Canada's Quebec province elects centre-right nationalist government

Canada's Quebec province elected, for the first time Monday, a centre-right nationalist party with no designs on independence, that promised to cut government and immigration, turning the page on nearly 15 years of liberal rule.

Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), led by 61-year-old businessman Francois Legault, was declared the victor, according to preliminary results. The party, formed in 2011, was predicted to win a majority of seats in the provincial assembly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'm very touched by your trust in my team. And I cannot wait to get to work for you," Legault said on Twitter.

The election results mark the first time in four decades that Quebec independence was not at play and that the two main parties -- the federalist Liberals or the separatist Parti Quebecois -- didn't form the government.

The loss of a provincial ally, meanwhile, is another blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's federal Liberals, after Ontario voted in an antagonistic Tory government in .