122 seats in the 32nd National Assembly of Quebec 62 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout
82.52% (2.75%)
First party
Second party
Third party
UN
Leader
René Lévesque
Claude Ryan
Roch LaSalle
Party
Parti Québécois
Liberal
Union Nationale
Leader since
October 14, 1968
April 15, 1978
January 9, 1981
Leader's seat
Taillon
Argenteuil
Ran in Berthier (lost)
Last election
71 seats, 41.37%
26 seats, 33.78%
11 seats, 18.20%
Seats won
80
42
0
Seat change
9
16
11
Popular vote
1,773,237
1,658,753
144,070
Percentage
49.26%
46.07%
4.00%
Swing
7.89%
12.29%
14.20%
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.
Premier before election
René Lévesque
Parti Québécois
Premier after election
René Lévesque
Parti Québécois
The 1981 Quebec general election was held on April 13, 1981, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Premier René Lévesque, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Claude Ryan.
The PQ won re-election despite having lost the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty-association, the party's proposal for political independence for Quebec in an economic union with the rest of Canada. To some extent, they were helped by Claude Ryan's old-fashioned campaign style: he refused to tailor sound bites for the evening news and ran a campaign generally unsuited for television coverage. Despite finishing only three percent behind the PQ, the Liberals still finished a distant second, with 42 seats to the PQ's 80. Historically, provincial elections in Quebec produce large disparities between the popular vote and the actual seat count.
The Union Nationale, which had won 11 seats in a modest comeback in the 1976 general election, was reduced to five seats at dissolution by numerous floor crossings, retirements and resignations. Among the departures was that of its leader in the 1976 election, Rodrigue Biron, who crossed the floor to the PQ. The once-proud party lost all of its remaining seats, never to return. The party essentially ended at this point, though it lingered in desultory fashion until 1989.
and 19 Related for: 1981 Quebec general election information
The 1981Quebecgeneralelection was held on April 13, 1981, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent...
1985 Quebecgeneralelection was held on December 2, 1985, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal...
The 2014 Quebecgeneralelection was held on April 7, 2014 to elect members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The incumbent Parti Québécois which had...
results for the generalelections to the Canadian province of Quebec's unicameral legislative body, the National Assembly of Quebec (and its predecessor...
The 1989 Quebecgeneralelection was held on September 25, 1989, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent...
of Quebec. The Liberal Party of Quebec then returned to power in 2014. In 2018, the Coalition Avenir Québec won the provincial generalelections. Between...
National Assembly of Quebec was the provincial legislature in Quebec, Canada that was elected in the 1981Quebecgeneralelection. It sat for a total of...
of the Quebec Liberals. Observers expected Bouchard to announce another sovereignty referendum if his party won the 1998 Quebecgeneralelection. While...
20, 2020 Penniman, Howard, ed. (1981). Canada at the Polls, 1979 and 1980: A Study of the Federal GeneralElections. Washington D.C.: American Enterprise...
Council of Quebec, and presides over that body. Members are first elected to the legislature during generalelections. Generalelections must be conducted...
for Quebec. Shortly after the November 14, 1962, Quebecgeneralelection, RIN member Marcel Chaput founded the short-lived Parti républicain du Québec. In...
equivalent to speaker in other legislatures. As of the 2022 Quebecgeneralelection, Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has the most seats in the Assembly. The Constitutional...
The municipal history of Quebec started in 1796 with the creation of administrations for Montréal and Quebec City, but it really developed immediately...
Quebec provincial election. Eleven of the party's candidates were elected, leaving the party as the third largest in the National Assembly of Quebec....
of 75 in Quebec while winning 43 percent of the seats in the 4 Atlantic provinces. Notes: "% change" refers to change from previous election. Changes...
The Coalition Avenir Québec Government increased its parliamentary majority in the 2022 Quebecgeneralelection. Timeline of Quebec history History of Montreal...
Global Information
2.75%)
