Canadian Election Marred by Rare Violence

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VOA News

September 05, 2012

A deadly shooting has marred an election night victory party in Quebec, Canada, a country where political violence is rare.

Police say one person was killed and another badly wounded after a gunman opened fire, Tuesday, during Pauline Marois' victory speech. The leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois is set to become Quebec's first female premier.

Authorities have arrested the alleged gunman.

The motive for the shooting is unclear, but police say the man shouted "The English are waking up!" as he was captured.  Investigators also say the alleged gunman set fire to the back of the building before he was arrested.

Marois was rushed off the stage by her bodyguards, but returned later to finish her speech.

The Parti Quebecois defeated the Liberals, who governed French-speaking Quebec province for nine years. The separatists campaigned on what they called the Liberal's mishandling of the economy, alleged corruption, and a hike in college tuition that led to sometimes violent student protests earlier this year.

Many French-speaking Canadians in Quebec want to secede from Canada, where the majority of citizens speak English.

In 1970, political violence rocked Quebec. A separatist militant group kidnapped and killed a labor minister during a period that became known as the "October Crisis."