1966 Quebec general election

The 1966 Quebec general election was held on June 5, 1966, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada.[1] The Union Nationale (UN), led by Daniel Johnson, Sr, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage.

1966 Quebec general election

← 1962 June 5, 1966 1970 →

108 seats in the 28th Legislative Assembly of Quebec
55 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Daniel Johnson Sr. Jean Lesage
Party Union Nationale Liberal
Leader since September 23, 1961 May 31, 1958
Leader's seat Bagot Louis-Hébert
Last election 31 seats, 42.15% 63 seats, 56.40%
Seats won 56 50
Seat change Increase25 Decrease13
Popular vote 948,928 1,099,435
Percentage 40.82% 47.29%
Swing Decrease1.34% Decrease9.11%

Premier before election

Jean Lesage
Liberal

Premier after election

Daniel Johnson Sr.
Union Nationale

In terms of the number of seats won, the election was one of the closest in recent history, with the UN winning 56 seats to the Liberals' 50. Generally, Quebec's first past the post electoral system tends to produce strong disparities in the number of seats won even if the popular vote is fairly close. In this case, the most popular party did not win the most seats in the chamber. The Liberals won 6.5% more votes, but were denied a third term because the rural part of the province, where the Union Nationale did well, were slightly over-represented in the legislature.

The victory of the UN over the popular Lesage government was a surprise to many observers. Johnson's campaign was likely helped by his position that Quebec should get a better deal within the Canadian confederation, or should separate if it is unable to do so. In this sense, the forces of Quebec nationalism unleashed by the Quiet Revolution begun by Lesage may have contributed to his defeat, as many rural voters felt chagrin at the rapid pace of reform under the Liberals.

The pro-independence Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale and Ralliement national (formed from splinter groups out of the RIN and the Ralliement des créditistes) obtained a combined total of just under 9% of the popular vote (but no seats).

This was the last election for the "Legislative Assembly of Quebec". Legislation was passed to replace the bicameral system of Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council of Quebec with a single National Assembly of Quebec, effective December 31, 1968.

Daniel Johnson died in office in 1968, and was succeeded by Jean-Jacques Bertrand. Johnson's sons, Pierre-Marc and Daniel Jr, each later served as Premier of Quebec.

Redistribution of ridings

edit

A 1965 Act [2] increased the number of MPPs from 95 to 108 through the following changes:

Abolished ridings New ridings
Drawn from parts of other ridings
Reorganization of ridings
Division of ridings
Renaming of ridings
  1. ^ formerly part of Laval
  2. ^ formerly parts of Montréal-Outremont and Westmount–Saint-Georges
  3. ^ formerly parts of Montréal-Outremont, Montréal–Jeanne-Mance and Montréal-Laurier
  4. ^ formerly part of Laval
  5. ^ formerly parts of Montréal–Jeanne-Mance and Montréal-Laurier
  6. ^ formerly parts of Jacques-Cartier and Montréal–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
  7. ^ formerly part of Jacques-Cartier
  8. ^ formerly parts of Jacques-Cartier and Laval
  9. ^ formerly parts of Chambly and Verchères
  10. ^ also taking in part of Chicoutimi


Campaign

edit
Riding contests, by number of candidates (1966)[3]
Candidates UN Lib RN RIN Ind Con Soc Comm DVP PDE Total
2 10 10 20
3 28 28 20 8 84
4 42 42 42 37 5 168
5 22 22 22 22 10 2 5 4 1 110
6 6 6 6 6 9 2 1 36
Total 108 108 90 73 24 4 5 4 1 1 418

Results

edit
Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1966)[3]
Political party Party leader MPPs Votes
Candidates 1962 1966 ± # ± % ± (pp)
Union Nationale Daniel Johnson, Sr. 108 31 56 25  948,928 48,111  40.82% 1.33 
Liberal Jean Lesage 108 63 50 13  1,099,435 105,818  47.29% 9.11 
RIN Pierre Bourgault 73 129,045 129,045  5.55% New
Ralliement national Gilles Grégoire 90 74,670 74,670  3.21% New
Independent 24 1 2 1  64,434 50,853  2.77% 2.13 
  Other candidates
 Conservative 4 6,183 1,927  0.27% 0.07 
 Socialist 5 1,090 1,090  0.05% New
 Communist 4 502 431  0.02% 0.02 
 Droit vital personnel 1 417 417  0.02% New
 Parti du développement économique 1 125 125  0.01% New
Total 418 95 108 2,324,829 100%
Rejected ballots 45,681 16,172 
Voter turnout 2,370,510 204,034  73.57 6.02 
Registered electors 3,222,302 500,369 
Seats and popular vote by party
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
Union Nationale
56 / 108
40.82%
-1.33
 
Liberal
50 / 108
47.29%
-9.11
 
RIN
0 / 108
5.55%
5.55 5.55
 
Ralliement national
0 / 108
3.21%
3.21 3.21
 
Independent
2 / 108
2.77%
2.13 2.13
 
Other
0 / 108
0.36%
-0.45
 


Synopsis of results

edit
Results by riding - 1966 Quebec general election[3][4]
Riding Winning party Turnout
[a 1]
Votes
Name 1962 Party Votes Share Margin
#
Margin
%
UN Lib RIN RN Ind Con Other Total
 
Abitibi-Est Lib Lib 12,390 39.09% 1,664 5.25% 74.55% 10,726 12,390 1,434 7,145 31,695
Abitibi-Ouest Lib Lib 5,670 42.51% 1,612 12.08% 86.98% 4,058 5,670 318 3,293 13,339
Ahuntsic New Lib 16,282 56.34% 8,355 28.91% 70.61% 7,927 16,282 4,195 266 228 28,898
Argenteuil UN Lib 6,734 44.85% 2,273 15.14% 81.29% 4,461 6,734 245 87 3,488 15,015
Arthabaska Lib UN 10,188 44.81% 104 0.46% 85.86% 10,188 10,084 591 1,871 22,734
Bagot UN UN 6,640 57.69% 2,074 18.02% 89.76% 6,640 4,566 163 140 11,509
Beauce UN UN 15,743 54.96% 4,558 15.91% 84.77% 15,743 11,185 1,715 28,643
Beauharnois Lib Lib 10,875 41.29% 2,089 7.93% 86.32% 8,786 10,875 984 93 5,603 26,341
Bellechasse UN UN 6,917 58.80% 2,071 17.61% 83.15% 6,917 4,846 11,763
Berthier Lib UN 7,668 55.49% 1,766 12.78% 85.17% 7,668 5,902 249 13,819
Bonaventure Lib Lib 10,888 60.41% 3,752 20.82% 78.83% 7,136 10,888 18,024
Bourassa New Lib 14,653 48.79% 5,090 16.95% 64.73% 9,563 14,653 4,420 634 761 30,031
Bourget Lib UN 13,166 46.08% 1,188 4.16% 66.70% 13,166 11,978 2,754 376 295 28,569
Brome Lib Lib 3,294 52.65% 470 7.51% 74.49% 2,824 3,294 139 6,257
Chambly Lib Lib 19,183 60.51% 10,976 34.62% 68.22% 8,207 19,183 3,895 418 31,703
Champlain UN UN 15,102 57.71% 5,240 20.03% 86.54% 15,102 9,862 1,203 26,167
Charlevoix Lib Lib 8,166 54.00% 1,210 8.00% 85.38% 6,956 8,166 15,122
Châteauguay Lib Lib 6,676 34.72% 1,057 5.50% 78.60% 5,619 6,676 727 92 6,113 19,227
Chauveau New UN 17,462 47.40% 942 2.56% 79.55% 17,462 16,520 1,921 940 36,843
Chicoutimi UN UN 9,824 49.70% 1,954 9.88% 81.48% 9,824 7,870 2,074 19,768
Compton UN UN 5,973 56.89% 1,696 16.15% 83.26% 5,973 4,277 249 10,499
D'Arcy-McGee New Lib 24,709 90.57% 23,161 84.90% 60.88% 1,548 24,709 895 129 27,281
Deux-Montagnes Lib Lib 8,511 47.64% 94 0.53% 84.35% 8,417 8,511 821 117 17,866
Dorchester UN UN 9,348 55.02% 2,402 14.14% 82.36% 9,348 6,946 695 16,989
Dorion New Lib 9,855 43.99% 1,275 5.69% 60.58% 8,580 9,855 2,184 281 1,378 125 22,403
Drummond Lib Lib 14,470 49.27% 360 1.23% 85.77% 14,110 14,470 791 29,371
Dubuc New UN 7,829 37.16% 1,567 7.44% 84.30% 7,829 6,262 3,400 3,577 21,068
Duplessis Lib Lib 6,673 47.77% 2,281 16.33% 75.46% 2,709 6,673 4,392 195 13,969
Fabre New Lib 16,278 47.80% 3,468 10.18% 72.15% 12,810 16,278 4,363 449 156 34,056
Frontenac UN UN 6,902 52.16% 1,601 12.10% 86.13% 6,902 5,301 155 874 13,232
Gaspé-Nord UN UN 5,251 51.12% 366 3.56% 86.12% 5,251 4,885 136 10,272
Gaspé-Sud Lib Lib 8,513 53.48% 1,108 6.96% 86.04% 7,405 8,513 15,918
Gatineau Lib Lib 11,308 51.26% 1,877 8.51% 69.81% 9,431 11,308 1,117 205 22,061
Gouin New Lib 12,916 47.32% 2,799 10.26% 61.75% 10,117 12,916 3,507 646 108 27,294
Hull Lib Lib 10,803 50.91% 2,610 12.30% 64.11% 8,193 10,803 2,222 21,218
Huntingdon UN Lib 3,469 50.33% 45 0.65% 81.51% 3,424 3,469 6,893
Iberville Lib UN 4,470 50.25% 704 7.91% 85.20% 4,470 3,766 431 229 8,896
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Lib Lib 3,908 66.59% 1,947 33.17% 89.97% 1,961 3,908 5,869
Jacques-Cartier Lib Lib 18,289 68.34% 11,833 44.22% 65.19% 6,456 18,289 1,808 209 26,762
Jean-Talon New Lib 14,257 53.23% 3,821 14.26% 70.11% 10,436 14,257 1,384 709 26,786
Jeanne-Mance Lib Lib 16,691 51.85% 6,063 18.83% 62.64% 10,628 16,691 4,271 333 269 32,192
Joliette UN UN 11,372 50.96% 2,236 10.02% 81.30% 11,372 9,136 1,423 386 22,317
Jonquière New Lib 11,959 46.91% 4,495 17.63% 79.06% 7,464 11,959 916 4,992 165 25,496
Kamouraska Lib UN 6,161 52.35% 1,406 11.95% 77.12% 6,161 4,755 175 678 11,769
L'Assomption Lib UN 9,958 46.90% 490 2.31% 80.38% 9,958 9,468 1,443 363 21,232
L'Islet UN UN 5,972 55.26% 1,136 10.51% 80.66% 5,972 4,836 10,808
Labelle UN UN 6,827 57.79% 2,502 21.18% 81.78% 6,827 4,325 536 125 11,813
Lac-Saint-Jean Lib UN 10,985 52.22% 2,555 12.15% 86.09% 10,985 8,430 1,621 21,036
LaFontaine New UN 13,592 44.95% 785 2.60% 67.58% 13,592 12,807 3,374 466 30,239
Laurier Lib Lib 15,012 56.61% 6,754 25.47% 62.92% 8,258 15,012 2,131 701 417 26,519
Laval Lib Lib 16,910 48.69% 4,704 13.55% 72.67% 12,206 16,910 3,131 324 2,156 34,727
Laviolette UN UN 12,082 54.16% 3,417 15.32% 80.86% 12,082 8,665 1,559 22,306
Lévis Lib UN 15,141 53.10% 3,121 10.95% 83.04% 15,141 12,020 843 511 28,515
Limoilou New UN 16,547 49.67% 1,651 4.96% 76.50% 16,547 14,896 1,234 582 55 33,314
Lotbinière UN UN 6,218 45.75% 87 0.64% 86.82% 6,218 6,131 1,243 13,592
Louis-Hébert New Lib 22,532 65.70% 14,156 41.28% 77.16% 8,376 22,532 2,991 394 34,293
Maisonneuve Lib UN 12,621 44.68% 1,029 3.64% 60.12% 12,621 11,592 3,457 371 205 28,246
Marguerite-Bourgeoys New Lib 14,603 62.14% 9,944 42.31% 62.30% 4,659 14,603 1,297 173 2,769 23,501
Maskinongé UN UN 6,115 52.94% 853 7.38% 90.50% 6,115 5,262 174 11,551
Matane Lib Lib 9,045 49.76% 299 1.64% 79.72% 8,746 9,045 386 18,177
Matapédia Lib Lib 6,165 48.64% 22 0.17% 80.50% 6,143 6,165 220 146 12,674
Mégantic Lib UN 11,894 46.38% 588 2.29% 84.08% 11,894 11,306 2,443 25,643
Mercier Lib Lib 11,759 44.27% 518 1.95% 61.41% 11,241 11,759 3,115 335 112 26,562
Missisquoi UN UN 8,788 60.10% 3,469 23.72% 77.05% 8,788 5,319 390 126 14,623
Montcalm Lib UN 5,007 51.32% 470 4.82% 87.00% 5,007 4,537 168 44 9,756
Montmagny UN UN 6,763 54.63% 1,426 11.52% 82.59% 6,763 5,337 279 12,379
Montmorency UN UN 14,151 54.25% 4,524 17.34% 82.94% 14,151 9,627 1,423 885 26,086
Napierville-Laprairie Lib Lib 9,683 43.06% 762 3.39% 79.60% 8,921 9,683 488 3,396 22,488
Nicolet Lib UN 8,140 52.33% 855 5.50% 89.77% 8,140 7,285 130 15,555
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Lib Lib 19,563 76.42% 16,622 64.93% 59.34% 2,068 19,563 949 77 2,941 25,598
Olier New Lib 11,990 47.03% 2,316 9.08% 57.89% 9,674 11,990 3,366 464 25,494
Outremont Lib Lib 18,075 71.18% 14,857 58.51% 64.48% 2,744 18,075 3,218 118 1,238 25,393
Papineau UN UN 10,999 45.35% 563 2.32% 78.04% 10,999 10,436 2,504 313 24,252
Pontiac UN UN 4,429 51.22% 211 2.44% 72.91% 4,429 4,218 8,647
Portneuf Lib UN 11,265 42.76% 1,287 4.89% 81.37% 11,265 9,978 613 4,407 82 26,345
Richelieu Lib UN 12,257 49.43% 1,080 4.36% 84.76% 12,257 11,177 1,221 141 24,796
Richmond Lib Lib 8,258 47.56% 263 1.51% 77.79% 7,995 8,258 1,112 17,365
Rimouski Lib Lib 11,938 49.84% 428 1.79% 78.86% 11,510 11,938 504 23,952
Rivière-du-Loup Lib UN 9,691 52.18% 811 4.37% 83.20% 9,691 8,880 18,571
Robert-Baldwin New Ind 19,506 53.32% 7,752 21.19% 73.30% 2,991 11,754 900 144 19,506 1,287 36,582
Roberval UN UN 11,799 48.35% 1,546 6.34% 82.92% 11,799 10,253 2,077 273 24,402
Rouville Lib UN 6,080 46.60% 5 0.04% 81.68% 6,080 6,075 687 206 13,048
Rouyn-Noranda Lib UN 6,583 38.62% 1,050 6.16% 81.10% 6,583 5,533 694 4,237 17,047
Saguenay Lib Lib 10,737 46.43% 1,232 5.33% 64.33% 9,505 10,737 2,444 437 23,123
Saint-Henri Lib UN 10,410 41.42% 1,561 6.21% 63.25% 10,410 8,849 3,034 371 2,470 25,134
Saint-Hyacinthe Lib UN 10,998 46.78% 30 0.13% 78.98% 10,998 10,968 1,544 23,510
Saint-Jacques UN UN 9,869 49.97% 2,206 11.17% 57.68% 9,869 7,663 1,834 383 19,749
Saint-Jean Lib UN 9,226 48.85% 2,586 13.69% 81.48% 9,226 6,640 780 174 2,067 18,887
Saint-Laurent New Lib 21,558 68.63% 14,853 47.28% 65.77% 6,705 21,558 3,151 31,414
Saint-Louis Lib Lib 8,960 58.45% 4,916 32.07% 55.45% 4,044 8,960 1,646 453 227 15,330
Saint-Maurice Lib UN 14,133 47.42% 1,720 5.77% 81.83% 14,133 12,413 3,256 29,802
Saint-Sauveur UN UN 14,485 57.73% 5,501 21.92% 73.23% 14,485 8,984 730 893 25,092
Saint-Anne Ind Ind 6,609 38.67% 1,638 9.58% 53.52% 4,328 4,971 747 208 6,837[a 2] 17,091
Sainte-Marie UN UN 11,285 53.10% 3,650 17.17% 57.19% 11,285 7,635 1,930 404 21,254
Shefford UN UN 14,549 53.69% 4,172 15.40% 80.21% 14,549 10,377 1,061 1,110 27,097
Sherbrooke Lib UN 19,915 50.11% 2,634 6.63% 74.58% 19,915 17,281 1,495 1,051 39,742
Stanstead Lib Lib 8,215 49.85% 577 3.50% 77.50% 7,638 8,215 627 16,480
Taillon New Lib 8,627 38.61% 210 0.94% 59.91% 8,417 8,627 4,097 685 517 22,343
Témiscamingue Lib Lib 4,413 49.15% 2,044 22.77% 83.76% 2,196 4,413 2,369 8,978
Témiscouata UN UN 5,653 51.97% 869 7.99% 84.02% 5,653 4,784 441 10,878
Terrebonne Lib UN 24,840 47.71% 2,525 4.85% 76.71% 24,840 22,315 4,227 681 52,063
Trois-Rivières UN UN 15,362 48.97% 1,045 3.33% 82.88% 15,362 14,317 1,692 31,371
Vaudreuil-Soulanges Lib Lib 11,120 53.17% 2,630 12.58% 81.90% 8,490 11,120 494 96 713 20,913
Verchères Lib Lib 11,648 55.73% 3,953 18.91% 75.46% 7,695 11,648 1,348 209 20,900
Verdun Lib Lib 19,181 66.26% 10,918 37.72% 62.55% 8,263 19,181 1,198 306 28,948
Westmount Lib Lib 20,061 78.21% 17,825 69.49% 55.18% 2,236 20,061 1,141 110 1,385 717 25,650
Wolfe UN UN 5,189 64.06% 2,528 31.21% 89.06% 5,189 2,661 250 8,100
Yamaska UN UN 4,093 51.75% 277 3.50% 87.90% 4,093 3,816 7,909
  1. ^ including spoilt ballots
  2. ^ Frank Hanley (6,609 votes) was the incumbent
  = 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

Analysis

edit
Party candidates in 2nd place[3]
Party in 1st place Party in 2nd place Total
UN Lib RIN RN Con
Union Nationale 56 56
Liberal 46 2 1 1 50
Independent 2 2
Total 46 58 2 1 1 108
Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party[3]
Parties 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
 Union Nationale 56 46 6
 Liberal 50 58
 Independent 2 10 6 6
 RIN 2 52 18 1
 Ralliement national 1 30 44 10
 Conservative 1 2 1
 Socialist 5
 Communist 4
 DVP 1
Resulting composition of the 28th Quebec Legislative Assembly[4]
Source Party
UN Lib Ind Total
Seats retained Incumbents returned 19 30 1 50
Open seats held 9 5 14
Byelection loss reversed 1 1
Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated 22 1 23
Open seats gained 1 1 2
New ridings New MPPs 2 9 1 12
Previously incumbent in another riding 4 4
Previously elected to the Legislature 2 2
Total 56 50 2 108

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Cyr, Hugo (August 2007). "Canadian federalism and treaty powers: existential communities, functional regimes and the Canadian constitution". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ An Act to amend the Territorial Division Act, S.Q. 1965, c. 10
  3. ^ a b c d e Drouilly, Pierre (November 7, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1966". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.
  4. ^ a b "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec. Retrieved September 13, 2023.

Further reading

edit
edit