It would have been helpful if this article had given the exact date of each poll cited. If the poll that showed the three in a dead heat was the latest that would be quite significant. Harper does not seemed to have helped Charest and Charest's own comments probably are no help either. If a vote for the ADQ is a vote for the PQ then who is Charest to form a minority govt with? I guess the ADQ and the PQ should form the government.
Charest warns Quebec voters against minority government
Polls show possibility of Liberal minority
Last Updated: Saturday, March 24, 2007 | 6:35 PM ET
CBC News
Liberal Leader Jean Charest launched his final campaign blitz on Saturday by issuing a plea to Quebecers not to elect a minority government.
Quebec can't afford to give the impression of being a divided society, Quebec Liberal Leader Jean Charest said while campaigning in Trois-Rivieres on Saturday.
(Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press) That outcome would weaken Quebec's bargaining position with the federal government, he told reporters in Montmagny, a town 60 kilometres east of Quebec City.
Quebec can't afford to give the impression of being a divided society in its dealings with the rest of the country, said Charest, whose party is trying to win a second term.
Quebec's last minority government was in 1878.
"Quebec has never elected, or at least not for 100 years, a minority government for a reason," Charest said.
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He warned a vote for Action démocratique du Québec is a vote for the Parti Québécois.
"[ADQ Leader] Mario Dumont, ask him if he is a federalist. Ask him if the word federalist can actually come out of his mouth."
Dumont has previously defined himself as an "autonomist." He supported the 1995 sovereignty referendum, but now says he won't be supporting the PQ effort to call another such vote.
PQ Leader André Boisclair, campaigning Saturday in Thetford Mines, about 80 kilometres south of Quebec City, has promised to hold a referendum very early in his mandate if elected. Political observers say he needs a majority government to do that.
Dumont, trying to win votes in the Eastern Townships on Saturday, talked publicly for the first time in the campaign about the possibility of a minority government. He said if it comes to pass, one of the first things he'll do is push for an inquiry into the needs of seniors.
On the last weekend of campaigning before Monday's election, Charest planned to visit eight ridings, many of them in and around Trois-Rivières. Seven of the ridings are held by Liberals and all are seen as tight, three-way races.
Polls show minority government likely
With just two days left in the campaign, two new polls suggest the Liberals are in the lead, but with a level of support that suggests Quebec is indeed headed for a minority government.
Both CROP and Leger Marketing polls put the Liberals at least six percentage points ahead of the Parti Québécois and ADQ.
A third poll, conducted by Strategic Counsel, shows the three parties in a statistical dead heat, taking into account the margin of error.
Leger polled 1,000 Quebecers in the past week and the results gave the Liberals 35 per cent support, compared to the PQ's 29 per cent and ADQ's 26 per cent. The margin of error was 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The CROP organization polled 1,053 Quebecers. It found 34 per cent support the Liberals, 28 per cent back the PQ and 25 would choose ADQ. The margin of error is the same as the Leger poll.
The Strategic Counsel poll of 1,000 people in the past week found that 30 per cent of respondents would support the Liberals. The PQ was at 31 per cent, while the ADQ stood at 28 per cent. The margin of error was 3.1 percentage
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