National Assembly of Quebec
Encyclopedia
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative
body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor
and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems
.
The National Assembly was formerly the lower house
of Quebec's legislature and was then called the Legislative Assembly of Quebec
. In 1968, the upper house
, the Legislative Council
, was abolished and the remaining house was renamed.
The current President of the National Assembly
is Liberal Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Jacques Chagnon
.
by the Constitutional Act of 1791
. It was abolished from 1841 to 1867 under the 1840 Act of Union which merged Upper Canada
and Lower Canada into a single colony named the Province of Canada
.
The Constitution Act, 1867
, which created Canada
, split the Province of Canada into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario
. The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was thus restored as the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec.
The original Quebec legislature was bicameral, consisting of the Legislative Council
and the Legislative Assembly
.
In 1968, Bill 90 was passed by the government of Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand
, abolishing the Legislative Council and renaming the Legislative Assembly the "National Assembly". Before 1968, there had been various unsuccessful attempts at abolishing the Legislative Council, which was analogous to the Senate of Canada.
In 1978, television cameras were brought in for the first time to televise parliamentary debates. The colour of the walls was changed to suit the needs of television and the salon vert (green hall) became the salon bleu (blue hall).
was designed by architect Eugène-Étienne Taché
and has been the home of the provincial parliament since 1886. Its Second Empire architectural style is unique among legislative buildings in Canada, where this style never reached the same level of popularity it enjoyed in continental Europe and the United States during the same period. Its façade features a pantheon representing important events and people in the history of Quebec.
This building replaced the old Parliament at Parc Montmorency, destroyed in a fire in 1883.
Normally, the leader of the political party with the largest number of elected candidates is asked by the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec to form the government as premier. (In French, it is rendered as premier ministre. The term "prime minister" is commonly used by the government as a literal translation of the French term.).
Quebec's territory is divided into 125 electoral districts (ridings). In each riding, the candidate who receives the most votes is elected and becomes a Member of the National Assembly (MNA). This is known as the first-past-the-post
voting system. It tends to produce strong disparities in the number of seats won compared to the popular vote, perhaps best exemplified by the 1966
, 1970
, and 1973
elections.
Quebec elections have also tended to be volatile since the 1970s, producing a large turnover in Assembly seats. Consequently, existing political parties often lose more than half their seats with the rise of new or opposition political parties. For instance, the 1970
and 1973
saw the demise of the Union Nationale and rise of the Parti Québécois
which managed to take power in 1976
. The 1985
and 1994
elections saw the Liberals gain and lose power in landslide elections.
(a post called Speaker
in most other Westminster System
assemblies) by the Premier with the support of the Leader of the Opposition
. The President of the Assembly is the arbiter of the parliamentary debates between the members of the government and the members of the Opposition. In order for a member to address a member of the other side, he or she has to speak through the President of the Assembly. The President is usually a member of the governing party, although there is no requirement for this.
The proceedings of the National Assembly are broadcast across Quebec on the cable television
network Canal de l'Assemblée nationale
.
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec : Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec, or : Lieutenant-gouverneure du Québec) is the viceregal representative in Quebec of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions...
and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
.
The National Assembly was formerly the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of Quebec's legislature and was then called the Legislative Assembly of Quebec
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...
. In 1968, the upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
, the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Quebec
From 1867 until 1968, the Legislative Council of Quebec was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec...
, was abolished and the remaining house was renamed.
The current President of the National Assembly
President of the National Assembly of Quebec
The President of the National Assembly of Quebec is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, which is modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system...
is Liberal Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Jacques Chagnon
Jacques Chagnon
Jacques Chagnon is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Concordia University and graduate degrees in political science and in Law from the Université de Montréal...
.
History
The Legislative Assembly was created in Lower CanadaLower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
by the Constitutional Act of 1791
Constitutional Act of 1791
The Constitutional Act of 1791, formally The Clergy Endowments Act, 1791 , is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain...
. It was abolished from 1841 to 1867 under the 1840 Act of Union which merged Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and Lower Canada into a single colony named the Province of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
.
The Constitution Act, 1867
Constitution Act, 1867
The Constitution Act, 1867 , is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system...
, which created 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...
, split the Province of Canada into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was thus restored as the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec.
The original Quebec legislature was bicameral, consisting of the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Quebec
From 1867 until 1968, the Legislative Council of Quebec was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec...
and the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...
.
In 1968, Bill 90 was passed by the government of Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand
Jean-Jacques Bertrand
Jean-Jacques Bertrand was the 21st Premier of Quebec, Canada, from October 2, 1968 to May 12, 1970. He led the Union Nationale party.-Member of the legislature:...
, abolishing the Legislative Council and renaming the Legislative Assembly the "National Assembly". Before 1968, there had been various unsuccessful attempts at abolishing the Legislative Council, which was analogous to the Senate of Canada.
In 1978, television cameras were brought in for the first time to televise parliamentary debates. The colour of the walls was changed to suit the needs of television and the salon vert (green hall) became the salon bleu (blue hall).
Parliament Building
The present Parliament BuildingParliament Building (Quebec)
The Parliament Building is an eight-floor building and home to the Parliament of Quebec in Quebec City. The building was designed by architect Eugène-Étienne Taché and was built from 1877 to 1886. With the frontal tower, the building stands at 52 metres or 171 feet in height...
was designed by architect Eugène-Étienne Taché
Eugène-Étienne Taché
Eugène-Étienne Taché was a French Canadian surveyor, civil engineer, illustrator and architect. He devised Quebec's provincial coat-of-arms and motto Je me souviens....
and has been the home of the provincial parliament since 1886. Its Second Empire architectural style is unique among legislative buildings in Canada, where this style never reached the same level of popularity it enjoyed in continental Europe and the United States during the same period. Its façade features a pantheon representing important events and people in the history of Quebec.
This building replaced the old Parliament at Parc Montmorency, destroyed in a fire in 1883.
Elections
General elections are held every five years or less. Any person holding Canadian citizenship and who has resided in Quebec for at least six months qualifies to be on the electoral list.Normally, the leader of the political party with the largest number of elected candidates is asked by the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec to form the government as premier. (In French, it is rendered as premier ministre. The term "prime minister" is commonly used by the government as a literal translation of the French term.).
Quebec's territory is divided into 125 electoral districts (ridings). In each riding, the candidate who receives the most votes is elected and becomes a Member of the National Assembly (MNA). This is known as the first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
voting system. It tends to produce strong disparities in the number of seats won compared to the popular vote, perhaps best exemplified by the 1966
Quebec general election, 1966
The Quebec general election of 1966 was held on June 5, 1966, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Union Nationale , led by Daniel Johnson, Sr, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage....
, 1970
Quebec general election, 1970
The Quebec general election of 1970 was held on April 29, 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The former Legislative Assembly had been renamed the "National Assembly" in 1968...
, and 1973
Quebec general election, 1973
The Quebec general election of 1973 was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, and the Union Nationale .The Liberals won a...
elections.
Quebec elections have also tended to be volatile since the 1970s, producing a large turnover in Assembly seats. Consequently, existing political parties often lose more than half their seats with the rise of new or opposition political parties. For instance, the 1970
Quebec general election, 1970
The Quebec general election of 1970 was held on April 29, 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The former Legislative Assembly had been renamed the "National Assembly" in 1968...
and 1973
Quebec general election, 1973
The Quebec general election of 1973 was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, and the Union Nationale .The Liberals won a...
saw the demise of the Union Nationale and rise of 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...
which managed to take power in 1976
Quebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
. The 1985
Quebec general election, 1985
The Quebec general election of 1985 was held on December 2, 1985, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by former premier Robert Bourassa, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by premier Pierre-Marc Johnson.This election...
and 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.....
elections saw the Liberals gain and lose power in landslide elections.
Proceedings
One of the members of the National Assembly is chosen as the President of the AssemblyPresident of the National Assembly of Quebec
The President of the National Assembly of Quebec is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, which is modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system...
(a post called Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
in most other Westminster System
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
assemblies) by the Premier with the support of the Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Official Opposition (Quebec)
This is a list of the leaders of the opposition party of Quebec, Canada since Confederation .Note that the leader of the Opposition is not always the leader of the political party with the second-largest number of seats, in cases where the leader of that party does not have a seat.There was no...
. The President of the Assembly is the arbiter of the parliamentary debates between the members of the government and the members of the Opposition. In order for a member to address a member of the other side, he or she has to speak through the President of the Assembly. The President is usually a member of the governing party, although there is no requirement for this.
The proceedings of the National Assembly are broadcast across Quebec on the cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
network Canal de l'Assemblée nationale
Canal de l'Assemblée nationale
The Canal de l'Assemblée nationale is a Quebec television network, which broadcasts the proceedings of the National Assembly of Quebec on cable television. The channel launched October 3, 1978.- References:...
.
See also
- Executive Council of QuebecExecutive Council of QuebecThe Executive Council of Quebec is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada....
- List of Quebec general elections
- List of Quebec premiers
- List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
- 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...
- 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....