The Oct. 3 election is likely to ring in the most diverse National Assembly ever.

A Canadian Press compilation based on data from the five major parties suggests that, compared to 2018, the new Quebec government could include more women, Indigenous people, people with immigrant backgrounds, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

If the record proportion of female candidates is any indication, the new National Assembly will be more diverse than in the past and, therefore, more in line with the population it is supposed to represent.

It remains to be seen on Oct. 3, however, how many of the record numbers of aspiring female politicians will translate into actual elected members.

CAQ: 55 PER CENT WOMEN

Even in 2022, recruiting women into politics remains a challenge.

In this regard, it's worth noting the efforts made by Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), which succeeded this election in bringing 69 women into the running. A majority of the party candidates are women, accounting for 55 per cent of the team. The immense popularity of the CAQ and its leader has certainly contributed to facilitating recruitment over the past few months.

It's a far cry from the 2014 election, when François Legault's team had only 21 per cent women, ranking last among the four major parties.

Québec solidaire (QS) is narrowly ahead of the CAQ with 70 women candidates for 56 per cent of the party's total. This is less of a surprise, though, since the left-leaning party has a statutory requirement to nominate as many women as men.

As for the Parti québécois (PQ), 42 per cent of its candidates are women.

Although it's led by noted feminist Dominique Anglade, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP)'s female presence has gone down slightly. Between 2018 and 2022, it went from a candidate pool of 44 per cent women to 41 per cent.

Of the five major parties, Éric Duhaime's Conservative Party of Quebec ranks lowest in terms of women candidates at 37 per cent. The party leader had not committed to a minimum number.

In 2018, the four other parties committed to reaching the parity zone, a minimum of 40 per cent female candidates in their team, and all met their commitment.

LGBTQ+ CANDIDATES

Typically considered a conservative environment attached to traditions and rituals of the past, the National Assembly has not been known for its large number of elected officials willing to make their sexual identity public.

Times are changing, it appears, after André Boisclair, Agnès Maltais and Manon Massé, among others, brought sexual diversity into parliament with their heads held high.

The PQ is running a transgender candidate, and QS stands out from the other parties with no less than 22 candidates (17.6 per cent) who openly identify themselves as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer, non-binary or other.

In the QLP, there are five in this category (4 per cent), including incumbent Jennifer Maccarone.

The CAQ did not collect this data, nor did the PCQ.

INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATION 

In the past, only one Indigenous person has crossed the threshold of the Salon bleu, and briefly: Alexis Wawanoloath, for the Parti québécois in Abitibi-Est, from 2007 to 2008.

This time, QS is running six candidates (4.8 per cent of its total) from Indigenous communities, including highly promoted Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash in Ungava. If elected, she would be the first Indigenous woman ever elected to the National Assembly.

The CAQ has one Indigenous candidate, as do the QLP and the PQ. The Quebec Conservative Party has none.

ANGLOPHONES AND CULTURAL MINORITIES

The QLP has 15 Anglophone candidates and 39 candidates from a cultural minority.

The PQ and QS have no primarily English-speaking candidates, but QS has 32 candidates who are either immigrants or members of diverse communities, compared to 10 for the PQ.

The Conservatives have nine English-speaking candidates and 27 from the immigrant or cultural minority category.

The CAQ has 11 candidates who identify as cultural minorities.

40-SOMETHINGS

The CAQ has the oldest candidates. The oldest is 68 and the youngest is 21, with an average age of 49.

The average age of candidates is 45 for the PLQ, 39 for QS and the PQ, while this data was not provided by the Quebec Conservative Party.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 10, 2022.