The Civic Action League was a municipal political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in 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

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....

, Canada

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...

. It existed from 1951 to 1961.

Origins

It was established in January 1951 by good government

Good government

Good government is a normative description of how government is supposed to be constituted. It has been frequently employed by various political thinkers, ideologues and politicians.- Thomas Jefferson and Good government :...

 activists who were known as the Public Morality Committee.

Accomplishments

The party managed to elect a plurality of the city councillors in 1954 and in 1960 and its candidate Jean Drapeau

Jean Drapeau

Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...

 became Mayor. However the majority of the City Council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 was made up of Independents

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 and often blocked legislation proposed by the League.

Nonetheless, the League introducted party politics in Montreal's city government and abolished council seats reserved for businesses, city associations and agencies.

Decline

Drapeau lost his bid for re-elected in 1957. In the subsequent years, the party was plagued by conflicts between Drapeau and former Executive Committee Chairman Pierre DesMarais

Pierre DesMarais

Pierre DesMarais was a Canadian politician and a City Councillor in Montreal, Quebec.-City Councillor:He ran for a seat on Montreal's City Council in 1940 and won...

. In September 1960, 17 out of League's 33 councillors, led by Jean Drapeau, left and created the Civic Party of Montreal

Civic Party of Montreal

The Civic Party of Montreal was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1960 to 1994. Throughout its history the Civic Party was dominated by the personality of its leader Jean Drapeau.-Origins:...

. By October 1960, the League was wiped off the political map.

Mayoral Candidates

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse border-color: #444444"
|- bgcolor="darkgray"
| 
|Election
|Mayoral Candidate
|Popular Vote for Mayor
|Number of Councillors
|1954Jean Drapeau

Jean Drapeau

Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...

50%28/99

|1957Jean Drapeau

Jean Drapeau

Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...

49%33/99

|1960Lucien Tremblay6%0/66



Victories are indicated with bold fonts.