Montreal – Voters in Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec elected a federalist provincial government Monday, handing the Liberal Party of Quebec a slim majority.
Premier Jean Charest's Liberals, who are not connected to the federal Liberal Party, won 66 seats in the 125-seat provincial legislature, with 42 per cent of the popular vote.
Charest, whose party held 48 of the 125 seats in Quebec's provincial parliament, called for early elections in the hope of securing a mandate at a time of economic crisis.
"In this period of economic uncertainty a lot of Quebecers recognized the need for stability and they reinforced our team by electing a majority government," Charest said.