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François Legault's CAQ win a convincing majority in Quebec

This puts an end to the almost uninterrupted reign of the Liberal Party since 2003.

François Legault will be Quebec's next premier. Legault and the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) won more than 70 seats in Monday's election, far more than the 63 required for a majority in the National Assembly. For the CAQ, this is a gain of about 50 seats compared to the 2014 election and the opportunity to form the government for the first time since the founding of the party in 2011. Legault puts an end to the almost uninterrupted reign of the Liberal Party of Quebec since 2003. For the Liberals, the Monday result is one of the worst in its history. The last time the party secured fewer than 40 seats, was in 1976, the year René Lévesque's rose to power. Meanwhile, the Parti Québécois was dealt a shocking blow. Support for the PQ has collapsed: the party won less than one in five votes and its caucus of less than 12 representatives means it will be stripped of the status of a parliamentary group in the National Assembly. Apart from the CAQ, Québec Solidaire, the democratic socialist and sovereigntist party, is Monday's other big winner. Not only did Catherine Dorion become the first Solidaire MP elected outside the island of Montreal, the party’s caucus has more than doubled in size.

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Legault garnered attention during the campaign for his promise on immigration, which included reducing the number of immigrants admitted by 20 percent, and imposing a "values test" within three years of a newcomer's arrival. The party also vowed to reduce emergency wait times by 90 minutes and promised that every Quebecer would have a doctor in four years.

Cover image of Coalition Avenir du Quebec leader and premier-elect Francois Legault celebrating with supporters after winning the Quebec Provincial election in Quebec City on Monday, October 1, 2018. Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press