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1973 Quebec general election

Canadian provincial election


Canadian provincial election

FieldValue
election_name1973 Quebec general election
countryQuebec
typeparliamentary
ongoingno
party_colourno
party_nameno
previous_election1970 Quebec general election
previous_year1970
previous_mps29th National Assembly of Quebec
next_election1976 Quebec general election
next_year1976
elected_mps30th National Assembly of Quebec
seats_for_election110 seats in the [30th National Assembly of Quebec](30th-national-assembly-of-quebec)
56 seats were needed for a majority
turnout80.39% (3.84%)
election_dateOctober 29, 1973
image1[[File:Robert-Bourassa (3x4).jpgx175px]]
colour1
leader1Robert Bourassa
leader_since1January 17, 1970
party1
leaders_seat1Mercier
last_election172 seats, 45.40%
seats1**102**
seat_change130
popular_vote1**1,623,734**
percentage1**54.65%**
swing19.25%
image2[[File:René Lévesque 1980 (3x4).jpgx175px]]
colour2
leader2René Lévesque
leader_since2October 14, 1968
party2
leaders_seat2*Lost election in Dorion*
last_election27 seats, 23.06%
seats26
seat_change21
popular_vote2897,809
percentage230.22%
swing27.16%
image4**PC**
colour4
leader4Yvon Dupuis
leader_since4February 4, 1973
party4
leaders_seat4*Lost election in Saint-Jean*
last_election412 seats, 11.19%
seats42
seat_change410
popular_vote4294,706
percentage49.92%
swing41.27%
image5[[File:Gabriel Loubier.jpg175x175px]]
colour5
leader5Gabriel Loubier
leader_since5June 19, 1971
party5
leaders_seat5Bellechasse *(lost re-election)*
last_election517 seats, 19.65%
seats50
seat_change517
popular_vote5146,209
percentage54.92%
swing514.73%
map_image1973 Quebec general election.svg
map_captionPopular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Click the map for more details.
titlePremier
before_electionRobert Bourassa
before_party
after_electionRobert Bourassa
posttitlePremier after election
after_party

56 seats were needed for a majority The 1973 Quebec general election was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, and the Union Nationale (UN).

The Liberals won the largest majority government in the province's history, with 102 seats. In the process, they reduced the opposition to just eight seats (six PQ, two créditistes) in total. The Parti Québécois held its own, losing only one seat, and despite having fewer seats, became the official Opposition, although PQ leader René Lévesque failed to win a seat in the Assembly.

The Union Nationale, which had held power until the previous 1970 general election, was wiped off the electoral map, losing all 17 of its seats. It would be the first time since the UN's founding in 1935 that the party was without representation in the legislature. However, UN candidate Maurice Bellemare later won a seat in a 1974 by-election.

The popular vote was not as lopsided as the seat count would indicate, even though the Liberals won 54 percent of the popular vote. The Parti Québécois, for instance, won 30% of the popular vote, a significant improvement over their previous showing of 23% in the 1970 election. However, their support was spread out across the entire province, and was not concentrated in enough areas to translate into more seats. Quebec elections have historically produced significant disparities in seat counts.

Legislative reforms (1970{{en dash}}1973)

Abolition of protected ridings

Upon Confederation in 1867, section 80 of the British North America Act, 1867 provided for the following ridings in the Legislative Assembly to be protected from having their boundaries altered without the consent of the majority of the members representing them:

  • Argenteuil
  • Brome
  • Compton
  • Huntingdon
  • Mégantic
  • Missisquoi
  • Ottawa
    • Labelle was carved out in 1912
      • Papineau was carved out from Labelle in 1922
    • Ottawa was divided into Hull and Papineau in 1919
  • Pontiac
    • Témiscaming was carved out in 1912
      • Abitibi was carved out from Témiscamingue in 1922
  • Richmond and Wolfe (divided into Richmond and Wolfe in 1890)
  • Shefford
  • Sherbrooke
  • Stanstead

Consent by a majority of the members of the 18 districts concerned was finally secured in December 1970, and the constitutional restrictions were accordingly revoked. Work would then proceed on a comprehensive redistribution for the next ensuing election.

Redistribution of ridings

A 1972 Act increased the number of MNAs from 108 to 110 through the following changes:

Abolished ridingsNew ridings*Drawn from parts of other ridings**Abolition of ridings**Reorganization of ridings**Merger of ridings**Division of ridings**Renaming of ridings*

Campaign

The Liberals, Unionists and péquistes all fielded full slates, while the créditistes failed to nominate a candidate only in Saint-Laurent (because a traffic accident prevented that candidate from presenting his nomination papers before the deadline), so virtually all constituencies experienced at least four-way contests:

CandidatesTotal
align="center"**Lib**align="center"**PQ**
31
476
529
62
71
81
Total110

Results

|- ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=4 | MNAs ! colspan=4 | Votes |- ! Candidates 1970 !1973 !± !# ! ± !% ! ± (pp) | 110 || 72 || 102 || 30 || 1,623,734 || 319,393 || 54.65% || 9.25 | 110 || 7 || 6 || 1 || 897,809 || 235,405 || 30.22% || 7.16 1973 results compared to 1970 Ralliement créditiste total | 109 || 12 || 2 || 10 || 294,706 || 26,664 || 9.92% || 1.27 | 110 || 17 || – || 17 || 146,209 || 418,335 || 4.92% || 14.73 | || 22 || – || – || – || 6,961 || 5,567 || 0.23% || 0.21 | || 15 || – || – || – || 1,395 || 1,395 || 0.05% ||New | 3 || – || – || – || 164 || 49 || 0.01% || – |- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | Total |479||108 ! " colspan="2"|110 ! " colspan="2"|2,970,978 ! " colspan="2"| 100.00% |- | 54,760

2,269
3,025,738
95,739
80.38
3.85
-
3,764,611
286,033
}

Vote and seat summaries

|File:Ternary QC1970.svg |1970 |File:Ternary QC1973.svg |1973

PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
{{bartable9.25
{{bartable7.16
{{bartable-1.27
{{bartable-14.73
{{bartable-0.21
{{bartable-0.20

Synopsis of results

RidingWinning partyTurnout
including spoilt ballotsVotesName**[1970](1970-quebec-general-election)**PartyVotesShareMargin
#Margin
%LibPQCrUNIndMLCommTotal
Abitibi-EstRCLib12,69650.75%6,65726.61%65.38%12,6965,7266,03934321225,016
Abitibi-OuestRCLib9,96348.28%2,71213.14%74.96%9,9632,8047,25151310620,637
Anjou*New*Lib15,03748.59%8282.68%83.41%15,03714,2091,27842530,949
ArgenteuilLibLib14,02257.96%8,81136.42%80.41%14,0223,7305,21176646524,194
ArthabaskaLibLib16,27555.30%9,45832.14%87.34%16,2754,9946,8171,34229,428
Beauce-Nord*New*Lib13,81456.14%9,46938.48%81.86%13,8144,3454,2932,15324,605
Beauce-Sud*New*Cr10,48146.29%7,68833.96%80.39%9,5861,89810,48167622,641
BeauharnoisLibLib15,81751.56%3,68512.01%87.77%15,81712,1321,7271,00230,678
BellechasseUNLib9,20644.30%1,0445.02%77.99%9,2062,0541,3578,16220,779
BerthierUNLib11,42851.48%6,57029.60%82.22%11,4284,8582,9882,92322,197
BonaventureLibLib12,93669.64%9,48251.04%78.61%12,9363,4548211,36518,576
BourassaLibLib15,82253.81%3,88913.23%81.44%15,82211,9331,19545329,403
BourgetPQLib13,91646.94%3001.01%83.63%13,91613,6161,6463759129,644
Brome-Missisquoi*New*Lib12,99962.02%9,68746.22%78.27%12,9992,8603,3121,58720220,960
ChamblyLibLib19,00556.55%6,74520.07%86.44%19,00512,2601,62971433,608
ChamplainLibLib14,69854.91%8,82132.96%82.79%14,6985,8774,5751,61626,766
Charlesbourg*New*Lib19,77057.79%8,17223.89%85.16%19,77011,5981,96487634,208
CharlevoixLibLib13,68263.91%9,98246.63%82.37%13,6823,7003,26576021,407
ChâteauguayLibLib17,15260.43%8,09528.52%80.13%17,1529,0571,43274328,384
ChauveauLibLib18,51055.22%8,55525.52%83.07%18,5109,9553,7261,32833,519
ChicoutimiUNPQ12,35942.14%1,0313.52%83.86%11,32812,3591,3704,26829,325
Crémazie*New*Lib15,99350.18%1,3964.38%86.07%15,99314,5977834505031,873
D'Arcy-McGeeLibLib26,95893.77%25,73789.52%77.59%26,9581,22141815228,749
Deux-MontagnesLibLib15,73259.18%7,97930.02%83.17%15,7327,7532,29080826,583
DorionLibLib13,64947.68%2931.02%79.27%13,64913,35698252211628,625
DrummondLibLib14,78146.84%6,79821.54%86.11%14,7817,4577,9831,33331,554
DubucUNLib11,04250.43%4,18619.12%81.90%11,0426,8561,8582,13921,895
DuplessisLibLib13,40452.94%2,4819.80%66.99%13,40410,9235044167025,317
FabreLibLib20,81052.06%3,7539.39%85.61%20,81017,0571,55854539,970
Frontenaccovers a virtually different area from the previous incarnation of Frontenac*New*Lib10,52739.75%4,27416.14%85.41%10,5276,2533,8825,82026,482
Gaspé*New*Lib13,00462.25%6,94933.26%75.67%13,0046,0556901,14120,890
GatineauLibLib15,02570.15%11,63854.33%69.95%15,0253,3872,18482321,419
GouinPQLib12,50648.07%6362.44%78.21%12,50611,8701,07856026,014
HullLibLib15,32557.08%7,10726.47%68.99%15,3258,2182,40258731626,848
HuntingdonLibLib11,32858.54%8,12641.99%79.76%11,3282,8531,9693,20219,352
IbervilleUNLib10,68837.39%2,4298.50%84.13%10,6885,3738,2594,13213428,586
Îles-de-la-MadeleineLibLib3,83960.87%1,78028.22%82.62%3,8392,0592321776,307
Jacques-CartierLibLib19,55169.25%12,65744.83%78.51%19,5516,8941,08270528,232
Jean-TalonLibLib18,70864.89%10,19635.37%84.50%18,7088,51267793328,830
Jeanne-ManceLibLib22,30855.10%5,83514.41%83.17%22,30816,4731,07463240,487
Johnsonformerly BagotUNLib10,54348.20%3,94018.01%82.05%10,5433,5976,6031,13021,873
Joliette-Montcalm*New*Lib18,01055.61%6,01018.56%84.70%18,01012,0001,71266632,388
JonquièreLibLib16,98553.71%4,13513.08%84.30%16,98512,85089289731,624
Kamouraska-Témiscouata*New*Lib10,61751.97%5,26625.77%72.81%10,6173,2825,3511,18120,431
L'Acadie*New*Lib20,35466.39%11,29636.85%83.59%20,3549,0586704888630,656
L'AssomptionLibLib16,80648.58%1,6834.86%85.40%16,80615,1232,09457234,595
Lac-Saint-JeanLibLib12,55450.70%3,33713.48%85.23%12,5549,2171,5451,3786824,762
LaFontainePQPQ14,86650.18%2,3087.79%83.27%12,55814,8661,72547629,625
Laporte*New*Lib17,42747.14%3721.01%81.76%17,42717,0551,84664136,969
La Prairieformerly Napierville-LaprairieLibLib23,72363.13%12,29432.72%83.66%23,72311,4291,75766737,576
Laurentides-Labelleformerly LabelleUNLib10,00041.73%2,3889.97%80.70%10,0007,6123,4862,86423,962
LaurierLibLib17,88964.81%9,51934.49%78.87%17,8898,37083650727,602
LavalLibLib21,67664.56%11,67334.77%83.33%21,67610,0031,38651133,576
LavioletteLibLib11,80046.28%4,76518.69%82.88%11,8007,0354,5842,07625,495
LévisRCLib16,53454.73%7,45024.66%85.61%16,5349,0843,1771,41630,211
LimoilouLibLib16,14053.86%5,74919.19%81.32%16,14010,3911,9441,4286129,964
LotbinièreRCLib9,90748.11%3,74418.18%81.41%9,9072,3186,1632,20420,592
Louis-HébertLibLib17,58349.01%7772.17%84.91%17,58316,8067357025035,876
MaisonneuvePQPQ12,19850.97%2,2769.51%75.34%9,92212,1981,2154131473823,933
Marguerite-BourgeoysLibLib23,84866.50%13,70038.20%80.40%23,84810,1481,13748824235,863
MaskinongéUNLib10,61048.81%5,27624.27%83.82%10,6103,5942,1985,33421,736
MataneLibLib10,10249.58%2,65013.01%76.99%10,1027,4522,12669420,374
MatapédiaLibLib7,56442.81%2,45913.92%76.02%7,5645,1053,0921,90617,667
Mégantic-Compton*New*Lib9,81547.96%4,43021.65%79.01%9,8152,8195,3852,44520,464
MercierLibLib13,75752.87%2,88011.07%75.07%13,75710,87780941171702326,018
Mille-Îles*New*Lib19,80949.52%2,1885.47%86.61%19,80917,6211,95461640,000
Mont-Royal*New*Lib23,78083.21%19,81369.33%78.45%23,7803,96745737328,577
Montmagny-L'Islet*New*Lib11,37551.88%5,58825.48%76.03%11,3752,5382,2275,78721,927
MontmorencyLibLib15,24851.89%5,97320.33%84.52%15,2489,2753,86399929,385
Nicolet-Yamaska*New*Lib11,12649.07%4,78921.12%84.17%11,1263,2331,9786,33722,674
Notre-Dame-de-GrâceLibLib23,26381.64%19,61368.83%77.70%23,2633,6501,15642428,493
Orfordformerly StansteadLibLib13,92463.08%10,12745.88%81.23%13,9243,7973,57477722,072
OutremontLibLib17,26262.84%8,14529.65%77.42%17,2629,11749942116927,468
PapineauLibLib16,61061.22%10,25437.79%72.49%16,6106,3563,48268327,131
Pointe-Claire*New*Lib26,87187.90%24,31679.54%78.40%26,8712,55585928530,570
Pontiac-Témiscamingue*New*Lib10,26961.39%6,57639.31%69.84%10,2691,3923,6931,37316,727
PortneufRCLib12,63853.14%6,55527.56%85.43%12,6384,0676,08399323,781
Prévost*New*Lib15,80548.48%3,93812.08%80.64%15,80511,8673,7261,0221057332,598
RichelieuLibLib15,19855.21%5,73420.83%87.23%15,1989,4642,01784827,527
RichmondRCLib7,56940.70%3551.91%82.28%7,5693,1307,21468618,599
RimouskiLibLib13,26850.92%4,51817.34%82.19%13,2688,7503,30773026,055
Rivière-du-LoupLibLib10,82750.41%6,07928.30%79.21%10,8273,7734,7482,12921,477
Robert-BaldwinLibLib26,18981.03%21,10665.30%81.36%26,1895,0837012935532,321
RobervalLibLib13,73753.06%7,66129.59%79.58%13,7376,0764,6891,38825,890
Rosemont*New*Lib15,00250.65%2,0156.80%81.45%15,00212,9871,07056029,619
Rouyn-NorandaRCCr9,22742.80%4,38020.32%77.49%8,1953,8159,22732221,559
SaguenayPQPQ10,22651.14%2,29311.47%72.20%7,93310,2261,40432710519,995
Saint-François*New*Lib12,51953.38%5,67924.22%80.26%12,5196,8402,8851,20823,452
Saint-HenriLibLib14,87752.72%3,54812.57%78.33%14,87711,3291,24862514128,220
Saint-HyacintheLibLib13,32548.29%5,53520.06%83.69%13,3257,7904,7071,77127,593
Saint-JacquesPQPQ11,31251.58%2,46511.24%68.84%8,84711,3121,0396547921,931
Saint-JeanLibLib12,90445.48%4,67816.49%86.65%12,9048,2266,588Yvon Dupuis had also been previously elected to the Legislative Assembly in [1952](1952-quebec-general-election) for Montréal–Sainte-Marie65628,374
Saint-LaurentLibLib21,24674.02%14,31249.86%78.89%21,2466,93452228,702
Saint-LouisLibLib14,09563.34%7,38233.17%61.30%14,0956,71373854116722,254
Saint-MauriceUNLib8,86534.12%1,4145.44%85.28%8,8657,4512,2307,43325,979
Saint-AnneLibLib12,75554.92%5,27622.72%71.10%12,7557,4799682781,64110423,225
Sainte-MariePQLib10,95846.15%480.20%75.90%10,95810,9101,06469411623,742
Sauvé*New*PQ18,23551.01%2,7607.72%80.97%15,47518,2351,4914994735,747
SheffordUNLib10,77539.73%3,52813.01%84.16%10,7754,6337,2474,46727,122
SherbrookeLibLib15,11752.38%6,08221.07%80.87%15,1179,0353,0421,66728,861
TaillonLibLib18,34646.67%5771.47%78.88%18,34617,7692,54655010339,314
Taschereau*New*Lib11,71451.94%4,75021.06%73.79%11,7146,9642,3341,43810222,552
TerrebonneLibLib17,25552.52%3,98412.13%85.67%17,25513,2711,8294316832,854
Trois-RivièresLibLib16,71457.57%8,00727.58%78.80%16,7148,7071,8651,74629,032
Vanier*New*Lib16,41053.73%6,18320.25%81.19%16,41010,2272,1991,16453930,539
Vaudreuil-SoulangesLibLib14,56356.88%7,55129.49%82.53%14,5637,0123,0101,01725,602
VerchèresLibLib14,31552.90%5,30619.61%85.09%14,3159,0092,4181,31727,059
VerdunLibLib19,43967.25%11,49639.77%80.23%19,4397,9431,10941528,906
Viau*New*Lib16,40456.67%5,60019.35%78.93%16,40410,8041,06952514228,944
WestmountLibLib21,35476.92%17,75263.95%75.78%21,3543,6024022562,14627,760

: = open seat : = turnout is above provincial average : = winning candidate was in previous Legislature : = incumbent had switched allegiance : = previously incumbent in another riding : = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature : = incumbency arose from byelection gain : = other incumbents renominated : = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada : = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party in 1st placeParty in 2nd placeTotalLibPQCrUN
81165102
66
22
Total881165110
Parties1st2nd3rd4th5th
1028
68123
2167615
59942
217
13
1
SourcePartyTotal
align="center"**Lib**align="center"**PQ**align="center"**Cr**
Seats retainedIncumbents returned48
Open seats held - taken by incumbents from other ridings2
Open seats held - new MNAs10
Seats changing handsIncumbents defeated17
Open seats gained1
New ridingsPrevious incumbents from other ridings13
New MNAs111
**Total**1026

References

References

  1. {{Cite canlaw. (1970)
  2. {{Cite canlaw. (1972)
  3. Saumart, Ingrid. (October 23, 1973). "Déjà ministre...". [[La Presse (Canadian newspaper).
  4. Drouilly, Pierre. (November 7, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1973". Atlas des élections au Québec.
  5. . ["Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription"](https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/patrimoine/depcir/index.html). *[[National Assembly of Quebec]]*.
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