Quebec Elects Liberals into Majority; Charest Enters Third Mandate

The Grits swept the vote in La Belle Province Monday night, taking home a majority government for their troubles, ending a difficult year of minority rule.

Liberal boss Jean Charest took a huge risk calling an election just 20 months into his current mandate, but it worked. His party was easily retuned to power, making the one time Tory boss the first Quebec premier to stage a three-peat since the days of strongman Maurice Duplessis, whose Union nationale accomplished the feat in the 1950s.

There's a certain ironic parallel in the vote, which came less than two months after a federal vote with a very different outcome. In a page that sounded like it came right out of Stephen Harper's playbook, Charest told voters he had no choice but to call an election early to ensure Quebec had a 'stable' government in hard economic times.