MONTREAL (CBC) - The Parti Québécois held on to two Montreal strongholds and the Liberals kept a western riding in three provincial byelections Monday that did not change the balance of power in the legislature.

The byelections leave the Liberals with 48 seats in the125-member legislature, compared with 41 for the ADQ and 36 for the PQ.

In Pointe-aux-Trembles, Péquiste Nicole Léger easily regained her former seat, which she gave up when André Boisclair returned to politics as leader of the party. The seat became vacant following Boisclair's departure from politics after losing the provincial election.

In Bourget, former Bloc Québécois MP Maka Kotto took the riding for the PQ, defeating Mercier-Hochelaga borough Mayor Lyn Thériault, the Liberal candidate, and Montreal criminal lawyer Denis Mondor, a former president of the Quebec Bar Association, who ran for the Action Démocratique du Québec.

Maryse Gaudreault, the former assistant to Liberal MNA Roch Cholette who held the seat, won in Hull - a longtime Liberal bastion except for a five-year period starting in 1976.

Gaudreault triumphed over PQ candidate Gilles Aubé, a local doctor, and ADQ candidate Jean-Philip Ruel.

PQ Leader Pauline Marois beamed as she celebrated with Kotto and his supporters in Bourget, where she spoke about Quebec independence.

"I am certain Maka Kotto will be one of those who will enable us to reach that goal - a Quebec that is ours, a Quebec that is sovereign and independent," she said.

Monday night's results were a blow to the ADQ, which had hoped the byelections would produce a breakthrough for the party on the island of Montreal.

The opposite happened, with ADQ candidates slipping to last or second last in all ridings.

Leader Mario Dumont blamed the showing on poor voter turnout.

"The results are disappointing," he said. "Byelections are unforgiving, especially with turnouts that are so low."

In Bourget, ADQ candidate Denis Mondor finished fourth with about 10 per cent of the vote, behind the PQ, Liberals and Green Party.

In Pointe-aux-Trembles, ADQ star candidate Diane Bellemare came in third with 14 per cent of the popular vote, about 50 per cent less than what the party earned in the riding during the last general election, when it finished second behind Boisclair.

In Gatineau, ADQ hopeful Jean-Philip Ruel obtained just over three per cent of the popular vote, finishing fifth, behind the Liberals, PQ, Green Party and Québec Solidaire.

The ADQ hoped to halt its freefall in recent public polls which suggest the party's popularity is at its lowest point in a decade.

The party anchored its byelection campaign on a controversial pitch linking immigration to the decline of French on the island of Montreal, a strategy that drew fire from critics.

"I know the overall political environment has not been any help for us," said Bellemarre, an economist who was recruited as a star candidate for the ADQ.

Bellemarre said loyalty towards the PQ in the east end is like "a religion."

The Liberals were satisfied with their performance, with leader Jean Charest pointing out the party was the only one to increase its popular support across all three ridings.

"Quebecers want a government that listens to them, that is present in outlying regions, and puts the emphasis on the economy," he said in Hull.

The three byelections were the first in Quebec since last fall, when Marois was elected to the provincial legislature.

With files from the Canadian Press

LIKE IT?  LET OTHERS KNOW