The leaders of Quebec’s five main parties have made their final bids to the public as they wait for votes to roll in throughout the day Monday.

The 39 day campaign saw the rivals make promises on everything from separation and nationalism, to immigration, workers’ rights and parental support.

The separatist Parti Québécois (PQ), which promised a separation referendum in 2029, has topped the polls throughout the campaign.

Latest polling by Leger for Journal/TVA Nouvelles shows the PQ sitting at 29 per cent, with a 16-percentage point advantage among francophone voters.

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has spent most of his campaign on the offensive, appealing to voters looking for a change in government.

According to the Leger poll, 77 per cent of voters are looking for a change, after eight years of leadership from the Coalition Avenir Quebec that St-Pierre Plamondon said has produced “catastrophic results.”

Whether or not the PQ would sweep the National Assembly with a majority is still unclear, but St-Pierre Plamondon has risen the ranks of the party that has not held government since 2014.

The legacy of the PQ is the promise of a referendum that St-Pierre Plamondon has assured Quebecers will not be held until U.S. President Donald Trump is out of office.

But while St-Pierre Plamondon leads in the election polls, the latest polling on the possibility of a Quebec referendum swing in favour of the federalists.

The PQ is also positioning itself as the party that will get the province’s finances back on track.

The province’s deficit for the last fiscal year landed at $7.2 billion.

It has become a key sticking point for the PQ, hearing from voters along the campaign trail about concerns around affordability, homelessness, immigration, language policy and economic uncertainty linked to the United States.

PQ candidate and economist Marceau said a PQ government would reduce overall government spending while lowering taxes for businesses and cutting subsidies to multinational corporations.

The party also announced it would balance the provincial budget by 2028-29.

Despite repeated jabs at the CAQ for its handling of provincial affairs over the past eight years, leader Christine Fréchette said over the weekend that she is hinging on voters who still remain undecided.

Fréchette said early on in the campaign that her real rival is President Trump and that the CAQ would stand up for Quebec to the federal government as it enhances trade negotiations.

She has repeatedly argued that St-Pierre Plamondon’s plans for a referendum will only destabilize the province more and could add strain to its economy.

On the topic of budgets, the CAQ leader said her government has needed time to overcome the poor financial planning and debt incurred by the Liberals prior to 2018.

Just six months into her tenure as leader of the CAQ, Fréchette has said she offers a change in leadership without a change in government, promising a way to “move forward through the storm.”

The Trois-Rivières native was elected in the riding of Sanguinet and was named immigration minister. Less than two years later she changed mandates to energy and economy minister.

She has campaigned on affordability, health care and support for families and seniors, with promises including more money for home care and school-related expenses.

But former politicians and experts have used the term “glass cliff” to describe a woman assuming a leadership position when an organization is already facing a high risk of failure.

According to polls, support for the CAQ sits at 14 per cent, plummeting 10 points since the beginning of the campaign.

Throughout the last 39 days Fréchette has been dragged through controversies including the issuance of French-only voter cards and a claim about foreign interference in the election, which she later admitted was unsubstantiated.

Information has also been swirling regarding a supposed meeting that the PQ requested with the U.S. State Department earlier this year.

St. Pierre Plamondon said all that happened was a discussion with consular officials about the possibility of a trip to the U.S. that never took place.

Fréchette said she remains committed to her position and said she will stay on as leader despite the results of the election.

Support for Charles Milliard and the Quebec Liberal Party has risen steadily over the last month, capturing one quarter of voter intentions, according to Leger.

Plagued by poor showings and scandals for years, Milliard is determined to bring the Liberals back to the top.

Early on, Milliard branded himself as the only federalist candidate in the election, though he said he still believes in putting Quebec first.

“I lean much more towards the ‘Quebec-first’ end of the spectrum. But I’m convinced that Canada is something exceptional to which we have to contribute,” he said.

On Sunday, Milliard took a stance against the PQ and urged those who oppose a referendum to strategically vote Liberal.

The Liberal leader has focused much of his campaign on the Quebec economy, promising support for business owners, as well as advancements in education, internships and a commission on mental health.

Milliard has never served as an elected official and, at the start of the campaign, was an unknown name to many voters. But throughout the last 39 days he has solidified his standing and grasped the attention of many of Quebec’s English-speaking voters.

Support for the Conservative Party has also slowly gained momentum since the beginning of the campaign. According to the Leger poll, Éric Duhaime has 20 per cent of the vote.

The Conservative leader has spent the majority of his campaign distancing himself from the other parties. He has relentlessly hammered his rivals for being too bureaucratic and wasteful, while promising to address Quebecers’ cost of living through large tax cuts and slashing the size and cost of government.

If his party has the balance of power in a legislature led by a Parti Québécois minority, he has also promised to use his power to stop a referendum on sovereignty.

“We’re going to make sure that the ‘Yes’ bus and the ‘No’ bus remain nothing more than a fantasy of (Liberal Leader) Charles Milliard and (Parti Québécois Leader) Paul St-Pierre Plamondon,” he said.

Asked who would make the best premier, Duhaime came third with 14 per cent of the vote, according to Leger. He was polling second for the leader who ran the best campaign.

Duhaime has remained relatively unscathed over the course of the campaign but is no stranger to political hot water.

In 2016 the politician received backlash for commentary that was considered Islamophobic and sexist.

Duhaime’s support is highest amongst men and those 35 to 54.

Support remains the lowest for Quebec Solidaire (SQ) candidate Ruba Ghazal, who helped found the party 20 years ago, though the SQ is still expected to win some seats in the national assembly.

The Beirut native who moved to Canada at age 10 said she has an autonomous vision for Quebec, but one that is much more inclusive than the vision of the PQ.

“I want Quebec to be able to speak and defend our interests by ourselves. We don’t need anyone to do it for us,” she said when she launched her campaign. “It is important also to make people who are anglophone or who are immigrants to see that this project of independence is for them [too].”

Ghazal has said she will provide “solutions” to problems plaguing the province such as house, cost of living and the environment. She is adamant that the province needs a change in leadership.

Support for the leftist candidate is highest in Montreal and while it is unlikely for her party to form government, she is urging voters not to vote strategically in close ridings.

“People are fed up with strategic voting. What they need is for their voices to be heard,” she said. “Me, I invite Quebecers to vote with their hearts.”

Quebecers head to the polls Monday evening.

– With files from The Canadian Press