The Parti Québécois and soon-tobe-former leader Pauline Marois are licking their wounds after a devastating loss at the Quebec ballot box on Monday.
Much like our own provincial NDP, which strongly believed it had the 2013 election in the bag, this one will leave the PQ scratching their heads so much, you'd think there's been an outbreak of lice. Marois and the PQ called the election believing in the party's chances of going from a minority government foothold to a majority stranglehold - yet another example of fixed election date laws being flouted without consequence.
Analysts close to the election point to two big missteps by the PQ: allowing another sovereignty referendum to become an election issue and misjudging how Quebec voters would respond to the so-called secular charter of values. Had it passed, the charter would have banned civil servants - including teachers and hospital staff - from wearing overt religious symbols like yarmulkes, hijabs or turbans.
It was either a ploy to woo rural rightwing voters or the first step in a fight bound for the Supreme Court that could have torn open the Constitution. In past attempts, those wounds tend to heal slowly and leave lasting scars. In either case, we're happy to see it relegated by voters to the history books, not the courts.
As for the spectre of another national unity crisis, we say félicitations to Quebec voters for rebuking the movement before it could take hold for another generation. At the very least, it means one more Canadian hockey team to cheer for when the rest are on the golf course.
