Quebec Sovereigntists Set April 7 Snap Election

Canada's mostly French-speaking Quebec province announced Wednesday it will hold snap elections on April 7, with the ruling separatist Parti Quebecois leading in public opinion polls.

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, who has led a fragile Parti Quebecois minority government over the past 18 months, will be seeking her first majority in the province's legislature.

"We are using all means possible to build a Quebec where we will control our own destiny and be prosperous," Marois told a nationally televised press conference.

Plans for a third referendum on Quebec independence, after a split from the rest of Canada was rejected in 1980 and 1995, however, remain on the back burner.

Successive PQ leaders since 1995 have said they would await "winning conditions." But support for Quebec independence is currently at 34 percent, and opposition to such a move is at 49 percent.

Latest polls show support for the Parti Quebecois at 37 percent versus 35 percent for the main opposition Liberals.