Maybe it was because Jean Charest had been in power for more than nine years. Maybe it’s because Pauline Marois is new at being Quebec’s premier. But there is a major difference in style between Charest, formerly the Liberal premier and a master at controlling his message, and Marois, the Parti Québécois (PQ) premier who often gives the impression she is making it up as she goes along.

Charest would announce projects, such as his Plan Nord, several times. And as his years in office went on, the legislative menu he proposed got thinner.

Marois’ approach has been different. For instance, in the campaign leading up to last year’s Sept. 4 election, Marois pledged she would settle an issue with serious public-health considerations that previous governments had dodged – mining asbestos, a proven carcinogen. In the past, jobs have been the lure; but as one of Marois’ first actions, she shut down Quebec’s last asbestos mine.

And after the first meeting of the Marois cabinet, Martine Ouellet, the natural resources minister, emerged to say the government would close Gentilly-2, Quebec’s only nuclear reactor.

The Marois government has also imposed a moratorium on developing Quebec’s shale gas potential – perhaps a wise decision, considering the downward spiral in gas prices brought on by the U.S.’s shale gas revolution.

But while most of Marois’ initiatives met with general approval, despite the speed, she slipped badly in January, when she travelled to Edinburgh for what turned out to be a closed-door meeting with Alex Salmond, the Scottish National Party’s first minister, who is committed to holding a referendum next year on Scotland’s independence. Ignored in Scotland, the meeting was criticized here as a waste of money and interference in the Scottish debate.

An even bigger potential pit is Marois’ election promise to resolve the university-tuition dispute, which dominated Quebec’s political agenda in 2012. In February, after Marois called a “summit” to resolve the issue, some student leaders said they would boycott the event and later stage a demonstration. Many students were angry with the PQ’s decision not to consider free tuition.

In the autumn session of the Quebec legislature, the Marois minority government took a pragmatic stance on several issues. Its budget and other bills the Opposition parties could buy into were adopted.

But by March, attitudes had shifted. Public hearings on Bill 14, the PQ’s proposal to toughen Bill 101 (Quebec’s charter of the French language) reopened another polarizing debate.

Marois’ election campaign had run on issues like language, identity and the promise of an eventual referendum. But during the election, she was vague about moving that issue forward. Now, it appears she is intent on moving swiftly on the issue of the nationalist agenda. Unlike Charest’s careful “testing the waters” approach, Marois seems committed to acting – and acting fast.

© 2013 Investment Executive. All rights reserved.