The French-majority Canadian province of Quebec has just elected a right-leaning populist government in favour of cutting taxes and immigration levels. The relatively new Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), soundly defeated the Liberals and the Parti Québécois, two parties that governed since 1966. It won or is leading in 74 of the province’s 125 ridings (60%), compared with 32 for the Liberals and 10 for the Parti Québécois.
The new government consists of an informal coalition of federalists and former separatists and its victory represents a strong indictment of Quebec’s political establishment. It can also be seen as a nod to the populist movements seen across Europe and elsewhere, but the CAQ’s broad-based populist nature is not exclusively right-wing. This is evident from its adoption of policies across the spectrum, including limiting emigration, cutting taxes, boosting public daycare programmes, and in favour of carbon-pricing and pro-choice on abortion.
