1973 and 2022 elections | Two very different electoral tidal waves

(Quebec) A number of seats that does not at all reflect the popular vote. A government re-elected by taking control of almost all the constituencies. Is this the portrait of last Monday’s elections? This is also the observation the day after Robert Bourassa’s victory in October 1973.

The Liberals had won 102 of the 110 ridings in Quebec at the time. René Lévesque’s Parti Québécois (PQ) won only 6 seats, one less than in the previous election, in 1970. Camille Laurin suffered defeat in Bourget. However, 30% of voters had voted PQ, 6 percentage points more than in the previous ballot. The Creditistes of Yvon Dupuis will have 2 elected, with 10% of the votes. Unite-Quebec, led by Gabriel Loubier, will have 5% of the votes, but will not elect anyone. However, at the time, no one was talking about a necessary reform of the voting system.

“Our election night was very hard,” recalls Martine Tremblay, then permanent Parti Québécois. The sovereignist party had been trained earlier than expected in the electoral campaign. The game was “playable” in a three-way race, if the candidates of Unite-Quebec (the new name of the National Union) made a good figure, and divided the federalist vote. However, the party of Gabriel Loubier collapsed. “In a two-man fight, the result was predictable,” observes M^me Tremblay.

René Lévesque was beaten again in his riding of Laurier. “This was followed by a long period of reflection, his leadership was questioned,” she continues. An adversary who fails, Bernard Landry was going to play in this same film in 2003. The collapse of the ADQ of Mario Dumont had condemned the PQ to an unequal duel against Jean Charest.

Lévesque’s ascendancy over the troops had eroded after the 1973 election. Re-elected in Saint-Jacques, “Claude Charron had made a declaration (he called the founding father of the PQ ‘old’). Me too… At each election, we wondered if he would remain leader or not. In 1976, I think Mr. Bourassa wanted to take advantage of the fact that Mr. Lévesque’s leadership was contested,” recalls Lucien Lessard, who had been re-elected in Saguenay.

official opposition

Losing a seat when you have so few is sorely felt. “We were disappointed, we felt we had done a good job since 1970. But beyond the number of seats, something important happened in 1973: the PQ became the official opposition! observes Louis Bernard, who at that time had become chief of staff to Jacques-Yvan Morin, leader of the parliamentary wing of the PQ. “In our regime, that changes everything. Basically, a Parliament works one against one, the government and the opposition,” continued Mr. Bernard. Three years later, the PQ will be brought to power, the members were mobilized, “and with our 30%, we felt that we had the wind at our backs,” he adds.

Lucien Lessard found a reason to rejoice. “As the only PQ representative in the region, I was a bit isolated. However, Marc-André Bédard from Chicoutimi arrived in this election, ”he recalled this week. Despite its 102 deputies, “what followed was not rosy for Bourassa”. Between 1973 and 1976, doubts were raised about the integrity of the government, one wondered about the proximity with the in-laws of the prime minister, the Simards of Sorel. Bill 22 drives a wedge with the English-speaking community.

In the era of Watergate, the media were very critical of elected officials, they played the role of the opposition, remembers Raymond Saint-Pierre, then a reporter for CKAC. “And Mr. Bourassa was well aware of that. »

Quebec Pressthen daily The day will be very tough on the Liberal government. Even the Maclean will offer an editorial cover page, presenting Robert Bourassa with a hot dog served on a platter — Pierre Trudeau will use it publicly to ridicule him.

This is what awaits François Legault. “The opposition, for François Legault, will come more from the media, with uncontrollable social networks. It will be a difficult mandate for the CAQ,” predicts Liberal veteran Pierre Bibeau.

But polling expert Claire Durand notes an often forgotten fact. In 1976, 18-34 year olds accounted for 47% of the population, and they were overwhelmingly sovereignists. Beyond slogans, scandals and reforms, demography brought the PQ to power in 1976. Today, this age stratum only represents 25% of the population.

Premature election

Robert Bourassa had tried to take his opponents by surprise by calling the election after only three years in power in 1973. For his perpetual adviser, Jean-Claude Rivest, the decision was based on other considerations. The polls all predicted a Liberal victory, “Mr. Bourassa was on solid ground. »

“The introduction of health insurance had been a success. This reform was very popular, the promise of 100,000 jobs was fulfilled, too. Baie-James was on its way and was creating a lot of jobs in the region,” recalls Mr. Rivest.

Also, observed Mr. Bourassa in the river interviews granted to Raymond Saint-Pierre after 1976, “the linguistic problem became more and more acute”. It was wiser to launch the call to the polls before a question “which arouses too many passions” takes up all the space, relates the former Prime Minister in The Bourassa years, the transcript of interviews given to the young CKAC reporter. In his confidences, Bourassa noted that collecting so many deputies, 102 in 1973, involved risks, the dissatisfaction of disappointed deputies was inevitable. “My sympathies,” said Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister, after his victory with 102 MPs.

The hard line

This week, Raymond Saint-Pierre also remembered the importance that Mr. Bourassa placed on taking a hard line with the central unions. Already, the population considered too soft a prime minister who had not stood up to the federal Liberals and Pierre Trudeau. “My tactic had been to start the campaign by highlighting the rather firm gestures that I had made towards union leaders,” confided the former prime minister to Raymond Saint-Pierre.

“After October 1970, he wanted to present an image of firmness,” observes Mr. Saint-Pierre. It was a question of cutting the grass under the foot with the creditists, with the current of right “then in strong rise”.

“The social climate was decisive, it was after October 1970, there was the FRAP in Montreal, the voters feared a return to violence,” recalls Pierre Bibeau, already a Liberal organizer at the time.

Mr. Bourassa will probably remember this situation during the 1989 election campaign. In front of the nurses who had triggered a painful walkout, the Liberal leader had knocked on the table. “Who leads in Quebec? “, a formula that will bring him to a very comfortable majority over Jacques Parizeau.

Did the very surprising outings of François Legault, and even Jean Boulet, on immigration also aim to channel this right-wing vote?