An Historic Change For Quebec!

The Quebec provincial election results are not yet all in but it is already certain that a major change has just occurred; one that is clearly historic, a term I do not use lightly. As I write this, the popular vote is split almost evenly between the Liberals, the ADQ, and the PQ (Separatists). The seat distribution at this moment is as follows:

• 46 - Liberals
• 42 - ADQ
• 37 - PQ

A minority government is now a certainty and happens to be the first one in 129 years!

This is perhaps the perfect outcome for the future of the province because:

• The Liberals, with only a minority government, will now require the ADQ's support on every single vote.
• Many of the ADQ politicians are fairly green (new) so it's probably better that they didn't gain power right off the bat lest they mess things up and never get elected again.
• The PQ coming in third is a stinging indictment of the separatists. They'll deny it, of course, blame their leader and send him packing. But if, in the coming years, the Liberals and ADQ do a decent job running the province then more voters will feel more comfortable leaving their PQ roots and placing their vote elsewhere. Only then will this ridiculous notion of separation finally be put to rest.

Regardless of anything else, Mario Dumont and his ADQ team are the big winners tonight. So is Quebec and so is Canada. The little girl with the flag doesn't realize it but she now has a better chance at a much more prosperous future!

Addendum: It looks like Liberal leader, Jean Charest, may be losing his own seat. While not as important as the overall election results, this may spell the end of his political career, at least at the provincial level. He never really seemed happy as a provincial politician anyhow so perhaps he'd be secretly relieved that he could return to the federal scene.