1976 Quebec general election

1976 Quebec general election

←  1973 November 15, 1976 1981  →
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110 seats in the 31st National Assembly of Quebec 56 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	85.27% (4.88%)
First party Second party Third party   UN Leader René Lévesque Robert Bourassa Rodrigue Biron Party Parti Québécois Liberal Union Nationale Leader since October 14, 1968 January 17, 1970 May 22, 1976 Leader's seat Taillon Mercier (lost re-election) Lotbinière Last election 6 seats, 30.22% 102 seats, 54.65% 0 seats, 4.92% Seats won 71 26 11 Seat change 65 76 11 Popular vote 1,390,351 1,135,056 611,666 Percentage 41.37% 33.78% 18.20% Swing 11.15% 20.87% 13.28%   Fourth party Fifth party   RC PNP Leader Camil Samson Jérôme Choquette Party Ralliement créditiste Parti national populaire Leader since May 11, 1975 October 24, 1976 Leader's seat Rouyn-Noranda Outremont (lost re-election) Last election 2 seats, 9.92% pre-creation Seats won 1 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 155,451 31,043 Percentage 4.63% 0.92% Swing 5.29% 0.92%
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 Robert Bourassa Liberal Premier after election René Lévesque Parti Québécois

The 1976 Quebec general election was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Robert Bourassa.

The Parti Québécois's campaign focused on providing good government, in contrast the many scandals that had plagued the Liberals since 1973, The PQ's stated goal of achieving independence for Quebec from Canada was portrayed as only secondary, but the election of a sovereigntist government in Quebec caused great upset in the rest of Canada and led to extensive discussions about reforming the Canadian Confederation and finding ways of accommodating Quebec.

The Parti Québécois used its term in office to introduce numerous bills to implement its agenda. The first bill introduced in the new session of the National Assembly was legislation to confirm French as the sole official language of Quebec, and to implement measures to make this a social reality. The legislative number of this bill, "Bill One," was intended to signify the importance of the bill for the new government. The bill was withdrawn and significantly altered, however, and was eventually re-introduced as "Bill 101" (or la Loi 101 in French), also known as the Charter of the French Language. With some modifications, the Charter of the French Language remains in effect today and has shaped modern Quebec society in far-reaching ways.

The 1976 election also set the stage for the 1980 Quebec referendum on the PQ's proposal for political independence in an economic union with the rest of Canada called sovereignty-association. The proposal was soundly defeated in the referendum.

Bourassa had called the election after only three years, well before the maximum possible term of five years. It is possible that he may have counted on a boost from his successful rescue of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal after cost overruns and construction delays by the Montreal municipal government of Mayor Jean Drapeau. If so, he badly miscalculated. He not only lost the election, but was resoundingly defeated in his own riding by a PQ challenger. Bourassa resigned as Liberal leader, and his political career appeared to be over. He left Quebec and took up teaching positions in the United States and Europe. However, he later made a remarkable comeback in the 1985 general election.

The once-powerful Union Nationale made a modest comeback after being evicted from the legislature three years earlier. It won 11 seats under Rodrigue Biron and, for the first time, won significant support from some anglophone voters. An anglophone UN member, William Shaw was elected to the National Assembly. However, this proved to be the party's last hurrah. Successive floor-crossings, retirements, and resignations reduced the UN to only five members during the term. The party lost all of those remaining seats five years later, never to return; it would continue to exist nominally until 1989.

Campaign

The Liberals and péquistes both fielded full slates. The Unionists and the créditistes decided not to nominate candidates in Beauce-Sud, in order to clear the way for the pénépiste Fabien Roy to hold the riding. ^[1] The Unionists did not have a candidate in Outremont. Otherwise, all other constituencies experienced at least four-way contests.

The election also saw the emergence of two other political groups. The Democratic Alliance, led by Nick Auf der Maur, ran 13 candidates in the anglophone areas of the Island of Montreal, while the Parti national populaire (founded by Fabien Roy and Jérôme Choquette) had 36 candidates provincewide but ran a less-organized campaign. The PNP had attempted to merge with the UN earlier in August, ^[2] but the effort was called off in September because of a falling-out between Choquette and the UN leader Rodrigue Biron. ^[3]

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1976) ^[4]

Candidates	PQ	Lib	RC	UN	PNP	Ind	NDP-RMS	Comm	DA	Lab	LSO	Total
3	1	1			1							3
4	49	49	49	49								196
5	24	24	24	24	16	3	3		1	1		120
6	20	20	20	19	9	9	8	3	5	7		120
7	12	12	12	12	7	6	7	8	5	2	1	84
8	3	3	3	3	2	3	2	2	2	1		24
9	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		1		9
Total	110	110	109	108	36	22	21	14	13	12	1	556

Results

^[4]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1976)

Political party		Party leader	MNAs				Votes
			Candidates	1973	1976	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Parti Québécois	René Lévesque	110	6	71	65	1,390,351	492,542	41.37%	11.15
	Liberal	Robert Bourassa	110	102	26	76	1,135,056	488,678	33.78%	20.87
	Union Nationale	Rodrigue Biron	108	–	11	11	611,666	465,457	18.20%	13.28
	Ralliement créditiste	Camil Samson	109	2	1	1	155,451	139,255	4.63%	5.29
	Parti national populaire	Jérôme Choquette	36	–	1	1	31,043	31,043	0.92%	New
	Democratic Alliance	Nick Auf der Maur	13	–	–	–	17,762	17,762	0.53%	New
	Independent		22	–	–	–	12,984	6,023	0.39%	0.16
	New Democratic-RMS coalition	Henri-François Gautrin	21	–	–	–	3,080	3,080	0.09%	New
	Communist	Sam Walsh	14	–	–	–	1,776	1,612	0.05%	0.04
	Labour		12	–	–	–	1,249	1,249	0.04%	New
	Ligue socialiste-ouvrière		1	–	–	–	88	88	–	New
Total			556	110	110		3,360,506		100.00%
Rejected ballots							70,446	15,686
Voter turnout							3,430,952	405,214	85.27	4.89
Registered electors							4,023,743	259,132

Seats and popular vote by party

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█  Parti Québécois	71 / 110	41.37%	11.15		11.15
█  Liberal	26 / 110	33.78%	-20.87
█  Union Nationale	11 / 110	18.20%	13.28		13.28
█  Parti créditiste	1 / 110	4.63%	-5.29
█  Parti national populaire	1 / 110	0.92%	0.92		0.92
█  Independent	0 / 110	0.39%	0.16		0.16
█ Other	0 / 110	0.71%	0.65		0.65

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1976 Quebec general election ^{[4] [5]}

Riding	Winning party								Turnout [a 1]	Votes
Name	1973		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		PQ	Lib	UN	Cr	PNP	DA	Ind	Oth	Total
Abitibi-Est		Lib		PQ	11,265	40.15%	3,881	13.83%	69.47%	11,265	6,338	3,067	7,384	–	–	–	–	28,054
Abitibi-Ouest		Lib		PQ	8,533	36.51%	1,224	5.24%	80.57%	8,533	5,456	2,073	7,309	–	–	–	–	23,371
Anjou		Lib		PQ	19,440	56.15%	8,324	24.04%	88.99%	19,440	11,116	2,938	744	233	–	–	151	34,622
Argenteuil		Lib		Lib	9,452	34.89%	1,275	4.71%	82.34%	8,177	9,452	6,660	2,803	–	–	–	–	27,092
Arthabaska		Lib		PQ	12,465	38.95%	3,474	10.86%	89.36%	12,465	8,991	7,536	3,009	–	–	–	–	32,001
Beauce-Nord		Lib		PQ	10,974	37.12%	412	1.39%	85.29%	10,974	10,562	6,412	830	786	–	–	–	29,564
Beauce-Sud		Cr		PNP	17,238	68.24%	11,573	45.82%	83.62%	2,356	5,665	–	–	17,238	–	–	–	25,259
Beauharnois		Lib		PQ	15,508	46.29%	3,936	11.75%	90.09%	15,508	11,572	5,224	1,195	–	–	–	–	33,499
Bellechasse		Lib		UN	8,501	36.85%	798	3.46%	81.68%	5,881	7,703	8,501	692	294	–	–	–	23,071
Berthier		Lib		PQ	8,673	34.27%	402	1.59%	85.00%	8,673	8,271	6,907	1,454	–	–	–	–	25,305
Bonaventure		Lib		Lib	9,771	48.63%	3,603	17.93%	80.87%	6,168	9,771	3,836	318	–	–	–	–	20,093
Bourassa		Lib		PQ	14,465	44.94%	2,162	6.72%	88.04%	14,465	12,303	4,457	601	249	–	–	109	32,184
Bourget		Lib		PQ	17,122	54.85%	7,047	22.58%	87.99%	17,122	10,075	3,250	573	–	–	–	195	31,215
Brome-Missisquoi		Lib		UN	11,380	49.27%	5,930	25.67%	82.93%	4,772	5,450	11,380	1,087	262	–	147	–	23,098
Chambly		Lib		PQ	21,029	47.32%	5,201	11.70%	90.62%	21,029	15,828	6,776	811	–	–	–	–	44,444
Champlain		Lib		PQ	12,514	40.73%	4,428	14.41%	87.67%	12,514	8,086	7,882	2,240	–	–	–	–	30,722
Charlesbourg		Lib		PQ	19,985	48.92%	4,785	11.71%	89.20%	19,985	15,200	4,078	1,301	285	–	–	–	40,849
Charlevoix		Lib		Lib	12,419	54.58%	4,899	21.53%	83.27%	7,520	12,419	1,670	1,146	–	–	–	–	22,755
Châteauguay		Lib		PQ	15,600	43.00%	5,261	14.50%	88.30%	15,600	10,339	9,262	851	–	–	229	–	36,281
Chauveau		Lib		PQ	21,472	47.48%	5,054	11.17%	88.87%	21,472	16,418	4,829	2,507	–	–	–	–	45,226
Chicoutimi		PQ		PQ	20,638	62.51%	13,742	41.62%	88.55%	20,638	6,896	4,429	1,053	–	–	–	–	33,016
Crémazie		Lib		PQ	16,463	50.40%	4,612	14.12%	89.09%	16,463	11,851	3,449	461	277	–	–	163	32,664
D'Arcy-McGee		Lib		Lib	21,248	68.03%	14,190	45.43%	83.86%	1,476	21,248	7,058	83	–	950	417	–	31,232
Deux-Montagnes		Lib		PQ	13,449	41.42%	2,466	7.59%	86.17%	13,449	10,983	6,431	1,352	256	–	–	–	32,471
Dorion		Lib		PQ	15,486	52.36%	5,343	18.06%	84.55%	15,486	10,143	2,661	798	390	–	–	100	29,578
Drummond		Lib		PQ	14,605	42.45%	6,394	18.58%	89.05%	14,605	7,778	8,211	3,601	211	–	–	–	34,406
Dubuc		Lib		PQ	11,337	44.67%	3,661	14.42%	85.23%	11,337	7,676	4,442	1,926	–	–	–	–	25,381
Duplessis		Lib		PQ	20,100	58.60%	11,324	33.01%	78.85%	20,100	8,776	3,050	461	–	–	1,916	–	34,303
Fabre		Lib		PQ	24,067	51.94%	9,078	19.59%	89.24%	24,067	14,989	5,658	1,156	463	–	–	–	46,333
Frontenac		Lib		PQ	11,047	38.86%	1,558	5.48%	88.16%	11,047	6,395	9,489	1,494	–	–	–	–	28,425
Gaspé		Lib		UN	8,305	34.53%	420	1.75%	82.01%	7,630	7,885	8,305	233	–	–	–	–	24,053
Gatineau		Lib		Lib	13,444	48.98%	6,148	22.40%	78.30%	7,296	13,444	5,285	1,425	–	–	–	–	27,450
Gouin		Lib		PQ	14,360	53.53%	5,345	19.92%	84.45%	14,360	9,015	2,482	797	–	–	–	172	26,826
Hull		Lib		PQ	12,031	40.57%	2	0.01%	79.05%	12,031	12,029	4,193	1,402	–	–	–	–	29,655
Huntingdon		Lib		UN	9,465	42.31%	2,728	12.19%	84.21%	5,428	6,737	9,465	743	–	–	–	–	22,373
Iberville		Lib		PQ	11,740	35.71%	1,533	4.66%	87.38%	11,740	9,129	10,207	1,802	–	–	–	–	32,878
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		Lib		PQ	3,387	47.89%	60	0.85%	87.16%	3,387	3,327	298	60	–	–	–	–	7,072
Jacques-Cartier		Lib		Lib	10,390	35.34%	1,255	4.27%	84.86%	8,666	10,390	9,135	523	–	683	–	–	29,397
Jean-Talon		Lib		Lib	14,339	49.46%	2,807	9.68%	88.54%	11,532	14,339	2,706	417	–	–	–	–	28,994
Jeanne-Mance		Lib		PQ	22,891	45.48%	4,606	9.15%	86.39%	22,891	18,285	7,732	905	275	–	–	245	50,333
Johnson		Lib		UN	11,184	45.33%	4,805	19.48%	86.65%	6,379	5,348	11,184	1,761	–	–	–	–	24,672
Joliette-Montcalm		Lib		PQ	15,807	42.41%	5,311	14.25%	88.14%	15,807	10,496	9,612	1,172	–	–	89	97	37,273
Jonquière		Lib		PQ	20,373	58.23%	9,511	27.18%	89.26%	20,373	10,862	2,220	1,535	–	–	–	–	34,990
Kamouraska-Témiscouata		Lib		PQ	7,862	33.88%	310	1.34%	79.37%	7,862	7,552	4,957	2,837	–	–	–	–	23,208
L'Acadie		Lib		Lib	14,082	45.50%	4,406	14.24%	86.08%	9,676	14,082	6,434	276	–	327	–	152	30,947
L'Assomption		Lib		PQ	26,449	54.49%	14,439	29.74%	89.24%	26,449	12,010	8,155	1,724	205	–	–	–	48,543
Lac-Saint-Jean		Lib		PQ	14,744	50.91%	6,911	23.86%	86.97%	14,744	7,833	3,971	2,414	–	–	–	–	28,962
LaFontaine		PQ		PQ	20,627	61.79%	12,469	37.35%	86.95%	20,627	8,158	3,082	1,039	283	–	191	–	33,380
Laporte		Lib		PQ	23,129	56.56%	11,086	27.11%	87.64%	23,129	12,043	4,561	1,027	–	–	–	133	40,893
La Prairie		Lib		PQ	17,122	38.13%	647	1.44%	87.88%	17,122	16,475	10,375	930	–	–	–	–	44,902
Laurentides-Labelle		Lib		PQ	13,794	49.25%	4,069	14.53%	83.32%	13,794	9,725	2,992	1,499	–	–	–	–	28,010
Laurier		Lib		Lib	11,858	41.68%	2,275	8.00%	82.79%	9,583	11,858	4,962	678	–	921	–	446	28,448
Laval		Lib		Lib	17,605	42.94%	2,285	5.57%	88.42%	15,320	17,605	6,629	1,129	319	–	–	–	41,002
Laviolette		Lib		PQ	11,003	39.32%	2,174	7.77%	86.41%	11,003	6,074	8,829	1,603	357	–	–	115	27,981
Lévis		Lib		PQ	17,227	48.49%	5,887	16.57%	88.81%	17,227	11,340	5,585	1,375	–	–	–	–	35,527
Limoilou		Lib		PQ	14,424	45.33%	3,707	11.65%	86.09%	14,424	10,717	4,656	1,723	176	–	52	74	31,822
Lotbinière		Lib		UN	12,355	52.23%	6,713	28.38%	87.55%	4,605	5,642	12,355	1,055	–	–	–	–	23,657
Louis-Hébert		Lib		PQ	22,850	58.22%	9,543	24.31%	90.80%	22,850	13,307	2,705	386	–	–	–	–	39,248
Maisonneuve		PQ		PQ	15,390	62.15%	9,074	36.64%	80.89%	15,390	6,316	2,040	652	220	–	22	123	24,763
Marguerite-Bourgeoys		Lib		Lib	14,551	36.65%	806	2.03%	84.91%	13,745	14,551	10,492	603	–	–	–	312	39,703
Maskinongé		Lib		Lib	9,124	35.84%	403	1.58%	88.24%	8,721	9,124	6,561	1,055	–	–	–	–	25,461
Matane		Lib		PQ	11,042	48.79%	2,684	11.86%	82.23%	11,042	8,358	2,319	598	316	–	–	–	22,633
Matapédia		Lib		PQ	10,741	56.27%	5,458	28.59%	81.76%	10,741	5,283	1,552	1,512	–	–	–	–	19,088
Mégantic-Compton		Lib		UN	8,539	39.58%	2,502	11.60%	82.63%	4,809	6,037	8,539	2,188	–	–	–	–	21,573
Mercier		Lib		PQ	13,450	51.38%	3,736	14.27%	81.76%	13,450	9,714	1,975	647	–	–	58	332	26,176
Mille-Îles		Lib		PQ	25,134	53.80%	10,070	21.55%	90.84%	25,134	15,064	4,687	1,290	342	–	–	204	46,721
Mont-Royal		Lib		Lib	18,408	62.23%	13,295	44.94%	83.36%	4,776	18,408	5,113	153	–	885	–	247	29,582
Montmagny-L'Islet		Lib		Lib	9,220	37.44%	2,370	9.62%	81.84%	6,849	9,220	6,850	1,710	–	–	–	–	24,629
Montmorency		Lib		PQ	17,300	50.42%	5,190	15.13%	88.23%	17,300	12,110	3,187	1,713	–	–	–	–	34,310
Nicolet-Yamaska		Lib		UN	8,763	34.62%	750	2.96%	87.93%	7,195	8,013	8,763	1,340	–	–	–	–	25,311
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce		Lib		Lib	13,161	43.88%	4,429	14.77%	84.26%	4,100	13,161	8,732	167	119	3,497	117	103	29,996
Orford		Lib		Lib	8,321	32.90%	636	2.51%	81.40%	7,685	8,321	6,979	2,077	228	–	–	–	25,290
Outremont		Lib		Lib	13,219	45.30%	2,387	8.18%	84.31%	10,832	13,219	–	350	4,129	–	380	270	29,180
Papineau		Lib		PQ	12,967	36.32%	67	0.19%	79.55%	12,967	12,900	7,483	1,947	409	–	–	–	35,706
Pointe-Claire		Lib		UN	15,610	44.96%	3,431	9.88%	85.51%	3,284	12,179	15,610	127	164	943	2,412	–	34,719
Pontiac-Témiscamingue		Lib		Lib	8,149	43.57%	3,581	19.14%	74.98%	3,209	8,149	4,568	2,141	–	–	638	–	18,705
Portneuf		Lib		Lib	10,362	40.47%	2,783	10.87%	89.04%	7,579	10,362	3,815	3,741	106	–	–	–	25,603
Prévost		Lib		PQ	20,075	49.59%	7,569	18.70%	84.94%	20,075	12,506	5,707	2,195	–	–	–	–	40,483
Richelieu		Lib		PQ	16,141	51.98%	4,274	13.76%	90.28%	16,141	11,867	2,189	854	–	–	–	–	31,051
Richmond		Lib		UN	7,778	39.15%	1,907	9.60%	86.17%	5,294	5,871	7,778	925	–	–	–	–	19,868
Rimouski		Lib		PQ	15,232	53.04%	5,146	17.92%	86.34%	15,232	10,086	1,664	1,651	–	–	87	–	28,720
Rivière-du-Loup		Lib		PQ	9,415	38.53%	1,904	7.79%	84.49%	9,415	7,511	5,230	2,281	–	–	–	–	24,437
Robert-Baldwin		Lib		Lib	14,476	36.11%	3,947	9.84%	86.95%	7,430	14,476	10,529	410	–	2,188	5,060	–	40,093
Roberval		Lib		Lib	11,767	39.67%	932	3.14%	80.90%	10,835	11,767	3,139	3,923	–	–	–	–	29,664
Rosemont		Lib		PQ	15,455	51.07%	5,380	17.78%	85.25%	15,455	10,075	3,547	596	309	–	–	283	30,265
Rouyn-Noranda		Cr		RC	9,009	37.90%	1,456	6.13%	83.77%	7,553	4,923	2,283	9,009	–	–	–	–	23,768
Saguenay		PQ		PQ	15,491	69.16%	11,212	50.06%	78.48%	15,491	4,279	2,054	575	–	–	–	–	22,399
Saint-François		Lib		PQ	11,115	41.60%	3,623	13.56%	84.96%	11,115	7,492	6,114	1,996	–	–	–	–	26,717
Saint-Henri		Lib		PQ	14,246	47.72%	4,142	13.87%	83.78%	14,246	10,104	4,549	701	–	–	–	253	29,853
Saint-Hyacinthe		Lib		UN	10,002	33.63%	58	0.20%	86.38%	9,944	7,694	10,002	1,753	350	–	–	–	29,743
Saint-Jacques		PQ		PQ	13,058	60.31%	7,180	33.16%	75.34%	13,058	5,878	1,686	579	–	–	–	451	21,652
Saint-Jean		Lib		PQ	14,570	45.73%	3,695	11.60%	87.87%	14,570	10,875	5,439	977	–	–	–	–	31,861
Saint-Laurent		Lib		Lib	14,837	46.18%	6,297	19.60%	84.76%	8,540	14,837	7,409	294	327	719	–	–	32,126
Saint-Louis		Lib		Lib	9,628	42.07%	1,776	7.76%	75.22%	7,852	9,628	3,460	422	–	1,151	–	371	22,884
Saint-Maurice		Lib		PQ	12,836	45.77%	4,788	17.07%	88.64%	12,836	8,048	4,749	2,005	405	–	–	–	28,043
Saint-Anne		Lib		PQ	9,059	38.62%	689	2.94%	75.67%	9,059	8,370	3,783	497	121	649	896	79	23,454
Sainte-Marie		Lib		PQ	13,617	54.97%	5,043	20.36%	81.54%	13,617	8,574	1,711	674	–	–	–	197	24,773
Sauvé		PQ		PQ	23,647	58.60%	13,372	33.14%	84.99%	23,647	10,275	5,204	977	–	–	123	129	40,355
Shefford		Lib		Lib	9,662	31.81%	384	1.26%	87.20%	8,134	9,662	9,278	3,085	217	–	–	–	30,376
Sherbrooke		Lib		PQ	12,440	42.51%	3,895	13.31%	84.69%	12,440	8,545	6,255	1,872	–	–	150	–	29,262
Taillon		Lib		PQ	34,098	62.65%	22,345	41.06%	85.32%	34,098	11,753	6,189	2,129	–	–	–	256	54,425
Taschereau		Lib		PQ	9,929	45.14%	1,832	8.33%	80.05%	9,929	8,097	2,531	1,179	151	–	–	107	21,994
Terrebonne		Lib		PQ	21,298	50.61%	7,899	18.77%	89.48%	21,298	13,399	5,723	1,661	–	–	–	–	42,081
Trois-Rivières		Lib		PQ	13,821	43.79%	3,182	10.08%	85.26%	13,821	10,639	5,662	1,437	–	–	–	–	31,559
Vanier		Lib		PQ	16,640	49.80%	5,063	15.15%	87.41%	16,640	11,577	3,372	1,827	–	–	–	–	33,416
Vaudreuil-Soulanges		Lib		PQ	11,524	35.85%	534	1.66%	86.69%	11,524	10,990	8,548	905	–	–	–	174	32,141
Verchères		Lib		PQ	16,796	48.24%	4,990	14.33%	88.89%	16,796	11,806	5,224	992	–	–	–	–	34,818
Verdun		Lib		Lib	13,201	44.09%	3,261	10.89%	83.60%	9,940	13,201	5,833	499	–	315	–	150	29,938
Viau		Lib		PQ	13,513	43.44%	1,932	6.21%	84.67%	13,513	11,581	4,892	760	361	–	–	–	31,107
Westmount		Lib		Lib	14,724	50.74%	8,744	30.13%	82.23%	3,483	14,724	5,980	90	210	4,534	–	–	29,021

1. including spoilt ballots

  = open seat

  = turnout is above provincial average

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = previously incumbent in another riding

  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = incumbency arose from byelection gain

  = other incumbents renominated

  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

  = multiple candidates

MNAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

  PQ

  Liberal

  UN

  Créditiste

  Parti national populaire

Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Bas-Saint-Laurent    Bonaventure : Gérard D. Levesque    Gaspé : Michel Le Moignan    Îles-de-la-Madeleine : Denise Leblanc    Kamouraska-Témiscouata : Léonard Lévesque    Matane :Yves Bérubé    Matapédia : Léopold Marquis    Rimouski : Alain Marcoux    Rivière-du-Loup : Jules Boucher Côte-Nord and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean    Chicoutimi : Marc-André Bédard    Dubuc : Hubert Desbiens    Duplessis : Denis Perron    Jonquière : Claude Vaillancourt    Lac-Saint-Jean : Jacques Brassard    Roberval : Robert Lamontagne    Saguenay : Lucien Lessard Capitale-Nationale    Charlesbourg : Denis de Belleval    Charlevoix : Raymond Mailloux    Chauveau : Louis O'Neill    Jean-Talon : Raymond Garneau    Limoilou : Raymond Gravel    Louis-Hébert : Claude Morin    Montmorency : Clément Richard    Portneuf : Michel Pagé    Taschereau : Richard Guay    Vanier : Jean-François Bertrand Mauricie    Champlain : Marcel Gagnon    Laviolette : Jean-Pierre Jolivet    Maskinongé : Yvon Picotte    Saint-Maurice : Yves Duhaime    Trois-Rivières : Denis Vaugeois Chaudière-Appalaches and Centre-du-Québec    Arthabaska : Jacques Baril    Beauce-Nord : Adrien Ouellette    Beauce-Sud : Fabien Roy    Bellechasse : Bertrand Goulet    Drummond : Michel Clair    Frontenac : Gilles Grégoire    Johnson : Maurice Bellemare    Lévis : Jean Garon    Lotbinière : Rodrigue Biron    Montmagny-L'Islet : Julien Giasson    Nicolet-Yamaska : Serge Fontaine

Estrie    Mégantic-Compton : Fernand Grenier    Orford : Georges Vaillancourt    Richmond : Yvon Brochu    Saint-François : Réal Rancourt    Sherbrooke : Gérard Gosselin Montérégie    Beauharnois : Laurent Lavigne    Brome-Missisquoi : Armand Russell    Chambly : Denis Lazure    Châteauguay : Roland Dussault    Huntingdon : Claude Dubois    Iberville : Jacques Beauséjour    Laporte : Pierre Marois    Laprairie : Gilles Michaud    Richelieu : Maurice Martel    Saint-Hyacinthe : Fabien Cordeau    Saint-Jean : Jérôme Proulx    Shefford : Richard Verreault    Taillon : René Lévesque    Vaudreuil-Soulanges : Louise Sauvé Cuerrier    Verchères : Jean-Pierre Charbonneau Montreal East    Anjou : Pierre-Marc Johnson    Bourassa : Patrice Laplante    Bourget : Camille Laurin    Crémazie : Guy Tardif    Dorion : Lise Payette    Gouin : Rodrigue Tremblay    Jeanne-Mance : Henri-E. Laberge    LaFontaine : Marcel Léger    Laurier : André Marchand    Maisonneuve : Robert Burns    Mercier : Gérald Godin    Rosemont : Gilbert Paquette    Saint-Jacques : Claude Charron    Sainte-Marie : Guy Bisaillon    Sauvé : Jacques-Yvan Morin    Viau : Charles-A. Lefebvre

Montreal West    L'Acadie : Thérèse Lavoie-Roux    D'Arcy-McGee : Victor Charles Goldbloom    Jacques-Cartier : Noël Saint-Germain    Marguerite-Bourgeoys : Fernand Lalonde    Mont-Royal : John Ciaccia    Notre-Dame-de-Grâce : Bryce Mackasey    Outremont : André Raynauld    Pointe-Claire : William Shaw    Robert-Baldwin : John O'Gallagher    Sainte-Anne : Jean-Marc Lacoste    Saint-Henri : Jacques Couture    Saint-Laurent : Claude Forget    Saint-Louis : Harry Blank    Verdun : Lucien Caron    Westmount : George Springate Laval    Fabre : Bernard Landry    Laval : Jean-Noël Lavoie    Mille-Îles : Guy Joron Laurentides    Argenteuil : Zoël Saindon    Deux-Montagnes : Pierre de Bellefeuille    Laurentides-Labelle : Jacques Léonard    Prévost : Jean-Guy Cardinal Lanaudière    Berthier : Jean-Guy Mercier    Joliette-Montcalm : Guy Chevrette    L'Assomption : Jacques Parizeau    Terrebonne : Élie Fallu Outaouais    Gatineau : Michel Gratton    Hull : Jocelyne Ouellette    Papineau : Jean Alfred    Pontiac-Témiscamingue : Jean-Guy Larivière Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec    Abitibi-Est : Jean-Paul Bordeleau    Abitibi-Ouest : François Gendron    Rouyn-Noranda : Camil Samson

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place ^[4]

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place				Total
		PQ	Lib	UN	RC
	Parti Québécois		65	4	2	71
	Liberal	17		9		26
	Union Nationale	2	9			11
	Ralliement créditiste	1				1
	Parti national populaire		1			1
Total		20	75	13	2	110

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party ^[4]

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█  Parti Québécois	71	20	18	1
█  Liberal	26	75	9
█  Union Nationale	11	13	80	4
█  Parti créditiste	1	2	1	91	8
█  Parti national populaire	1		1		31
█ Democratic Alliance			1	8	4
█  Independent				5	5
█  New Democratic-RMS coalition					7
█  Labour					4
█  Communist					1

Resulting composition of the 31st Quebec Legislative Assembly ^[5]

Source		Party
		PQ	Lib	UN	RC	PNP	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	6	21		1		28
	Open seats held		3				3
	Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance		1				1
	Previous incumbent from other riding		1				1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	52		9			61
	Open seats gained	13		1			14
	Byelection gain held			1			1
	Incumbent changed allegiance					1	1
Total		71	26	11	1	1	110

See also

• List of Quebec premiers
• Politics of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Quebec political parties
• 31st National Assembly of Quebec

External links

• CBC TV video clip
• Results by party (total votes and seats won)
• Results for all ridings

References

1. Tremblay, Réjean (November 16, 1976). "Bas-Saint-Laurent : Une vaste mosaïque dominée par le PQ" [Lower Saint-Lawrence: A vast mosaic dominated by the PQ]. La Presse . Montreal. p. 10 (Cahier Élection).
2. Bercier, Rhéal (August 4, 1976). "La fusion du PNP et de l'UN se fera en congrès, en octobre" [The PNP/UN merger will take place at a convention in October]. La Presse (in French). Montreal. p. 1.
3. O'Neill, Pierre (September 4, 1976). "UN-PNP : la rupture" [UN-PNP: the collapse]. Le Devoir (in French). Montreal. pp. 1, 6.
4. Drouilly, Pierre (November 7, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1976". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.
5. "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec . Retrieved September 13, 2023.