(Adds results, reaction; spelling of democratique is correct)

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Quebec's ruling Liberals strengthened their grip on power in a provincial election on Monday, winning a parliamentary majority and defeating separatists who want independence for the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province.

Premier Jean Charest's Liberals, who went into the vote with only 48 of the 125 seats in Quebec's legislature, won 66 seats. Opinion polls had forecast a Liberal victory.

Charest, who won a majority in 2003 and then barely hung onto power in a March 2007 vote, called the election last month on the grounds that he needed a majority government to deal with the worsening effects of the global financial crisis.

"We are facing an economic storm. Our economy is open to the world and the world is worried ... Quebec must do everything it can to resist this economic storm," Charest told cheering supporters in his home town of Sherbrooke.

The separatist Parti Quebecois -- struggling to raise enthusiasm for independence -- did better than many pollsters had expected by finishing a strong second with 51 seats.

Radio-Canada analyst Michel Auger linked this to a noisy anti-separatist campaign launched in Ottawa last week by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper last week won a bid to suspend Canada's parliament until January, blocking the opposition's attempt to bring down his government.

The Bloc Quebecois -- the federal sister party of the Parti Quebecois -- promised to support the coalition government the federal opposition parties want to create.

This prompted Harper to rail against separatists, sparking concerns that voters might rally to the Parti Quebecois on Monday. The party received 35 percent of the vote, around five percentage points more than had been predicted.

"Even if we are a little bit disappointed tonight, the big dream that we have for Quebec is alive and well," party leader Pauline Marois told supporters.

TURNOUT LOW

Turnout was 57 percent, down from 71 percent in 2007. Voters were deterred a low-key campaign and temperatures that plunged as low as minus 4 Fahrenheit (minus 20 Celsius).

The Liberals and Parti Quebecois' gains came at the expense of the right-leaning Action democratique du Quebec, which came close to winning in 2007, but has since faded. Party leader Mario Dumont said he would step down.

The Liberals won 42 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent in 2007. The Parti Quebecois climbed to 35 percent from 28 percent and the AdQ fell to 17 percent from 31 percent.

The separatist movement peaked in 1995, when the province's then-Parti Quebecois government held a referendum on breaking away from Canada that failed narrowly. Support in Quebec for breaking away from Canada has since faded to under 40 percent.

Marois had promised during the campaign that she would not push for an immediate referendum if elected. This prompted angry protests from hard-liners.

Charest had promised to boost spending on health care and education while also cutting taxes.

Here are preliminary results of the election (numbers in brackets are the seats at the time of dissolution):

Liberals 66 (48)

Parti Quebecois 51 (36)

Action democratique du Quebec 7 (39)

Quebec Solidaire 1 (0)

Vacancies 0 (2) (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Patricia Zengerle)

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