The political and electoral geography of Quebec: A critical analysis of the 1998 Quebec provincial election

Abstract

The results of the 1998 provincial election in Quebec reveal the existence of six distinct "electoral regions" in the province. The concentration of the vote for the three major political parties, the Parti Quebecois (PQ), the Parti liberal du Quebec (PLQ) and the Action democratique du Quebec (ADQ) defines these regions, in conjunction with information provided by a geographical and statistical database of indicators representing spaces, actors and rationales of action. The portrait of Quebec afforded us by an analysis of such a research database suggests strongly that there are "many Quebecs" rather than a unitary Quebec. A Quebec seeking to remain a political unity must culturally recognise the existence of six distinct regions within it, a number of which differ on basic matters with the majority culture of the province.