The Liberals won a decisive majority government in Quebec Monday night, as voters appeared to choose change and a turn towards federalism.

CTV.ca News Staff

In a decision that goes a long way in determining the future of Quebec and the rest of the country, the province's voters have said "no" to the separatist Parti Quebecois and given a resounding "yes" to the Liberals and their federalist vision.

The Liberals won 76 ridings and 45 per cent of the popular vote for a decisive majority government that signalled Quebec's desire for change.

While his party swept the vote, Liberal leader Jean Charest himself narrowly won back his Sherbrooke riding, in a nailbiter of a race against PQ candidate Marie Malavoy.

Out-going Premier Bernard Landry's Parti Quebecois won 45 seats while Landry also easily won his Vercheres riding, a longtime PQ stronghold.

Landry offered congratulations to Charest for his "impressive" win. He told cheering PQ supporters Monday night that his party had served Quebec well during its two terms in power, and said the party will be a "remarkable and strong opposition."

The Action democratique won only four ridings -- nowhere near the 12 seats they had hoped for. Leader Mario Dumont was re-elected in his riding. Pierre Bourque, the popular former mayor of Montreal, running for the ADQ, was defeated by the PQ's Diane Lemieux.

Dumont accepted his defeat, telling supporters that despite his new vision for Quebec and new ideas, the voters sent a clear message they weren't ready for his party. He also congratulated Charest for his victory and said he hopes his government benefits all Quebecers.

"On behalf of our team, I respectfully accept the decision of the people of Quebec. We're going to continue to listen, continue to improve our program, and better explain the reasons to believe in us," Dumont said.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien offered a thumbs-up for the cameras as he read the initial election results at a state dinner in the Dominican Republic. The PM says he's "very happy that the federalist forces won so big in Quebec.'' He called it "a great sign of stability," that is "very good for Canada.''

For Charest and the Liberals, this was a come-from-behind victory.

They were in third place when the campaign began, but a strong performance by Charest in the televised leaders debate on March 31 turned the party's fortunes. The University of Ottawa's Gilles Paquet says the debate was the moment the Liberals seized the lead.

"Charest is a person who very often gets better and better as the campaign goes," says Paquet. "In the early part of the campaign, he was as flat as yesterday night's beer. But then something extraordinary happened on the night of the TV debate... Charest was much more at ease than Bernard Landry was, and he was able to score some very, very nice points.

"And then the day after, the man was entirely transformed. It translated, in fact, in an extraordinary confidence for the Liberals. Charest then started acting like a statesman, acting in a very confident way," Paquet says. "Something magical happened after that debate."

Charest seemed to make electoral gains by repeating that the election came down to a choice between health or sovereignty. He also won favour by promising to fight Ottawa for more tax revenue and equalization payments for the province.

CTV's Mike Duffy says that he expects Charest will not let up in his demands from the federal government.

"What I think we're going to see as a result of this is a fiery Jean Charest who will be a federalist but who will be a very tough and demanding premier of the province of Quebec and who will make life difficult for Ottawa," Duffy says. "But at least he'll be doing it within the family instead of trying to break up Canada."

Many Quebec politics analysts have suggested this election was not about sovereignty so much as it was about change. The mood of Quebec voters was that they were ready to elect a new premier simply because it's time.

"Quebecers are overwhelmingly saying they want change," reporter Jed Kahane told CTV News. "A year ago, it was the Action democratique, which according to polls then would have won an election. Now, it's Jean Charest."

Although the PQ will likely recover from tonight's crushing loss, it's uncertain whether Landry will lead the rebuilding of the party. There has been widespread speculation that Landry, who joined the PQ shortly after its creation in 1968, would resign from politics if the PQ lost power.

Voter turnout Monday was lower than it was for the 1998 election. By 5:30 p.m. ET, just over 42 per cent of the province's 5.5 million eligible voters had cast their ballots. During the last election, over 50 per cent of voters had gone to the polls by 5:30 p.m., despite heavy snowstorms.