PQ will cancel tuition hike and Bill 78, Bureau-Blouin says

The Liberal Partyheld on to some of its its safest territory in the province in Tuesday's election, as most of its Montreal-area MNAs kept their seats, including cabinet members Geoff Kelley, Raymond Bachand, Jean-Marc Fournier, Lawrence Bergman and Kathleen Weil.

But other parties have made keyincursions in the region, among them in Laval-des-Rapides, where former provincial student movement leader Lo Bureau-Blouin defeated a Liberal cabinet minister. Hepromptly vowedthe victorious Parti Qubcoiswilltake drastic actionon the issue that sparked widespread student protests.

In an interview with CBC's French-language network, Bureau-Blouin said the PQ willrevoke the tuitionhike imposed by the Liberals that sparked the province's months of student unrest, and will repeal Bill 78 (also known asLaw 12), the contentious legislation that restricts protest.

"It shows that when youth mobilize, we can do big things," Bureau-Blouin said of his victory.

Bureau-Blouin was a leader of the Quebec student protest movement until his term as president of the FECQ, the federation of Quebec college students, came to an end June 1. Hebecame a PQ candidatein the Laval riding and stole it from Liberal junior finance minister Alain Paquet.

Qubec Solidaire also saw abig gain,winning its second seat, a steal from the PQ in the central Montreal riding of Gouin.

Overall, the Liberals held all their seats on Montreal Island, keeping the 20 ridings that went red in 2008. Six of the remaining seats went to the PQ, and two to Qubec Solidaire.

In Laval, the Liberals lostLaval-des-Rapides and failed to capture the new seat of Sainte-Rose.

In the entirety of the greater Montreal area,the Liberals suffered a net loss of threeseats, but the PQ loss was higher. The pquistes fell from 28 ridings to 24.

Both parties gave up sizable chunks of their popular vote to the newCoalition Avenir Qubec.The Liberalshare of the votedropped 10points to33 per cent, and the PQ dipped five points to 31 per cent. The CAQ captured 25 per cent of the popular vote in the metropolitan area, good for its six seats.

Liberal ministers enjoy wide margins

Kelley'sshare of thepopular vote in his riding ofJacques-Cartieron the West Island was down six percentage points from his victory margin in the 2008 election, butwas still well ahead ofhis nearest rival, the Coalition Avenir Qubec'sPaola Hawa. Kelley, the incumbent minister of native affairs, had 74 per cent to Hawa's 15 per cent.

Bergman, who had the biggest victory margin in the 2008 election,took 85 per cent toseven per cent for the CAQ's Sophie Leroux inD'Arcy-McGee, a riding that includes the Montreal Island municipalities of Hampstead and Cte-St-Luc. Bergman, the Liberals' caucus chair,will earn his sixth term in Quebec's national assembly.

Weil, the immigration minister, will keep her seat inNotre-Dame-de-Grce, which covers the neighbourhood of the same name. Shewonwith 62 per cent to 14 per cent for CAQ candidate Angely Pacis, who had written a pointed letter to her own party's leader in mid-campaign pleading for more statements of support for Quebec's anglophone and allophone populations.

Bachand didn't score quite the same lopsided victory. He took his seat ofOutremontby 42 per cent to PQ candidate Roxanne Gendron's 23 per cent.

CAQ star candidate Duchesneau victorious

Qubec Solidaire co-spokesperson Amir Khadir will be re-elected in his riding ofMercier, which covers much of Montreal's Plateau borough. Khadir was ahead by 47 per cent to 24 per cent for the PQ's Jean Poirier.

Qubec Solidaire's other co-spokesperson, Franoise David,took herriding as well. She was leadingby 13 points over the PQ's Nicolas Girard in her riding,Gouin.

The CAQ's star candidate Jacques Duchesneauwillalso be elected in his riding,Saint-Jrme,on the city's north shore. In his victory remarks, Duchesneau thanked his volunteers and staff for putting together a winning effort in fewer days than his rivals had, since his candidacy was only announced on the fourth day of the campaign.

"We'll have to work to improve services for citizens, and to make Saint-Jrme a real regional capital," Duchesneau said in his speech.