The PQ won 54 of the 125 seats in the provincial assembly, enough to form only a minority government (see chart).

ECONOMIST: Quebec��s election

Alberta's provincial government won general support for its ideas, and the reforms are now uncontentious.

ECONOMIST: Education reform

In a campaign that pitted him against George Smitherman, an urbane, gay politician who had given up a cabinet post in the centre-left Liberal provincial government to run, Mr Ford won votes by promising both to cut taxes and improve services for Toronto's 2.5m residents.

ECONOMIST: The Toronto mayor's race: Time for tea? | The