Sunday, Aug. 28 marks the official start date of the 2022 Québec election campaign. In a meeting with the province’s lieutenant-governor, Premier François Legault formally requested to dissolve the 42nd session of the Québec National Assembly, ending his government’s four-year term in office and paving the way for voters to elect a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) in each of Québec's 125 electoral divisions.
This move was expected, as the premier had until Aug. 29 to trigger an election. The
2022 Québec general election was already pre-determined to take place on Oct. 3, in
accordance with the province’s law on fixed-date elections adopted in 2013.
This now leaves the leaders of each of the province’s political parties with 36 days to
convince Québec voters to place their trust in them. Any party wishing to form a majority government will need to win a minimum of 63 seats. The election will be conducted using the same first-past-the-post model used in other Canadian provinces and federal elections.
While Sunday, Aug. 28 is technically the official first day of the 2022 Québec general
election campaign, in reality the parties have been in action for some time now, with
policy announcements, pre-campaign advertising, unveiling of slogans, etc. So far,
we’ve seen inflation, healthcare system management and the future of the French
language emerging as key election issues.
The outgoing government is starting off the election campaign in a very comfortable
position, giving François Legault good reason to hope that he will be able to enjoy a
second straight term as premier. A poll conducted this month indicates that the
Coalition avenir Québec currently has the support of at least 40% of voters. If voting intentions remain this strongly in their favour throughout the campaign, they will secure an even greater majority on Election Day, expanding their seat count beyond 76.
Poll after poll has also shown that voting intentions remain pretty evenly split between
the following main opposition parties, each with some regional strongholds: the
federalist and centre-left Quebec Liberal Party, the left-leaning (à la NDP) Québec
solidaire, the right-of-centre Parti conservateur du Québec and the separatist Parti
While the Liberals and the PQ — who have historically enjoyed long periods of power at
different times — are trying to prevent a major erosion of their respective electoral
bases, solidaires and the conservatives are currently trying to broaden theirs. These
parties intend to use the current election campaign to position themselves to voters as a
future alternative to the current mostly centrist government.