Quebec premier calls September election

QUEBEC CITY, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Quebec's Liberal Premier Jean Charest announced Wednesday there will be a provincial election on Sept. 4, creating a renewed stir among separatists.

The sitting provincial Parliament in Quebec City known as the National Assembly was dissolved and campaigning began immediately, the Globe and Mail reported.

There are two main challenging parties to Charest's Liberals, one of them intent on taking Quebec out of Canada.

The leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois, Pauline Marois, told reporters the party has retained its anti-federal stance over the years.

"Canada has become a risk for Quebec," she said. "We will eventually have to choose between remaining a province of Canada or become a country."

Campaigning also began for the Coalition Avenir Quebec, a party formed earlier this year by a former Parti Quebecois Cabinet minister along with a merger with a smaller, rightist party. Its leader, Francois Legault, has said he no longer supports Quebec separation.

In recent months, thousands of students have rioted and rallied against the Liberals' proposed university tuition fees. The government has also been accused to turning a blind eye to widespread corruption in the construction industry, prompting Charest to form an investigative commission.