More than five million people are eligible to vote in the vast province.

Lee Carter in Quebec: "Polls show people have no appetite for another referendum"

Opinion polls suggest that the current provincial premier, Lucien Bouchard, and his Parti Quebecois, which is seeking a separate Quebec, will stay in power.

Election officials reported a steady turnout as voting started, although some rural areas were expected to be affected by heavy snow and blizzards later in the day.

As he went to cast his vote in his home town of Jonquiere, Mr Bouchard told journalists: "I am confident, but of course we have to wait for the results tonight."

Among the majority French-speaking population, Mr Bouchard has near mythic status after losing a leg and almost dying from a flesh-eating disease in 1994.

His nearest challenger is the Liberal Party, led by Jean Charest, which wants to stay in Canada.

Jean Charest: Selling the federalist option

Mr Charest has been highlighting issues such as healthcare and unemployment.

"It's either an agenda for separation or an agenda for affirmation," Mr Charest said as he cast his vote.

If the Parti Quebecois wins, there is theoreticaly the prospect of another referendum on whether the mainly-French speaking province should secede from the rest of Canada.

However, the last referendum in 1995 rejected separation by one percentage point, and the separatists also lost two earlier referedums.

A BBC correspondent in Canada, Lee Carter, says there is little appetite for another poll.

Our correspondent says Mr Bouchard's commitment to a referendum seems more ambiguous than previous leaders - he has been trying to win over federalists by suggesting that he could secure a better deal for the province inside Canada.