Premier Jean Charest, at the helm of a minority federalist Liberal Party that is soaring in public opinion, asked Quebec’s lieutenant-governor in the morning to dissolve the provincial legislature. He then boarded his new campaign bus with the slogan “the economy first” plastered across its side, heading for what he hopes will be his third win.

The Liberals held 48 seats in the 125-seat National Assembly before dissolution, versus 39 for the Action Democratique du Quebec (ADQ), 36 for the Parti Quebecois (PQ) and two vacant seats. Charest’s government was first elected in 2003. If re-elected now, he would become the first Quebec premier in half a century to win three back-to-back mandates.