The 2011 election campaign produced many surprises, but one trend has been steady now for three elections: The decline of the Christian -and specifically, Catholic -Liberal party voter.

For generations, the Catholic voter was reliably Liberal. Largely Catholic Quebec belonged to the Liberal party from Laurier until Trudeau. The great Catholic immigrant populations voted as immigrants have largely done until recently: Liberal. But there was more to it than that; Catholic leaders identified with the Liberal party, so much so that while any hint of partisanship toward Conservatives would be scrupulously avoided, Liberal partisanship was often open and unremarkable.

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