Quebecers will head to the polls in just over a month for a provincial election that appears will be fought over the economy.
Liberal Premier Jean Charest announced Wednesday that he had asked Quebec's lieutenant-governor to dissolve the legislature so that an election can be held Dec. 8.
Charest didn't take long to kick off his campaign, quickly stealing a page out of the separatists' play book.
His slogan and pitch to Quebecers: think of the election as a referendum on the economy and vote "oui" or "yes" to his party.
"I want Quebecers to be able to say 'Yes' to a future that will allow us, in the government of Quebec, to have the tools and the stability that we need to make the best possible decisions," Charest said when he announced the election.
The province is used to ballot questions calling for simple "yes" and "no" answers, but they're usually about Quebec sovereignty. Charest said the election, which has been called less than two years after the Liberals won a minority government, will be about who Quebecers trust to lead them through tough economic times.
It had been widely expected that Charest would call an election after his finance minister released a report Tuesday suggesting Quebec will see balanced budgets both this year and next.
Finance Minister Monique Jerome-Forget announced $249 million worth of initiatives designed to help limit damage to the Quebec economy during the current global credit crisis and suggested the province would be able to avoid a recession.
But the government's opponents didn't agree.
The finance critics for both the Parti Quebecois and Action democratique du Quebec said the province had been in deficit for some time.
Relations between the Liberals and their opponents have worsened in recent months with Charest complaining that the PQ and ADQ were refusing to cooperate with his government.
Charest made reference to this issue on Wednesday, saying that political stability was necessary to achieve economic prosperity.
Last week, the PQ and ADQ passed a motion in the national assembly urging Charest not to call an election.
But the Liberals moved forward with an election anyway, sensing an opportunity to make some gains.
Charest didn't mention Quebec sovereignty when he made the election call on Wednesday, but the subject will likely come up during the course of the campaign. The Liberals have been successful in the past of fighting the Parti Quebecois by outlining the economic uncertainty surrounding Quebec's independence.
PQ Leader Pauline Marois noted that the election will not be about sovereignty, although she said an independent Quebec would be better off without the rest of Canada.
"I think a sovereign Quebec would be best equipped to respond to the crisis because we would control our economic life, we would control our taxes and we could make our decisions without asking Ottawa," Marois said.
Meanwhile, Action democratique du Quebec Leader Mario Dumont said the Liberal campaign slogan was more about the party's desire to win than its intentions to fix the economy. He said the Liberals are concerned with elections first and then the economy. Dumont called on Quebecers to "punish" Charest for taking them to the polls unnecessarily.
Liberal Party strategists are reported to believe that up to 35 seats are up for grabs in the province, particularly in ridings surrounding the island of Montreal.
The Liberals would have to pick up at least 15 seats -- in addition to the 48 seats they currently hold -- in order to regain majority control of the 125-seat national assembly, which they held prior to last year's provincial election.
The ADQ currently hold 39 seats and the PQ 36 seats. Two seats are currently vacant.
Charest, 50, first became premier in April 2003 and has led the Quebec Liberals for the past 10 years.
With files from CTV Montreal and The Canadian Press
