Bloc Québécois
Encyclopedia
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada
devoted to the protection of Quebec
's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty
. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists
who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative Party
and Liberal Party
. BQ founder Lucien Bouchard
was a cabinet minister in the federal Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. The BQ seeks to create the conditions necessary for the political secession of Quebec from Canada and campaigns actively only within the province during federal elections.
The Bloc Québécois has been supported by a wide range of voters in Quebec, from large sections of organised labour
to more conservative rural voters. Members and supporters are known as Bloquistes (blɔkist). English-speaking Canadian
s commonly refer to the BQ as "the Bloc". The party is sometimes known as the BQ in the English-speaking media.
In 2011, the Bloc lost official party status
in the House of Commons, as they have fewer than 12 seats, although they remain a registered political party. The Bloc is currently the second smallest party (in front of the one seat Green Party
) in the Canadian House of Commons
. It has strong informal ties to the Parti Québécois
(PQ, whose members are known as "Péquistes"), the provincial party that advocates for the secession of Quebec from Canada and its independence, but the two are not linked organizationally.
and Liberal
Members of Parliament from Quebec, who left their original parties around the time of the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord
. The party was initially intended to be temporary and was given the goal of the promotion of sovereignty at the federal level. The party aimed to disband following a successful referendum
on secession from Canada. As with most parties, it has gained and lost prominent supporters over the years.
The initial coalition that led to the Bloc was headed by Lucien Bouchard , who had been federal Minister of the Environment
in the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney
. Bouchard abandoned the government in May 1990 in response to the report of a commission headed by Jean Charest
that suggested changes to the Meech Lake Accord
. Bouchard felt the recommendations for change undermined the objectives and spirit of the accord. According to The Secret Mulroney Tapes
he was fired by Prime Minister Mulroney. Bouchard was joined by several of his fellow Tories, Nic Leblanc
, Louis Plamondon
, Benoît Tremblay
, Gilbert Chartrand
, and François Gérin
, along with two Liberals, Gilles Rocheleau
and Jean Lapierre
. The first Bloquiste candidate to be elected was Gilles Duceppe
, then a union organizer, in a by-election
for the Montreal
riding
of Laurier—Sainte-Marie
on August 13, 1990. He ran as an independent, since the Bloc had not been registered as a federal party. Jean Lapierre
renounced separatism and rejoined the Liberals during the leadership of Paul Martin
.
, the Bloc won 54 seats (out of 75) in Quebec, sweeping nearly all of the francophone ridings there. Because the opposition vote in the rest of Canada was split between the Reform Party
, the Progressive Conservative Party, and the New Democratic Party
, the Bloc narrowly won the second largest number of seats in the House of Commons, and therefore became the official opposition
. While Reform actually finished second in the national popular vote, the Bloc's heavy concentration of support in Quebec was slightly larger than Reform's concentration in the West.
Soon after the new Parliament was sworn in, Bouchard announced that Bloc MPs would only speak French on the floor of the House of Commons, a policy that remains in force to this day. This was out of necessity, as most of the Bloquistes could not speak English well enough to use it in debate.
The election of such a relatively large number of Bloquistes was the first of The Three Periods
, a plan intended to lay out the way to sovereignty created by PQ leader Jacques Parizeau
. Parizeau became Premier of Quebec
in the Quebec election of 1994
(the second of the Three Periods).
As a result of the Bloc being the official opposition, it had considerable privileges over the other parties despite only electing MPs from one province. For instance, Question Period
s during the 35th Parliament were dominated by issues of national unity. However, the governing Liberals regarded Reform as their main opposition on non-Quebec matters. Also, in 1995, when Bouchard garnered an invitation to meet visiting US President Bill Clinton
by virtue of being Opposition Leader, Reform leader Preston Manning
was also given a meeting with Clinton in order to diffuse Bouchard's separatist leverage.
on independence in Quebec history
. The Bloc entered the campaign for the Oui (Yes) side (in favour of sovereignty). The Oui side's campaign had a difficult beginning, so the leadership of the campaign was shifted from PQ leader Jacques Parizeau to Bloc leader Lucien Bouchard. Bouchard was seen as more charismatic and more moderate, and therefore more likely to attract voters.
A "tripartite agreement" mapping out the plan for accession to independence was written and signed by the leaders of the Parti Québécois, the Bloc Québécois and the Action démocratique du Québec
on 12 June 1995. It revived René Lévesque
's notion that the referendum should be followed by the negotiating of an association agreement between an independent Quebec and the rest of Canada. This provision was inspired by Bouchard. Parizeau had previously wanted a vote simply on independence. The difference became moot when 50.6% of voters taking part in the referendum rejected the sovereignty plan. An overwhelming "Non" vote in Montreal tipped the balance.
The day after the referendum, Parizeau stepped down as PQ leader and Premier of Quebec
. Bouchard left federal politics and succeeded Parizeau in both posts on 26 January 1996.
became leader of the Bloc
. In the wake of the referendum defeat, Gauthier proved unable to hold the fractious caucus together and resigned as leader just one year later. Gilles Duceppe, who had served as interim leader after Bouchard stepped down, became leader of the Bloc in 1997 and remained leader up until 2011, resigning after the 2011 federal election.
Gilles Duceppe announced on 11 May 2007 that he would run in the Parti Québécois leadership race to replace André Boisclair
, who resigned on 8 May 2007, after the poor performance in the March 2007 Quebec provincial election
and internal dissent forced him to step down. However, in a surprise move, Duceppe announced the next day that he was withdrawing from the race, and that he would support Pauline Marois
who had also announced her intention to run.
, the Bloc Québécois dropped to 44 seats, losing official opposition status to the Reform Party. The 1997–2000 term was marked by the Bloc's fight against the passage of the Clarity Act
, the attempt by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
(himself a Quebecer who represented a strongly nationalist riding) and Stéphane Dion
, a Quebec minister in Chrétien's cabinet, to codify the Supreme Court of Canada
's 1998 decision
that Quebec could not secede unilaterally.
In the 2000 election
, the Bloc dropped further to 38 seats, despite polling a larger percentage of the vote than at the previous election. One factor was the forced merger of several major Quebec cities
, such as Montreal
, Quebec City
and Hull
/Gatineau
. The merger was very unpopular in those areas, resulting in Liberal wins in several of the merged areas. This was still more than the number of seats the Liberals had won in Quebec. However, the Liberals went on to win several subsequent by-elections during the life of the resulting Parliament, until the Liberals had held the majority of Quebec's seats in the Commons for the first time since the 1984 federal election
. From then to the subsequent election, the Bloc continued to denounce the federal government's interventions in what the Bloc saw as exclusively provincial jurisdictions. The Bloc credits its actions for the uncovering of what has since become the sponsorship scandal. Among other things, the Bloc supported the Kyoto Accord, gay marriage
and decriminalization of cannabis, and opposed Canadian participation in the Iraq War in 2003.
which was won by the federalist Quebec Liberal Party led by Jean Charest
. However, things changed during the winter of 2003, partly because of the unpopularity of Charest's government and the rise in support for independence in Quebec (49 per cent in March). However, in February 2004, the Auditor General of Canada uncovered the sponsorship scandal.
For the 2004 election
the Bloc adopted the slogan Un parti propre au Québec, a play on words that can be translated either as "A party of Quebec's own" ("a party proper to Quebec") or as "A clean party in Quebec". The Bloc won 54 seats in the House of Commons, tying its previous record from the 1993 campaign. For the 2006 election
, the Bloc used the slogan Heureusement, ici, c'est le Bloc! ("Fortunately, the Bloc is here!"). The Bloc were expected to easily win more than 60 seats at the start of the campaign, and they did in fact take six seats from the Liberals. However, the unexpected surge of the new Conservative Party of Canada
in parts of Quebec, particularly in and around Quebec City, led to the Bloc losing eight seats to the Tories. Coupled with an additional loss to André Arthur
, an independent candidate, the Bloc recorded a net loss of three seats compared to the last campaign.
Speculation has been ongoing about the possibility of the Bloc forming alliances with other opposition parties or with an eventual minority government
. Duceppe, whose leadership was confirmed after the election, has stated that the Bloc will continue to co-operate with other opposition parties or with the government when interests are found to be in common, but insists that the Bloc will never participate in a federal government.
On 2 May 2006, a poll revealed that for the first time, the Conservatives were ahead of the Bloc in the Quebec's vote intention (34% against 31%). Duceppe announced the Bloc would support Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
's budget the very same day. But in October polls showed that the Bloc was up to mid forties whereas the Conservatives fell into the teens behind Liberals in their poll numbers in Quebec.
as they won 49 seats, one more than the amount they had before the previous parliament
was dissolved. In that election, they used the slogan "Présent pour le Québec" (Present for Quebec). Although they made small gains in relation to the amount of seats at dissolution, they fell by 2 seats to 49 in comparison to the 51 they received in 2006. Also, the proportion of popular votes in the province was down 4 points to 38.1%, the Bloc's lowest score since 1997.
In a speech in front of his supporters following the election, BQ leader Gilles Duceppe
claimed to have achieved his objectives, adding: "without the Bloc Québécois tonight, Mr. Harper would have formed a majority government".
At the end of November 2008, the Bloc indicated that it would support a possible Motion of No Confidence against the governing Conservatives by the two other opposition parties, and would support the resulting Liberal-NDP coalition government at least until June 2010, without actually being part of the government.
with the Bloc and NDP in response to Harper's allegations that the Liberals intended to form a coalition with the Bloc and the NDP. Stephen Harper privately met with BQ leader Gilles Duceppe
and New Democratic Party
leader Jack Layton
in a Montreal hotel. The meeting took place between the three party leaders happened 2 months after the 2004 federal election. On September 9, 2004, the three signed a letter addressed to then-Governor General
Adrienne Clarkson
, stating,
On the same day the letter was written, the three party leaders held a joint press conference at which they expressed their intent to co-operate on changing parliamentary rules, and to request that the Governor General consult with them before deciding to call an election. At the news conference, Harper said "It is the Parliament that's supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party. That's a criticism I've had and that we've had and that most Canadians have had for a long, long time now so this is an opportunity to start to change that." However, at the time, Harper and the two other opposition leaders denied trying to form a coalition government
, despite the letter written to the Governor General. Harper said, "This is not a coalition, but this is a co-operative effort."
One month later, on October 4, Mike Duffy, now a Conservative senator (appointed by Harper), said "It is possible that you could change prime minister without having an election," and that some Conservatives wanted Harper as prime minister. The next day Layton walked out on talks with Harper and Duceppe, accusing them of trying to replace Paul Martin
with Harper as prime minister. Both Bloc and Conservative officials denied Layton's accusations.
in the House of Commons. The same fate that they dealt to the PC party back in 1993 had been delivered to them by the NDP, although the Bloc's loss was not as severe. MPs without official party status are treated as independents and must sit in the back row of the opposition benches. They are permitted just a few questions each week in question period and those MPs cannot sit as voting members on parliamentary committees.
Elected to Parliament in this election were incumbents Louis Plamondon
, André Bellavance
, Maria Mourani
and rookie MP Jean-François Fortin
. When the 41st Canadian Parliament
convened on June 2, 2011, Plamondon became the Bloc's interim parliamentary leader while Vivian Barbot
, who became interim party president following Duceppe's resignation, continued in that role.
The Bloc Québécois leadership election campaign to choose a permanent successor to Duceppe began September 17, 2011 and will conclude on December 11.
has close ties to the Bloc and shares its principal objective of independence for Quebec. The two parties have backed each other during election campaigns, and prominent members of each party often attend and speak at the other's public events. In addition, the majority of each party's membership holds membership in both parties. However, on an organizational level the parties are separate entities – the Bloc is not simply the federal wing of the Parti Québécois, nor the PQ simply the provincial wing of the Bloc. Gilles Duceppe has recently helped Pauline Marois
campaign in the 2008 Quebec provincial election, she did not win and the Liberals gained a slight majority.
Lucien Bouchard has been the leader of both parties. Michel Gauthier, once Bloc's leader, was a PQ member of the legislative assembly of Quebec from 1981 until 1988.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
devoted to the protection of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
and Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. BQ founder Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard, is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001...
was a cabinet minister in the federal Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. The BQ seeks to create the conditions necessary for the political secession of Quebec from Canada and campaigns actively only within the province during federal elections.
The Bloc Québécois has been supported by a wide range of voters in Quebec, from large sections of organised labour
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
to more conservative rural voters. Members and supporters are known as Bloquistes (blɔkist). English-speaking Canadian
English Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
s commonly refer to the BQ as "the Bloc". The party is sometimes known as the BQ in the English-speaking media.
In 2011, the Bloc lost official party status
Official party status
Official party status refers to the Canadian practice of recognizing political parties in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures. The type of recognition and threshold needed to obtain it varies...
in the House of Commons, as they have fewer than 12 seats, although they remain a registered political party. The Bloc is currently the second smallest party (in front of the one seat Green Party
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
) in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
. It has strong informal ties to the Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
(PQ, whose members are known as "Péquistes"), the provincial party that advocates for the secession of Quebec from Canada and its independence, but the two are not linked organizationally.
Origins
The Bloc Québécois was started in 1990 as an informal coalition of Progressive ConservativeProgressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
and Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Members of Parliament from Quebec, who left their original parties around the time of the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
. The party was initially intended to be temporary and was given the goal of the promotion of sovereignty at the federal level. The party aimed to disband following a successful referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on secession from Canada. As with most parties, it has gained and lost prominent supporters over the years.
The initial coalition that led to the Bloc was headed by Lucien Bouchard , who had been federal Minister of the Environment
Minister of the Environment (Canada)
The Minister of the Environment is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's environment department, Environment Canada...
in the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
. Bouchard abandoned the government in May 1990 in response to the report of a commission headed by Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
that suggested changes to the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
. Bouchard felt the recommendations for change undermined the objectives and spirit of the accord. According to The Secret Mulroney Tapes
The Secret Mulroney Tapes
The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister is a controversial biography of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, by veteran writer and former Mulroney confidant Peter C...
he was fired by Prime Minister Mulroney. Bouchard was joined by several of his fellow Tories, Nic Leblanc
Nic Leblanc
Nic Leblanc was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 2000. He is a businessperson by career....
, Louis Plamondon
Louis Plamondon
Louis Plamondon is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec and the current interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc Québécois ....
, Benoît Tremblay
Benoît Tremblay
Benoît Tremblay was a Canadian politician and a member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 1997.-Background:Tremblay was born on 16 March 1948 in Val-Brillant, Quebec...
, Gilbert Chartrand
Gilbert Chartrand
Gilbert Chartrand was a Progressive Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a businessman and trader by career....
, and François Gérin
François Gérin
François Gérin was a member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a lawyer by career.Gérin was born in Coaticook, Quebec....
, along with two Liberals, Gilles Rocheleau
Gilles Rocheleau
Gilles Rocheleau was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1993. He co-founded the Bloc Québécois with Lucien Bouchard in 1990....
and Jean Lapierre
Jean Lapierre
Jean-Charles Lapierre, PC is a Canadian television broadcaster and a former federal politician.He was Paul Martin's Quebec lieutenant during the period of the Martin government. He returned to the Canadian House of Commons after an eleven year absence when he won a seat in the 2004 federal...
. The first Bloquiste candidate to be elected was Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...
, then a union organizer, in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
for the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Laurier—Sainte-Marie
Laurier—Sainte-Marie
Laurier—Sainte-Marie is a federal electoral district in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
on August 13, 1990. He ran as an independent, since the Bloc had not been registered as a federal party. Jean Lapierre
Jean Lapierre
Jean-Charles Lapierre, PC is a Canadian television broadcaster and a former federal politician.He was Paul Martin's Quebec lieutenant during the period of the Martin government. He returned to the Canadian House of Commons after an eleven year absence when he won a seat in the 2004 federal...
renounced separatism and rejoined the Liberals during the leadership of Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
.
First election
In the 1993 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, the Bloc won 54 seats (out of 75) in Quebec, sweeping nearly all of the francophone ridings there. Because the opposition vote in the rest of Canada was split between the Reform Party
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
, the Progressive Conservative Party, and the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, the Bloc narrowly won the second largest number of seats in the House of Commons, and therefore became the official opposition
Official Opposition (Canada)
In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
. While Reform actually finished second in the national popular vote, the Bloc's heavy concentration of support in Quebec was slightly larger than Reform's concentration in the West.
Soon after the new Parliament was sworn in, Bouchard announced that Bloc MPs would only speak French on the floor of the House of Commons, a policy that remains in force to this day. This was out of necessity, as most of the Bloquistes could not speak English well enough to use it in debate.
The election of such a relatively large number of Bloquistes was the first of The Three Periods
The Three Periods
The Three Periods is a Quebec sovereigntist strategy. Before the 1993 federal election in Canada, Parti Québécois leader Jacques Parizeau evoked a strategy for attainment of Quebec independence called the Three Periods. The strategy is partly inspired by the three periods of play in ice hockey...
, a plan intended to lay out the way to sovereignty created by PQ leader Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau, is an economist and noted Quebec sovereignist who was the 26th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996.-Early life and career:...
. Parizeau became Premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
in the Quebec election of 1994
Quebec general election, 1994
The Quebec general election of 1994 was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.....
(the second of the Three Periods).
As a result of the Bloc being the official opposition, it had considerable privileges over the other parties despite only electing MPs from one province. For instance, Question Period
Question Period
Question Period, known officially as Oral Questions occurs each sitting day in the Canadian House of Commons. According to the House of Commons Compendium, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.”-History:The...
s during the 35th Parliament were dominated by issues of national unity. However, the governing Liberals regarded Reform as their main opposition on non-Quebec matters. Also, in 1995, when Bouchard garnered an invitation to meet visiting US President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
by virtue of being Opposition Leader, Reform leader Preston Manning
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
was also given a meeting with Clinton in order to diffuse Bouchard's separatist leverage.
1995 Quebec referendum
In 1995, the PQ government called the second referendum1995 Quebec referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:...
on independence in Quebec history
History of Quebec
Quebec has played a special role in Canadian history; it is the site where French settlers founded the colony of Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries.-Paleoindian Era :...
. The Bloc entered the campaign for the Oui (Yes) side (in favour of sovereignty). The Oui side's campaign had a difficult beginning, so the leadership of the campaign was shifted from PQ leader Jacques Parizeau to Bloc leader Lucien Bouchard. Bouchard was seen as more charismatic and more moderate, and therefore more likely to attract voters.
A "tripartite agreement" mapping out the plan for accession to independence was written and signed by the leaders of the Parti Québécois, the Bloc Québécois and the Action démocratique du Québec
Action démocratique du Québec
The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ is a centre-right political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defines itself as autonomist, and has support from both soft nationalists and federalists....
on 12 June 1995. It revived René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
's notion that the referendum should be followed by the negotiating of an association agreement between an independent Quebec and the rest of Canada. This provision was inspired by Bouchard. Parizeau had previously wanted a vote simply on independence. The difference became moot when 50.6% of voters taking part in the referendum rejected the sovereignty plan. An overwhelming "Non" vote in Montreal tipped the balance.
The day after the referendum, Parizeau stepped down as PQ leader and Premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
. Bouchard left federal politics and succeeded Parizeau in both posts on 26 January 1996.
New leaders for the Bloc
Following Bouchard's departure from Ottawa, Michel GauthierMichel Gauthier
Michel Gauthier is a Québécois politician, who served as leader of the Bloc Québécois from 1996 to 1997. He was Leader of the Opposition during this time.- Biography :...
became leader of the Bloc
Bloc Québécois leadership elections
Lucien Bouchard, the first leader of the Bloc Québécois was elected by acclamation by the MPs who formed the Bloc in 1990. When the party held its first convention in April 1995 his leadership was ratified by the delegates.-1996 BQ leadership election:...
. In the wake of the referendum defeat, Gauthier proved unable to hold the fractious caucus together and resigned as leader just one year later. Gilles Duceppe, who had served as interim leader after Bouchard stepped down, became leader of the Bloc in 1997 and remained leader up until 2011, resigning after the 2011 federal election.
Gilles Duceppe announced on 11 May 2007 that he would run in the Parti Québécois leadership race to replace André Boisclair
André Boisclair
André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....
, who resigned on 8 May 2007, after the poor performance in the March 2007 Quebec provincial election
Quebec general election, 2007
The Quebec general election of 2007 was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on March 26, 2007 to elect members of the 38th National Assembly of Quebec. The Quebec Liberal Party led by Jean Charest managed to win a plurality of seats, but were reduced to a minority government, Quebec's first in...
and internal dissent forced him to step down. However, in a surprise move, Duceppe announced the next day that he was withdrawing from the race, and that he would support Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...
who had also announced her intention to run.
Declining fortunes
In the 1997 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, the Bloc Québécois dropped to 44 seats, losing official opposition status to the Reform Party. The 1997–2000 term was marked by the Bloc's fight against the passage of the Clarity Act
Clarity Act
The Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following such a vote by one of the provinces. The Clarity Bill was tabled for first reading in the...
, the attempt by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
(himself a Quebecer who represented a strongly nationalist riding) and Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
, a Quebec minister in Chrétien's cabinet, to codify the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
's 1998 decision
Reference re Secession of Quebec
Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217 was an opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the legality, under both Canadian and international law, of a unilateral secession of Quebec from Canada....
that Quebec could not secede unilaterally.
In the 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, the Bloc dropped further to 38 seats, despite polling a larger percentage of the vote than at the previous election. One factor was the forced merger of several major Quebec cities
Municipal reorganization in Quebec
The most recent episode of municipal reorganization in Quebec, Canada, was undertaken in 2002 by the Parti Québécois Government of Quebec, headed by Premier Lucien Bouchard and his successor Bernard Landry....
, such as Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and Hull
Hull, Quebec
Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...
/Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
. The merger was very unpopular in those areas, resulting in Liberal wins in several of the merged areas. This was still more than the number of seats the Liberals had won in Quebec. However, the Liberals went on to win several subsequent by-elections during the life of the resulting Parliament, until the Liberals had held the majority of Quebec's seats in the Commons for the first time since the 1984 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
. From then to the subsequent election, the Bloc continued to denounce the federal government's interventions in what the Bloc saw as exclusively provincial jurisdictions. The Bloc credits its actions for the uncovering of what has since become the sponsorship scandal. Among other things, the Bloc supported the Kyoto Accord, gay marriage
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
and decriminalization of cannabis, and opposed Canadian participation in the Iraq War in 2003.
Comeback
The Bloc continued to slide in most of the 2003 opinion polls following the 2003 Quebec electionQuebec general election, 2003
The Quebec general election of 2003 was held on April 14, 2003, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec . The Parti libéral du Québec , led by Jean Charest, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Bernard Landry.-Unfolding:...
which was won by the federalist Quebec Liberal Party led by Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
. However, things changed during the winter of 2003, partly because of the unpopularity of Charest's government and the rise in support for independence in Quebec (49 per cent in March). However, in February 2004, the Auditor General of Canada uncovered the sponsorship scandal.
For the 2004 election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
the Bloc adopted the slogan Un parti propre au Québec, a play on words that can be translated either as "A party of Quebec's own" ("a party proper to Quebec") or as "A clean party in Quebec". The Bloc won 54 seats in the House of Commons, tying its previous record from the 1993 campaign. For the 2006 election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, the Bloc used the slogan Heureusement, ici, c'est le Bloc! ("Fortunately, the Bloc is here!"). The Bloc were expected to easily win more than 60 seats at the start of the campaign, and they did in fact take six seats from the Liberals. However, the unexpected surge of the new Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
in parts of Quebec, particularly in and around Quebec City, led to the Bloc losing eight seats to the Tories. Coupled with an additional loss to André Arthur
André Arthur
André Arthur is a Canadian radio host and politician. He was the independent Member of Parliament for the riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier from 2006 to 2011...
, an independent candidate, the Bloc recorded a net loss of three seats compared to the last campaign.
Speculation has been ongoing about the possibility of the Bloc forming alliances with other opposition parties or with an eventual minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
. Duceppe, whose leadership was confirmed after the election, has stated that the Bloc will continue to co-operate with other opposition parties or with the government when interests are found to be in common, but insists that the Bloc will never participate in a federal government.
On 2 May 2006, a poll revealed that for the first time, the Conservatives were ahead of the Bloc in the Quebec's vote intention (34% against 31%). Duceppe announced the Bloc would support Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
's budget the very same day. But in October polls showed that the Bloc was up to mid forties whereas the Conservatives fell into the teens behind Liberals in their poll numbers in Quebec.
Slight gains
The Bloc made slight gains following the 2008 federal electionsCanadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
as they won 49 seats, one more than the amount they had before the previous parliament
39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
was dissolved. In that election, they used the slogan "Présent pour le Québec" (Present for Quebec). Although they made small gains in relation to the amount of seats at dissolution, they fell by 2 seats to 49 in comparison to the 51 they received in 2006. Also, the proportion of popular votes in the province was down 4 points to 38.1%, the Bloc's lowest score since 1997.
In a speech in front of his supporters following the election, BQ leader Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...
claimed to have achieved his objectives, adding: "without the Bloc Québécois tonight, Mr. Harper would have formed a majority government".
At the end of November 2008, the Bloc indicated that it would support a possible Motion of No Confidence against the governing Conservatives by the two other opposition parties, and would support the resulting Liberal-NDP coalition government at least until June 2010, without actually being part of the government.
Coalition attempt
On March 26, 2011, Bloc Québécois leader Duceppe stated that Conservative leader Stephen Harper had in 2004 tried to form a coalition governmentCoalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
with the Bloc and NDP in response to Harper's allegations that the Liberals intended to form a coalition with the Bloc and the NDP. Stephen Harper privately met with BQ leader Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...
and New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
leader Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
in a Montreal hotel. The meeting took place between the three party leaders happened 2 months after the 2004 federal election. On September 9, 2004, the three signed a letter addressed to then-Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
, stating,
On the same day the letter was written, the three party leaders held a joint press conference at which they expressed their intent to co-operate on changing parliamentary rules, and to request that the Governor General consult with them before deciding to call an election. At the news conference, Harper said "It is the Parliament that's supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party. That's a criticism I've had and that we've had and that most Canadians have had for a long, long time now so this is an opportunity to start to change that." However, at the time, Harper and the two other opposition leaders denied trying to form a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
, despite the letter written to the Governor General. Harper said, "This is not a coalition, but this is a co-operative effort."
One month later, on October 4, Mike Duffy, now a Conservative senator (appointed by Harper), said "It is possible that you could change prime minister without having an election," and that some Conservatives wanted Harper as prime minister. The next day Layton walked out on talks with Harper and Duceppe, accusing them of trying to replace Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
with Harper as prime minister. Both Bloc and Conservative officials denied Layton's accusations.
Loss of official party status
In the 2011 federal election, in the wake of a surge of support for the New Democratic Party, the Bloc received less than a quarter of the popular vote in Quebec (less than 6% of all the total votes in the elections), lost 43 of the 47 seats it held at parliament's dissolution and added no seats. The seats lost included that of Duceppe, who resigned as party president and leader. By electing only four MPs the Bloc failed to reach the minimum of 12 seats required for official party statusOfficial party status
Official party status refers to the Canadian practice of recognizing political parties in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures. The type of recognition and threshold needed to obtain it varies...
in the House of Commons. The same fate that they dealt to the PC party back in 1993 had been delivered to them by the NDP, although the Bloc's loss was not as severe. MPs without official party status are treated as independents and must sit in the back row of the opposition benches. They are permitted just a few questions each week in question period and those MPs cannot sit as voting members on parliamentary committees.
Elected to Parliament in this election were incumbents Louis Plamondon
Louis Plamondon
Louis Plamondon is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec and the current interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc Québécois ....
, André Bellavance
André Bellavance
André Bellavance is a Canadian politician.Bellevance is currently a member of the Bloc Québécois in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Richmond—Arthabaska since 2004...
, Maria Mourani
Maria Mourani
Maria Mourani , of Lebanese origin, is the Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament in the federal riding of Ahuntsic in Canada. She was elected in the 2006 Canadian federal election and reelected in 2008 and 2011...
and rookie MP Jean-François Fortin
Jean-François Fortin (politician)
Jean-François Fortin is a Canadian politician. He is a Bloc Québécois MP in the House of Commons. He was elected to represent the riding of Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia in the 2011 federal election.-Early life:...
. When the 41st Canadian Parliament
41st Canadian Parliament
The 41st Canadian Parliament is the current Parliament of Canada, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011...
convened on June 2, 2011, Plamondon became the Bloc's interim parliamentary leader while Vivian Barbot
Vivian Barbot
Vivian Barbot is a teacher, activist, and politician. She is a former President of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, a former Member of Parliament and currently serves as interim president of the Bloc Québécois....
, who became interim party president following Duceppe's resignation, continued in that role.
The Bloc Québécois leadership election campaign to choose a permanent successor to Duceppe began September 17, 2011 and will conclude on December 11.
Relationship to Parti Québécois
The Parti QuébécoisParti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
has close ties to the Bloc and shares its principal objective of independence for Quebec. The two parties have backed each other during election campaigns, and prominent members of each party often attend and speak at the other's public events. In addition, the majority of each party's membership holds membership in both parties. However, on an organizational level the parties are separate entities – the Bloc is not simply the federal wing of the Parti Québécois, nor the PQ simply the provincial wing of the Bloc. Gilles Duceppe has recently helped Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...
campaign in the 2008 Quebec provincial election, she did not win and the Liberals gained a slight majority.
Lucien Bouchard has been the leader of both parties. Michel Gauthier, once Bloc's leader, was a PQ member of the legislative assembly of Quebec from 1981 until 1988.
Party leaders
| Picture | Name | Term start | Term end | Riding while leader | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucien Bouchard Lucien Bouchard Lucien Bouchard, is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001... |
July 25, 1990 | January 16, 1996 | Lac-Saint-Jean Lac-Saint-Jean This article is about the former federal electoral district. For the lake, see Lac Saint-Jean. For the current provincial electoral district, see Lac-Saint-Jean ... |
First leader | |
| Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean... |
January 16, 1996 | February 17, 1996 | Laurier—Sainte-Marie Laurier—Sainte-Marie Laurier—Sainte-Marie is a federal electoral district in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988... |
Interim leader | |
| Michel Gauthier Michel Gauthier Michel Gauthier is a Québécois politician, who served as leader of the Bloc Québécois from 1996 to 1997. He was Leader of the Opposition during this time.- Biography :... |
February 17, 1996 | March 15, 1997 | Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean For the electoral district in the Quebec National Assembly see Roberval Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949.The riding was created in 1947 from parts of Lake St-John—Roberval riding.The... |
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| Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean... |
March 15, 1997 | May 2, 2011 | Laurier—Sainte-Marie Laurier—Sainte-Marie Laurier—Sainte-Marie is a federal electoral district in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988... |
Election results
| Election | # of candidates nominated | # of seats won | # of total votes | % of popular vote (Canada) | % of popular vote (Quebec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 Canadian federal election, 1993 The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time... |
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| 1997 Canadian federal election, 1997 The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government... |
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| 2000 Canadian federal election, 2000 The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada.... |
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| 2004 Canadian federal election, 2004 The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections... |
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| 2006 Canadian federal election, 2006 The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:... |
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| 2008 Canadian federal election, 2008 The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008... |
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See also
- Bloc Québécois Shadow CabinetBloc Québécois Shadow CabinetThe Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet of the 39th Canadian parliament is listed below. Its composition was announced on February 15, 2006. Modifications were made on September 12, 2006. -See also:*Cabinet of Canada*Official Opposition *Shadow Cabinet...
- Politics of QuebecPolitics of QuebecThe politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of the province is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Premier, the legislature, and cabinet reside.The...
- Politics of CanadaPolitics of CanadaThe politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state...
- List of political parties in Canada
- Timeline of Quebec historyTimeline of Quebec historyThis article presents a detailed timeline of Quebec history. Events taking place outside Quebec, for example in English Canada, the United States, Britain or France, may be included when they are considered to have had a significant impact on Quebec's history....
- Quebec nationalismQuebec nationalismQuebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
- List of subjects related to the Quebec independence movement
- Secessionist movements of CanadaSecessionist movements of CanadaThroughout the history of Canada, there have been movements seeking secession from Canada.-Newfoundland:There is a secessionist movement in Newfoundland based on its unique culture and its history, prior to 1949, of being a self-governing Dominion...
- Mouvement de libération nationale du QuébecMouvement de Libération Nationale du QuébecThe Mouvement de libération nationale du Québec is a secessionist group in Quebec, Canada, founded by Front de libération du Québec founder and convicted manslaughterer, Raymond Villeneuve...