 58.45% 6,712 27.77% 76.27% 7,413 14,125 2,084 172 372 24,166
Shefford Lib Lib 15,503 37.28% 73 0.18% 80.62% 15,430 15,503 10,220 90 344 41,587
Sherbrooke PQ Lib 15,093 47.41% 907 2.85% 79.74% 14,186 15,093 2,171 169 219 31,838
Taillon PQ PQ 21,154 53.02% 8,782 22.01% 77.95% 21,154 12,372 5,877 345 147 39,895
Taschereau PQ PQ 11,327 47.00% 2,534 10.51% 73.84% 11,327 8,793 3,033 521 428 24,102
Terrebonne PQ PQ 21,252 59.47% 13,057 36.54% 81.03% 21,252 8,195 6,077 210 35,734
Trois-Rivières PQ PQ 13,495 46.31% 1,523 5.23% 78.91% 13,495 11,972 3,477 82 113 29,139
Ungava PQ PQ 6,482 48.22% 965 7.18% 61.93% 6,482 5,517 1,443 13,442
Vachon PQ PQ 16,993 49.75% 5,238 15.33% 81.85% 16,993 11,755 5,147 161 103 34,159
Vanier PQ PQ 16,885 43.58% 2,477 6.39% 77.80% 16,885 14,408 7,022 429 38,744
Vaudreuil Lib Lib 22,934 51.92% 6,711 15.19% 81.79% 16,223 22,934 4,420 218 377 44,172
Verchères PQ PQ 19,055 60.64% 11,768 37.45% 83.22% 19,055 7,287 4,747 335 31,424
Verdun Lib Lib 17,441 52.76% 5,771 17.46% 75.70% 11,670 17,441 3,105 151 171 66 456 33,060
Viau[b] Lib Lib 18,774 70.08% 13,560 50.62% 73.54% 18,774 5,214 426 174 2,201 26,789
Viger Lib Lib 18,715 64.80% 11,219 38.84% 80.30% 7,496 18,715 2,369 168 135 28,883
Vimont PQ PQ 20,938 45.39% 1,853 4.02% 84.69% 20,938 19,085 5,604 215 292 46,134
Westmount-Saint-Louis Lib Lib 26,244 79.17% 21,635 65.26% 66.26% 4,609 26,244 1,150 224 648 275 33,150
  1. ^ including spoilt ballots
  2. ^ Michel Chartrand, candidate of the unregistered Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste
  = open seat
  = turnout is above provincial average
  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
  = incumbent had switched allegiance
  = previously incumbent in another riding
  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
  = incumbency arose from byelection gain
  = other incumbents renominated
  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada
  = multiple candidates

Analysis

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Seating arrangement in the 36th National Assembly
Party candidates in 2nd place[1]
Party in 1st place Party in 2nd place Total
PQ Lib ADQ Eq
Parti Québécois 75 1 76
Liberal 46 1 1 48
Action démocratique 1 1
Total 47 75 2 1 125
Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party[1]
Parties 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
 Parti Québécois 76 47 1
 Liberal 48 75 2
 Action démocratique 1 2 117 5
 Equality 1 3 12 1
 Bloc Pot 1 17 6
 Independent 1 9 14
 Socialist Democracy 56 33
 Natural Law 7 14
 Parti innovateur du Québec 2 7
 Marxist–Leninist 2 5
 Communist 2 3
Resulting composition of the 36th Quebec Legislative Assembly[2]
Source Party
PQ Lib ADQ Total
Seats retained Incumbents returned 61 37 1 99
Open seats held 11 7 18
Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance 1 1
Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated 2 4 6
Open seats gained 1 1
Total 76 48 1 125


See also

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Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ Election postponed to December 14 upon the death of PQ candidate Yves Blais.[3] Gilles Labbé was nominated to take his place, and subsequently won.[4]
  2. ^ Aurèle Bourassa (PQ) withdrew from the contest,and then changed his mind. His bid to be reinstated on the ballot was refused.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1998". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.
  2. ^ a b "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Authier, Philip (November 24, 1998). "Long-serving MNA fought to the end". Montreal Gazette. p. 1.
  4. ^ Bordonado, Gilles (December 16, 1998). "Le péquiste Gilles Labbé l'emporte avec une majorité écrasante" [The péquiste Gilles Labbé takes it with a crushing majority]. La Revue de Terrebonne (in French). p. A3.
  5. ^ Gamble, David (November 18, 1998). "Péquiste who quit can't rejoin race". Montreal Gazette. p. 11.