December 2, 1985 1989 → 42 seats, 46.07% 80 seats, 49.26% 57 57 Date 2 December 1985 | Turnout 75.69% 99 23 1,910,307 1,320,008 | |
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Winner Robert Bourassa | ||
The Quebec general election of 1985 was held on December 2, 1985, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by former premier Robert Bourassa, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by premier Pierre-Marc Johnson.
This election marked the comeback of Robert Bourassa, whose political career had been thought to be over after losing the 1976 general election and resigning as Liberal leader. However, Bourassa personally failed to win his own seat in the Bertrand electoral district, and had to run in a by-election one month later in the safe Saint-Laurent electoral district. The 1985 Quebec general election result produced by far the largest majority of any Canadian legislative election (both in terms of the number of seats and percentage of seats) by a winning party whose leader failed to win his own seat.
Johnson, son of former Union Nationale premier Daniel Johnson, Sr. was unable to revive the PQ's fortune after he succeeded René Lévesque as party leader and premier. Pierre-Marc's brother, Daniel Johnson, Jr, later became leader of the Liberal Party and briefly served as premier.
This election was the last contested by the Union Nationale. It only ran candidates in 19 ridings, none of whom came close to being elected. The party would be wound up by election authorities in 1989.
Results
The overall results were:
Note:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.