1973 Quebec general election
1973 Quebec general election Turnout 80.39% ( 3.84%)
First party
Second party
Leader
Robert Bourassa
René Lévesque
Party
Liberal
Parti Québécois
Leader since
January 17, 1970
October 14, 1968
Leader's seat
Mercier
Lost election in Dorion
Last election
72 seats, 45.40%
7 seats, 23.06%
Seats won
102
6
Seat change
30
1
Popular vote
1,623,734
897,809
Percentage
54.65%
30.22%
Swing
9.25%
7.16%
Third party
Fourth party
PC
Leader
Yvon Dupuis
Gabriel Loubier
Party
Parti créditiste
Union Nationale
Leader since
February 4, 1973
June 19, 1971
Leader's seat
Lost election in Saint-Jean
Bellechasse (lost re-election)
Last election
12 seats, 11.19%
17 seats, 19.65%
Seats won
2
0
Seat change
10
17
Popular vote
294,706
146,209
Percentage
9.92%
4.92%
Swing
1.27%
14.73%
Popular 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.
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.
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:
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.[ 1] Work would then proceed on a comprehensive redistribution for the next ensuing election.
Redistribution of ridings
A 1972 Act [ 2] increased the number of MNAs from 108 to 110 through the following changes:
Abolished ridings
New 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),[ 3] so virtually all constituencies experienced at least four-way contests:
Riding contests, by number of candidates (1973)[ 4]
Candidates
Lib
PQ
UN
RC
Ind
M-L
Comm
Total
3
1
1
1
3
4
76
76
76
76
304
5
29
29
29
29
16
12
1
145
6
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
12
7
1
1
1
1
2
1
7
8
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
8
Total
110
110
110
109
22
15
3
479
Results
Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1973)[ 4]
Political party
Party leader
MNAs
Votes
Candidates
1970
1973
±
#
±
%
± (pp)
Liberal
Robert Bourassa
110
72
102
30
1,623,734
319,393
54.65%
9.25
Parti Québécois
René Lévesque
110
7
6
1
897,809
235,405
30.22%
7.16
Parti créditiste [ a 1]
Yvon Dupuis
109
12
2
10
294,706
26,664
9.92%
1.27
Union Nationale
Gabriel Loubier
110
17
–
17
146,209
418,335
4.92%
14.73
Independent
22
–
–
–
6,961
5,567
0.23%
0.21
Marxist–Leninist
15
–
–
–
1,395
1,395
0.05%
New
Communist
Sam Walsh
3
–
–
–
164
49
0.01%
–
Total
479
108
110
2,970,978
100.00%
Rejected ballots
54,760
2,269
Voter turnout
3,025,738
95,739
80.38
3.85
Registered electors
3,764,611
286,033
^ 1973 results compared to 1970 Ralliement créditiste total
Synopsis of results
Results by riding - 1973 Quebec general election[ 4] [ 5]
Riding
Winning party
Turnout[ a 1]
Votes
Name
1970
Party
Votes
Share
Margin #
Margin %
Lib
PQ
Cr
UN
Ind
ML
Comm
Total
Abitibi-Est
RC
Lib
12,696
50.75%
6,657
26.61%
65.38%
12,696
5,726
6,039
343
212
–
–
25,016
Abitibi-Ouest
RC
Lib
9,963
48.28%
2,712
13.14%
74.96%
9,963
2,804
7,251
513
106
–
–
20,637
Anjou
New
Lib
15,037
48.59%
828
2.68%
83.41%
15,037
14,209
1,278
425
–
–
–
30,949
Argenteuil
Lib
Lib
14,022
57.96%
8,811
36.42%
80.41%
14,022
3,730
5,211
766
465
–
–
24,194
Arthabaska
Lib
Lib
16,275
55.30%
9,458
32.14%
87.34%
16,275
4,994
6,817
1,342
–
–
–
29,428
Beauce-Nord
New
Lib
13,814
56.14%
9,469
38.48%
81.86%
13,814
4,345
4,293
2,153
–
–
–
24,605
Beauce-Sud
New
Cr
10,481
46.29%
7,688
33.96%
80.39%
9,586
1,898
10,481
676
–
–
–
22,641
Beauharnois
Lib
Lib
15,817
51.56%
3,685
12.01%
87.77%
15,817
12,132
1,727
1,002
–
–
–
30,678
Bellechasse
UN
Lib
9,206
44.30%
1,044
5.02%
77.99%
9,206
2,054
1,357
8,162
–
–
–
20,779
Berthier
UN
Lib
11,428
51.48%
6,570
29.60%
82.22%
11,428
4,858
2,988
2,923
–
–
–
22,197
Bonaventure
Lib
Lib
12,936
69.64%
9,482
51.04%
78.61%
12,936
3,454
821
1,365
–
–
–
18,576
Bourassa
Lib
Lib
15,822
53.81%
3,889
13.23%
81.44%
15,822
11,933
1,195
453
–
–
–
29,403
Bourget
PQ
Lib
13,916
46.94%
300
1.01%
83.63%
13,916
13,616
1,646
375
91
–
–
29,644
Brome-Missisquoi
New
Lib
12,999
62.02%
9,687
46.22%
78.27%
12,999
2,860
3,312
1,587
202
–
–
20,960
Chambly
Lib
Lib
19,005
56.55%
6,745
20.07%
86.44%
19,005
12,260
1,629
714
–
–
–
33,608
Champlain
Lib
Lib
14,698
54.91%
8,821
32.96%
82.79%
14,698
5,877
4,575
1,616
–
–
–
26,766
Charlesbourg
New
Lib
19,770
57.79%
8,172
23.89%
85.16%
19,770
11,598
1,964
876
–
–
–
34,208
Charlevoix
Lib
Lib
13,682
63.91%
9,982
46.63%
82.37%
13,682
3,700
3,265
760
–
–
–
21,407
Châteauguay
Lib
Lib
17,152
60.43%
8,095
28.52%
80.13%
17,152
9,057
1,432
743
–
–
–
28,384
Chauveau
Lib
Lib
18,510
55.22%
8,555
25.52%
83.07%
18,510
9,955
3,726
1,328
–
–
–
33,519
Chicoutimi
UN
PQ
12,359
42.14%
1,031
3.52%
83.86%
11,328
12,359
1,370
4,268
–
–
–
29,325
Crémazie
New
Lib
15,993
50.18%
1,396
4.38%
86.07%
15,993
14,597
783
450
–
50
–
31,873
D'Arcy-McGee
Lib
Lib
26,958
93.77%
25,737
89.52%
77.59%
26,958
1,221
418
152
–
–
–
28,749
Deux-Montagnes
Lib
Lib
15,732
59.18%
7,979
30.02%
83.17%
15,732
7,753
2,290
808
–
–
–
26,583
Dorion
Lib
Lib
13,649
47.68%
293
1.02%
79.27%
13,649
13,356
982
522
–
116
–
28,625
Drummond
Lib
Lib
14,781
46.84%
6,798
21.54%
86.11%
14,781
7,457
7,983
1,333
–
–
–
31,554
Dubuc
UN
Lib
11,042
50.43%
4,186
19.12%
81.90%
11,042
6,856
1,858
2,139
–
–
–
21,895
Duplessis
Lib
Lib
13,404
52.94%
2,481
9.80%
66.99%
13,404
10,923
504
416
–
70
–
25,317
Fabre
Lib
Lib
20,810
52.06%
3,753
9.39%
85.61%
20,810
17,057
1,558
545
–
–
–
39,970
Frontenac [ a 2]
New
Lib
10,527
39.75%
4,274
16.14%
85.41%
10,527
6,253
3,882
5,820
–
–
–
26,482
Gaspé
New
Lib
13,004
62.25%
6,949
33.26%
75.67%
13,004
6,055
690
1,141
–
–
–
20,890
Gatineau
Lib
Lib
15,025
70.15%
11,638
54.33%
69.95%
15,025
3,387
2,184
823
–
–
–
21,419
Gouin
PQ
Lib
12,506
48.07%
636
2.44%
78.21%
12,506
11,870
1,078
560
–
–
–
26,014
Hull
Lib
Lib
15,325
57.08%
7,107
26.47%
68.99%
15,325
8,218
2,402
587
316
–
–
26,848
Huntingdon
Lib
Lib
11,328
58.54%
8,126
41.99%
79.76%
11,328
2,853
1,969
3,202
–
–
–
19,352
Iberville
UN
Lib
10,688
37.39%
2,429
8.50%
84.13%
10,688
5,373
8,259
4,132
134
–
–
28,586
Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Lib
Lib
3,839
60.87%
1,780
28.22%
82.62%
3,839
2,059
232
177
–
–
–
6,307
Jacques-Cartier
Lib
Lib
19,551
69.25%
12,657
44.83%
78.51%
19,551
6,894
1,082
705
–
–
–
28,232
Jean-Talon
Lib
Lib
18,708
64.89%
10,196
35.37%
84.50%
18,708
8,512
677
933
–
–
–
28,830
Jeanne-Mance
Lib
Lib
22,308
55.10%
5,835
14.41%
83.17%
22,308
16,473
1,074
632
–
–
–
40,487
Johnson [ a 3]
UN
Lib
10,543
48.20%
3,940
18.01%
82.05%
10,543
3,597
6,603
1,130
–
–
–
21,873
Joliette-Montcalm
New
Lib
18,010
55.61%
6,010
18.56%
84.70%
18,010
12,000
1,712
666
–
–
–
32,388
Jonquière
Lib
Lib
16,985
53.71%
4,135
13.08%
84.30%
16,985
12,850
892
897
–
–
–
31,624
Kamouraska-Témiscouata
New
Lib
10,617
51.97%
5,266
25.77%
72.81%
10,617
3,282
5,351
1,181
–
–
–
20,431
L'Acadie
New
Lib
20,354
66.39%
11,296
36.85%
83.59%
20,354
9,058
670
488
–
86
–
30,656
L'Assomption
Lib
Lib
16,806
48.58%
1,683
4.86%
85.40%
16,806
15,123
2,094
572
–
–
–
34,595
Lac-Saint-Jean
Lib
Lib
12,554
50.70%
3,337
13.48%
85.23%
12,554
9,217
1,545
1,378
68
–
–
24,762
LaFontaine
PQ
PQ
14,866
50.18%
2,308
7.79%
83.27%
12,558
14,866
1,725
476
–
–
–
29,625
Laporte
New
Lib
17,427
47.14%
372
1.01%
81.76%
17,427
17,055
1,846
641
–
–
–
36,969
La Prairie [ a 4]
Lib
Lib
23,723
63.13%
12,294
32.72%
83.66%
23,723
11,429
1,757
667
–
–
–
37,576
Laurentides-Labelle [ a 5]
UN
Lib
10,000
41.73%
2,388
9.97%
80.70%
10,000
7,612
3,486
2,864
–
–
–
23,962
Laurier
Lib
Lib
17,889
64.81%
9,519
34.49%
78.87%
17,889
8,370
836
507
–
–
–
27,602
Laval
Lib
Lib
21,676
64.56%
11,673
34.77%
83.33%
21,676
10,003
1,386
511
–
–
–
33,576
Laviolette
Lib
Lib
11,800
46.28%
4,765
18.69%
82.88%
11,800
7,035
4,584
2,076
–
–
–
25,495
Lévis
RC
Lib
16,534
54.73%
7,450
24.66%
85.61%
16,534
9,084
3,177
1,416
–
–
–
30,211
Limoilou
Lib
Lib
16,140
53.86%
5,749
19.19%
81.32%
16,140
10,391
1,944
1,428
–
61
–
29,964
Lotbinière
RC
Lib
9,907
48.11%
3,744
18.18%
81.41%
9,907
2,318
6,163
2,204
–
–
–
20,592
Louis-Hébert
Lib
Lib
17,583
49.01%
777
2.17%
84.91%
17,583
16,806
735
702
–
50
–
35,876
Maisonneuve
PQ
PQ
12,198
50.97%
2,276
9.51%
75.34%
9,922
12,198
1,215
413
147
38
–
23,933
Marguerite-Bourgeoys
Lib
Lib
23,848
66.50%
13,700
38.20%
80.40%
23,848
10,148
1,137
488
242
–
–
35,863
Maskinongé
UN
Lib
10,610
48.81%
5,276
24.27%
83.82%
10,610
3,594
2,198
5,334
–
–
–
21,736
Matane
Lib
Lib
10,102
49.58%
2,650
13.01%
76.99%
10,102
7,452
2,126
694
–
–
–
20,374
Matapédia
Lib
Lib
7,564
42.81%
2,459
13.92%
76.02%
7,564
5,105
3,092
1,906
–
–
–
17,667
Mégantic-Compton
New
Lib
9,815
47.96%
4,430
21.65%
79.01%
9,815
2,819
5,385
2,445
–
–
–
20,464
Mercier
Lib
Lib
13,757
52.87%
2,880
11.07%
75.07%
13,757
10,877
809
411
71
70
23
26,018
Mille-Îles
New
Lib
19,809
49.52%
2,188
5.47%
86.61%
19,809
17,621
1,954
616
–
–
–
40,000
Mont-Royal
New
Lib
23,780
83.21%
19,813
69.33%
78.45%
23,780
3,967
457
373
–
–
–
28,577
Montmagny-L'Islet
New
Lib
11,375
51.88%
5,588
25.48%
76.03%
11,375
2,538
2,227
5,787
–
–
–
21,927
Montmorency
Lib
Lib
15,248
51.89%
5,973
20.33%
84.52%
15,248
9,275
3,863
999
–
–
–
29,385
Nicolet-Yamaska
New
Lib
11,126
49.07%
4,789
21.12%
84.17%
11,126
3,233
1,978
6,337
–
–
–
22,674
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Lib
Lib
23,263
81.64%
19,613
68.83%
77.70%
23,263
3,650
1,156
424
–
–
–
28,493
Orford [ a 6]
Lib
Lib
13,924
63.08%
10,127
45.88%
81.23%
13,924
3,797
3,574
777
–
–
–
22,072
Outremont
Lib
Lib
17,262
62.84%
8,145
29.65%
77.42%
17,262
9,117
499
421
–
169
–
27,468
Papineau
Lib
Lib
16,610
61.22%
10,254
37.79%
72.49%
16,610
6,356
3,482
683
–
–
–
27,131
Pointe-Claire
New
Lib
26,871
87.90%
24,316
79.54%
78.40%
26,871
2,555
859
285
–
–
–
30,570
Pontiac-Témiscamingue
New
Lib
10,269
61.39%
6,576
39.31%
69.84%
10,269
1,392
3,693
1,373
–
–
–
16,727
Portneuf
RC
Lib
12,638
53.14%
6,555
27.56%
85.43%
12,638
4,067
6,083
993
–
–
–
23,781
Prévost
New
Lib
15,805
48.48%
3,938
12.08%
80.64%
15,805
11,867
3,726
1,022
105
–
73
32,598
Richelieu
Lib
Lib
15,198
55.21%
5,734
20.83%
87.23%
15,198
9,464
2,017
848
–
–
–
27,527
Richmond
RC
Lib
7,569
40.70%
355
1.91%
82.28%
7,569
3,130
7,214
686
–
–
–
18,599
Rimouski
Lib
Lib
13,268
50.92%
4,518
17.34%
82.19%
13,268
8,750
3,307
730
–
–
–
26,055
Rivière-du-Loup
Lib
Lib
10,827
50.41%
6,079
28.30%
79.21%
10,827
3,773
4,748
2,129
–
–
–
21,477
Robert-Baldwin
Lib
Lib
26,189
81.03%
21,106
65.30%
81.36%
26,189
5,083
701
293
–
55
–
32,321
Roberval
Lib
Lib
13,737
53.06%
7,661
29.59%
79.58%
13,737
6,076
4,689
1,388
–
–
–
25,890
Rosemont
New
Lib
15,002
50.65%
2,015
6.80%
81.45%
15,002
12,987
1,070
560
–
–
–
29,619
Rouyn-Noranda
RC
Cr
9,227
42.80%
4,380
20.32%
77.49%
8,195
3,815
9,227
322
–
–
–
21,559
Saguenay
PQ
PQ
10,226
51.14%
2,293
11.47%
72.20%
7,933
10,226
1,404
327
105
–
–
19,995
Saint-François
New
Lib
12,519
53.38%
5,679
24.22%
80.26%
12,519
6,840
2,885
1,208
–
–
–
23,452
Saint-Henri
Lib
Lib
14,877
52.72%
3,548
12.57%
78.33%
14,877
11,329
1,248
625
–
141
–
28,220
Saint-Hyacinthe
Lib
Lib
13,325
48.29%
5,535
20.06%
83.69%
13,325
7,790
4,707
1,771
–
–
–
27,593
Saint-Jacques
PQ
PQ
11,312
51.58%
2,465
11.24%
68.84%
8,847
11,312
1,039
654
79
–
–
21,931
Saint-Jean
Lib
Lib
12,904
45.48%
4,678
16.49%
86.65%
12,904
8,226
6,588[ a 7]
656
–
–
–
28,374
Saint-Laurent
Lib
Lib
21,246
74.02%
14,312
49.86%
78.89%
21,246
6,934
–
522
–
–
–
28,702
Saint-Louis
Lib
Lib
14,095
63.34%
7,382
33.17%
61.30%
14,095
6,713
738
541
–
167
–
22,254
Saint-Maurice
UN
Lib
8,865
34.12%
1,414
5.44%
85.28%
8,865
7,451
2,230
7,433
–
–
–
25,979
Saint-Anne
Lib
Lib
12,755
54.92%
5,276
22.72%
71.10%
12,755
7,479
968
278
1,641
104
–
23,225
Sainte-Marie
PQ
Lib
10,958
46.15%
48
0.20%
75.90%
10,958
10,910
1,064
694
–
116
–
23,742
Sauvé
New
PQ
18,235
51.01%
2,760
7.72%
80.97%
15,475
18,235
1,491
499
47
–
–
35,747
Shefford
UN
Lib
10,775
39.73%
3,528
13.01%
84.16%
10,775
4,633
7,247
4,467
–
–
–
27,122
Sherbrooke
Lib
Lib
15,117
52.38%
6,082
21.07%
80.87%
15,117
9,035
3,042
1,667
–
–
–
28,861
Taillon
Lib
Lib
18,346
46.67%
577
1.47%
78.88%
18,346
17,769
2,546
550
103
–
–
39,314
Taschereau
New
Lib
11,714
51.94%
4,750
21.06%
73.79%
11,714
6,964
2,334
1,438
–
102
–
22,552
Terrebonne
Lib
Lib
17,255
52.52%
3,984
12.13%
85.67%
17,255
13,271
1,829
431
–
–
68
32,854
Trois-Rivières
Lib
Lib
16,714
57.57%
8,007
27.58%
78.80%
16,714
8,707
1,865
1,746
–
–
–
29,032
Vanier
New
Lib
16,410
53.73%
6,183
20.25%
81.19%
16,410
10,227
2,199
1,164
539
–
–
30,539
Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Lib
Lib
14,563
56.88%
7,551
29.49%
82.53%
14,563
7,012
3,010
1,017
–
–
–
25,602
Verchères
Lib
Lib
14,315
52.90%
5,306
19.61%
85.09%
14,315
9,009
2,418
1,317
–
–
–
27,059
Verdun
Lib
Lib
19,439
67.25%
11,496
39.77%
80.23%
19,439
7,943
1,109
415
–
–
–
28,906
Viau
New
Lib
16,404
56.67%
5,600
19.35%
78.93%
16,404
10,804
1,069
525
142
–
–
28,944
Westmount
Lib
Lib
21,354
76.92%
17,752
63.95%
75.78%
21,354
3,602
402
256
2,146
–
–
27,760
= 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
Resulting composition of the 28th Quebec Legislative Assembly[ 5]
Source
Party
Lib
PQ
Cr
Total
Seats retained
Incumbents returned
48
4
1
53
Open seats held - taken by incumbents from other ridings
2
2
Open seats held - new MNAs
10
10
Seats changing hands
Incumbents defeated
17
1
18
Open seats gained
1
1
New ridings
Previous incumbents from other ridings
13
1
14
New MNAs
11
1
12
Total
102
6
2
110
See also
External links
References