Parti nationaliste du Québec
Encyclopedia
- For an airport in Pune, India with the IATA Airport Code PNQ, see Pune International Airport.
The Parti nationaliste du Québec was a fringe 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....
-based federal political party in 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...
, that advocated sovereignty of Quebec
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...
and was founded by 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) supporters. Its primary goal was to represent Quebec's interests in Ottawa and serve as a federal wing for the PQ.
Origins
For decades, the Social Credit PartySocial Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
's Quebec wing, the Ralliement créditiste
Ralliement créditiste
Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...
, attracted many 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...
as a party that could represent Quebec's interests 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...
. When Créditistes were wiped off the electoral map in 1980 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1980
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
, the political situation seemed favourable for the growth of the Parti nationaliste.
The Parti nationaliste was a successor to the Union Populaire
Union Populaire
The Union populaire was a federal political party in Canada that nominated candidates in the 1979 and 1980 federal elections. The party also nominated one candidate in the 4 May 1981 by-election in the riding of Levis, Quebec....
, a party that had little success in the 1979
Canadian federal election, 1979
The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...
and 1980 federal elections
Canadian federal election, 1980
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
.
Beau risque
Marcel LégerMarcel Léger
Marcel Léger was a Canadian politician and a supporter of Quebec sovereignty-Background:He was born in Montreal on June 8, 1930. He is the father of Pollster Jean-Marc Léger and Parti Québécois MNA Nicole Léger....
, who had been the PQ Member of the provincial legislature
National Assembly of Quebec
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...
for the district of LaFontaine
LaFontaine
LaFontaine is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal in the northeastern corner of the island north of Autoroute 40 and south of Rivière des Prairies...
since 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...
became the party's first leader on September 14, 1983. He was a former Minister of the Environment who had been dropped from the Cabinet
Executive Council of Quebec
The Executive Council of Quebec is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada....
in 1982.
In the aftermath of the 1982 Patriation of the Constitution
Canada Act 1982
The Canada Act 1982 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed at the request of the Canadian federal government to "patriate" Canada's constitution, ending the necessity for the country to request certain types of amendment to the Constitution of Canada to be made by the...
by the federal government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
, PQ leader 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...
adopted the beau risque
Beau risque
In Quebec politics, le beau risque is a political catch phrase describing the "risk" the Parti Québécois took in asking Quebecers to support Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney and accept the Constitution Act, 1982...
strategy and refused to give his blessing to Léger's efforts to establish the Parti nationaliste. Instead, Lévesque backed 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...
's pledge to have Quebec integrate the Canadian constitution in honour and dignity.
Léger resigned as leader on May 17, 1984 and was succeeded by Denis Monière, a Professor of Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
1984 election
The party ran 74 candidates in the 1984 federal electionCanadian 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...
. All of them ran in 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....
districts and were defeated, including interim leader Denis Monière, who ran in the district of Duvernay.
The party conducted a very modest campaign, lacking financial and human resources. Most PQ supporters voted for the 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....
which won 58 out of Quebec's 75 districts and Mulroney became 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...
.
Decline
During the months that followed the 1984 defeat, the PQ dealt with the worst crisis of its existence. Five cabinet members, including Minister of Finance Jacques ParizeauJacques 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:...
, resigned. The PQ lost the 1985 provincial election
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...
. The PQ's misfortunes distracted the Parti nationaliste's supporters. It left them with little time available for federal politics.
Monière went on to help found the Parti indépendantiste
Parti indépendantiste
The Parti indépendantiste was a provincial party which advocated Quebec sovereignty in Québec, Canada in the second half of the 1980s.-Denis Monière:...
in 1985. The Parti indépendantiste was a Quebec provincial party that aimed to attract more radical supporters of the PQ who were disappointed with the beau risque
Beau risque
In Quebec politics, le beau risque is a political catch phrase describing the "risk" the Parti Québécois took in asking Quebecers to support Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney and accept the Constitution Act, 1982...
approach.
The Parti nationaliste unsuccessfully ran a candidate in the September 29, 1986 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in the district of Saint-Maurice
Saint-Maurice (electoral district)
Saint-Maurice was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1892 and from 1968 to 2004....
. It ceased to exist soon after.
Legacy
The Parti nationaliste may have provided the groundwork for the subsequent success of the sovereigntist Bloc QuébécoisBloc Québécois
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...
(BQ) in federal politics. In 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...
, 54 out of the BQ's 75 candidates were elected. Three of them, Antoine Dubé
Antoine Dubé
Antoine Dubé was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2003. By career, he has worked in administration and recreation....
, Réal Ménard
Réal Ménard
Réal Ménard is a Canadian politician, who was a Bloc Québécois member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2009. He was the second Canadian Member of Parliament to come out as gay .Ménard is a political scientist with B.A. and M.A...
and Yves Rocheleau
Yves Rocheleau
Yves Rocheleau was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2004. He is a consultant by career, including government work....
, had run under the Parti nationaliste label nine years earlier
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...
.
See also
- List of political parties in Canada
- 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...