Anti-Secession Candidate Wins Seat in Quebec
A Liberal Party candidate for Parliament who opposes Quebec’s separation from Canada won a hotly contested by-election in the French-speaking province.
Canadian federalists Tuesday hailed the victory of Denis Paradis as a sign that national unity forces will also defeat Quebec independence in an upcoming provincial referendum.
Paradis beat Jean-Francois Bertrand, candidate of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, in a district south of Montreal on Monday. The election was called after the previous Parliament member, a Bloc separatist, died in an automobile accident in September.
No date has been set for the independence referendum, although analysts have predicted that it will be in May or June. Polls show that 55% to 60% of Quebec voters oppose independence.
With Paradis’ victory, Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s Liberal Party has a parliamentary majority of 177 out of 295 members.
Liberal Party candidates won two other by-elections held Monday, in Ontario and Quebec, but those were regarded as safe seats for the ruling party.
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