Quebec Election Campaign Opens as Legault’s CAQ Seems Unbeatable
- Province’s strongest leader in a generation calls elections
- Critics worry ‘cult of personality’ could erode democracy
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Quebec Premier Francois Legault called an election Sunday, triggering a 36-day campaign to convince voters in Canada’s second-largest province to give him another four years in power. There seems little standing in his way.
The leader’s nationalist Coalition Avenir Quebec begins with a huge lead and a divided opposition. He is already Quebec’s most powerful political force in at least a generation, thanks to his immense personal popularity with French-speaking voters in suburban and rural parts of the province. So powerful that some critics worry his government could pose a danger to democracy if political opposition becomes too weak.