1973 Quebec general election

The 1973 Quebec general election was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, and the Union Nationale (UN).

1973 Quebec general election

October 29, 1973
110 seats in the 30th National Assembly of Quebec 56 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	80.39%
First party Second party   Leader Robert Bourassa René Lévesque Party Liberal Parti Québécois Leader since January 17, 1970 October 14, 1968 Leader's seat Mercier Lost election in Dorion Last election 72 seats, 45.40% 7 seats, 23.06% Seats won 102 6 Seat change 30 1 Popular vote 1,623,734 897,809 Percentage 54.65% 30.22% Swing 9.25% 7.16%   Third party Fourth party   PC Leader Yvon Dupuis Gabriel Loubier Party Parti créditiste Union Nationale Leader since February 4, 1973 June 19, 1971 Leader's seat Lost election in Saint-Jean Bellechasse (lost re-election) Last election 12 seats, 11.19% 17 seats, 19.65% Seats won 2 0 Seat change 10 17 Popular vote 294,706 146,209 Percentage 9.92% 4.92% Swing 1.27% 14.73%
Premier before election Robert Bourassa Quebec Liberal Party Premier after election Robert Bourassa Quebec Liberal Party

The Liberals won one of the largest majority governments in the province's history, with 102 seats. In the process, they reduced the opposition to just eight seats (six PQ, two créditistes) in total. The Parti Québécois held its own, losing only one seat, and despite having fewer seats, became the official Opposition, although PQ leader René Lévesque failed to win a seat in the Assembly.

The Union Nationale, which had held power until the previous 1970 general election, was wiped off the electoral map, losing all 17 of its seats. It would be the first time since the UN's founding in 1935 that the party was without representation in the legislature. However, UN candidate Maurice Bellemare later won a seat in a 1974 by-election.

The popular vote was not as lopsided as the seat count would indicate, even though the Liberals won 54 percent of the popular vote. The Parti Québécois, for instance, won 30% of the popular vote, a significant improvement over their previous showing of 23% in the 1970 election. However, their support was spread out across the entire province, and was not concentrated in enough areas to translate into more seats. Quebec elections have historically produced significant disparities in seat counts.