Quebec premier sets election date of March 26
Feb 21, 2007 13:05:18 GMT -5
Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 21, 2007 13:05:18 GMT -5
How do you guys, in the province of Quebec, see this election unfolding?
CTV.ca News Staff
Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced on Wednesday that a provincial election will be held on March 26.
"This election will place Quebecers in a position of having to choose. The choice is between progress and moving backwards; between unity or division; the choice is between accountability, responsibility or irresponsibility; a choice between competence or simplicity," Charest said in Quebec City as he announced the election date.
"The Parti Quebecois wants to go back to division with another referendum as quickly as possible. That is irresponsible," he said.
Charest, whose Liberals were elected in April 2003, will be hoping the recent trend in Quebec of parties winning two consecutive votes will hold.
"Quebec has become a force for change in Canada,'' Charest said.
"Today I am asking Quebecers for a strong mandate so the Liberal team can continue its work.''
The Liberal party has seen a rebound in its popular support in polls, making it competitive with the PQ and even edging it ahead of the sovereigntist party in some surveys.
The campaign pits Charest against Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair, who is promising to hold another sovereignty referendum if his party wins.
Boisclair, who has been leading the PQ since November 2005, has been plagued by criticism he is not ready to take the helm of the province.
The Liberal platform calls for income-tax cuts, improved health care and controls on government spending, while the PQ is expected to unveil its platform within days.
The Action democratique du Quebec, which has five members in the 125-seat legislature, is also hoping to make a breakthrough in the coming election.
A surge in the polls for Charest may be playing a role into the election timing, believes Antonia Maioni, director of McGill's Institute for the Study of Canada.
"Just a year ago ... he was doing very poorly in the polls. In fact, he was considered to be Quebec's most unpopular premier ever. His government was suffering from a lot of missteps and Quebecers didn't seem at all confident in Jean Charest," Maioni told CTV's Canada AM.
The election is one week after the federal budget is unveiled, a date that is no small coincidence, Maioni believes.
"The government of Stephen Harper is a crucial element in the timing of this election and in particular the budget," she added.
"What Jean Charest wants to show Quebecers is that he can cut a deal with Ottawa, he can represent Quebec's interests vis-a-vis his federal counterparts and if he can do that by showing Quebecers that in the federal budget, there will be money to get over this fiscal imbalance that Quebecers talk a lot about, then that is going to play right into Charest's election strategy.
Charest, one of the first premiers to visit Harper after the prime minister took power, has been successful in securing funding from Ottawa and winning concessions such as giving Quebec a voice in international matters such as at UNESCO.
The election was called one day after Quebec Finance Minister Michel Audet delivered a disciplined budget with modest tax cuts.
On Tuesday, Audet tabled a balanced 2007-2008 budget with $60.8 billion in overall spending.
"The state of public finances has been a constant challenge during our mandate,'' Audet said in his budget speech. "Thanks to our discipline, we have maintained a balanced budget.''
He also took campaign-style shots at previous Parti Quebecois governments that Liberals blame for a fiscal mess they've been cleaning up since they were elected in 2003.
Observers said the budget was light on pre-election goodies, instead offering meagre tax cuts and predictable increases in health and education spending.
The Liberals followed through with a more recent promise of a $250-million cut in personal taxes to take effect in January 2008. A single-income family with two children earning $40,000 a year will save $85 a year. A two-income family earning $65,000 a year will save $130.
But their budget still fell short of their April 2003 campaign promise to reduce Quebecers' tax burden to the Canadian average. The Liberal government promised $1 billion in cuts a year over the course of their first mandate.
Charest has said the Liberals are halfway there and has promised to complete that goal in a second mandate.
With files from The Canadian Press
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070221/quebec_election_070221/20070221?hub=TopStories
CTV.ca News Staff
Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced on Wednesday that a provincial election will be held on March 26.
"This election will place Quebecers in a position of having to choose. The choice is between progress and moving backwards; between unity or division; the choice is between accountability, responsibility or irresponsibility; a choice between competence or simplicity," Charest said in Quebec City as he announced the election date.
"The Parti Quebecois wants to go back to division with another referendum as quickly as possible. That is irresponsible," he said.
Charest, whose Liberals were elected in April 2003, will be hoping the recent trend in Quebec of parties winning two consecutive votes will hold.
"Quebec has become a force for change in Canada,'' Charest said.
"Today I am asking Quebecers for a strong mandate so the Liberal team can continue its work.''
The Liberal party has seen a rebound in its popular support in polls, making it competitive with the PQ and even edging it ahead of the sovereigntist party in some surveys.
The campaign pits Charest against Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair, who is promising to hold another sovereignty referendum if his party wins.
Boisclair, who has been leading the PQ since November 2005, has been plagued by criticism he is not ready to take the helm of the province.
The Liberal platform calls for income-tax cuts, improved health care and controls on government spending, while the PQ is expected to unveil its platform within days.
The Action democratique du Quebec, which has five members in the 125-seat legislature, is also hoping to make a breakthrough in the coming election.
A surge in the polls for Charest may be playing a role into the election timing, believes Antonia Maioni, director of McGill's Institute for the Study of Canada.
"Just a year ago ... he was doing very poorly in the polls. In fact, he was considered to be Quebec's most unpopular premier ever. His government was suffering from a lot of missteps and Quebecers didn't seem at all confident in Jean Charest," Maioni told CTV's Canada AM.
The election is one week after the federal budget is unveiled, a date that is no small coincidence, Maioni believes.
"The government of Stephen Harper is a crucial element in the timing of this election and in particular the budget," she added.
"What Jean Charest wants to show Quebecers is that he can cut a deal with Ottawa, he can represent Quebec's interests vis-a-vis his federal counterparts and if he can do that by showing Quebecers that in the federal budget, there will be money to get over this fiscal imbalance that Quebecers talk a lot about, then that is going to play right into Charest's election strategy.
Charest, one of the first premiers to visit Harper after the prime minister took power, has been successful in securing funding from Ottawa and winning concessions such as giving Quebec a voice in international matters such as at UNESCO.
The election was called one day after Quebec Finance Minister Michel Audet delivered a disciplined budget with modest tax cuts.
On Tuesday, Audet tabled a balanced 2007-2008 budget with $60.8 billion in overall spending.
"The state of public finances has been a constant challenge during our mandate,'' Audet said in his budget speech. "Thanks to our discipline, we have maintained a balanced budget.''
He also took campaign-style shots at previous Parti Quebecois governments that Liberals blame for a fiscal mess they've been cleaning up since they were elected in 2003.
Observers said the budget was light on pre-election goodies, instead offering meagre tax cuts and predictable increases in health and education spending.
The Liberals followed through with a more recent promise of a $250-million cut in personal taxes to take effect in January 2008. A single-income family with two children earning $40,000 a year will save $85 a year. A two-income family earning $65,000 a year will save $130.
But their budget still fell short of their April 2003 campaign promise to reduce Quebecers' tax burden to the Canadian average. The Liberal government promised $1 billion in cuts a year over the course of their first mandate.
Charest has said the Liberals are halfway there and has promised to complete that goal in a second mandate.
With files from The Canadian Press
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070221/quebec_election_070221/20070221?hub=TopStories
