* Anti-separatist Quebec Liberal Party to form majority govt
* Defeated separatist party leader to resign
* Quebec separatist vote off political agenda for years
* Separatists remain defiant in defeat (Adds separatist leader to resign, fresh quotes)
By Randall Palmer
OTTAWA, April 7 (Reuters) - The anti-separatist Quebec Liberal Party won a majority government in provincial elections on Monday, eliminating the possibility of a new referendum on independence from Canada for several years and crushing the separatist Parti Quebecois.
The election in the mainly French-speaking province had turned into a referendum on whether to hold another vote on separating from Canada, and the answer appeared to be a resounding "Non."
The Quebec Liberals had warned incessantly that the Parti Quebecois, which had called the election in a bid to turn their minority government into a majority, would launch a referendum if it succeeded.
Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois, who is expected to lose her seat, announced she would resign as party head in view of the electoral defeat. Quebec Liberal leader Philippe Couillard will now replace her as premier of the province.
The Liberals led in 70 of the 125 races, and the Parti Quebecois led in just 30, its lowest since 1989.
The Parti Quebecois took the lowest share of the vote since it won 23.1 percent in its first election in 1970. With 98.8 percent of voting stations reporting on Monday, it had 25.4 percent of the votes, against 41.5 percent for the Liberals.
It was nearly eclipsed by the upstart Coalition Avenir Quebec, a conservative party which also opposes a referendum. It won or led in 22 seats and took 23.3 percent of the votes.
"The results clearly demonstrate that Quebecers have rejected the idea of a referendum and want a government that will be focused on the economy and job creation," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the new government of Quebec on those priorities."
The Parti Quebecois went into the campaign with a polling lead but this turned to dust after star candidate Pierre Karl Peladeau, a media magnate, pumped his fist in the air in saying how he wanted "to make Quebec a country."
Though sovereignty is the raison d'etre of the Parti Quebecois, party leader Marois had focused on other issues and played down the likelihood of a referendum, but Peladeau's declaration returned it front and center.
A first referendum in 1980 lost by almost 20 points but a second one in 1995 turned into a nail-biter for Canada, as the sovereignty option lost by just over one percentage point.