Quebec general election, 1878

The Quebec general election of 1878 was held on May 1, 1878 to elect members of the 4th Legislative Assembly for the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Conservative Party, led by Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, narrowly won the election, winning one seat more than the Quebec Liberal Party; however, in the immediate aftermath of the vote, Liberal leader Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, who was already sitting as premier, secured parliamentary backing to remain in office.

Joly de Lotbinière had become premier two months earlier when the previous Conservative premier Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville had resigned or was deposed by Lieutenant-Governor Luc Letellier de Saint-Just. He was therefore the incumbent. Boucher de Boucherville left the premier's office when the Lieutenant Governor refused to approve railway legislation that had been passed by the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, i.e., by both houses of the Quebec legislature.

Joly de Lotbinière did not quite win the election: the Conservatives won 32 seats to the Liberals' 31 (and there were two "Independent Conservatives"). Four Conservatives supported him, allowing him to form a minority government—Quebec's last until 2007.

The Legislative Council pushed Joly de Lotbinière to resign on October 31, 1879, and Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau then took office.