The federalist Liberals of Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec on Monday won a minority government by a narrow margin, holding off another potential referendum on the issue of separation of the province from Canada.

This is the first minority government in Quebec since 1878.

Results from 98 percent of polling stations showed that the Quebec Premier Jean Charest's Liberals won 48 of 125 constituencies, short of at least 15 seats required to form a majority government.

It was followed by the right-wing nationalist Action Democratique du Quebec (ADQ) led by 36-year-old Mario Dumont, with 41 seats.

The separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ), which governed the province from 1994 to 2003, is in third place with 36 seats.

Local reports said recounts are a virtual certainty and final results probably will not be known for days since many races are close.

Analysts are already calling the election results "historic" for the breaking of the federal-separatist deadlock that has dominated the province's politics since the 1960s.

Apparently, Dumont's ADQ, which proposes that Quebec remain part of Canada but calls for more autonomy for the province, has been the biggest winner in the elections. The party only had five seats when the elections were called in February.

With less than 30 percent of the popular votes in pocket, the separatist PQ and its 40-year-old leader Andre Boisclair encountered their worst defeat since 1970.

That effectively stops the clock on any timing for another referendum on the issue of sovereignty. The PQ held two referendums on separation in Quebec in 1980 and 1995.

The ADQ's massive success is a result of both Quebecois referendum-weariness and their discontent with the Liberal government's performance in the last four years, analysts say.

At the election call, six out of ten Quebecois surveyed were dissatisfied with the Liberals. Charest was the first Quebec premier to fail to win a second majority mandate in 40 years.

Some analysts also noted that a victory for federalism, combined with a surge in conservatism in Quebec, could trigger new federal elections.

Craig Oliver, CTV's chief political correspondent, said that ADQ 's rise is a vindication of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's policy of accommodation toward Quebec.

Given these results, a federal election this spring seems almost certain, he said.

The federal Conservatives won an unexpected 10 seats in Quebec in the 2006 federal elections. Growth for the party in Quebec and Ontario are seen as crucial to the Conservative quest to form a majority national government.

In a bid to woo Quebecois voters, Harper has been pledging a more open federalism over the past year.

Editor: Yan