Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale
Encyclopedia
The Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale (RIN, in English
: Rally for National Independence) was a political organization dedicated to the promotion of Quebec
national independence
from Canada
.
. The founders included many of former Alliance Laurentienne
members. (The Alliance Laurentienne was dissolved after the creation of the RIN.) The founding members included André D'Allemagne
, Jacques Bellemare and Marcel Chaput
. Other prominent members included Andrée Ferretti
, Hubert Aquin
and Raymond Villeneuve
. D'Allemagne, having participated in the Alliance Laurentienne
, has stated that he had found the Alliance's right-wing tendencies quite unpleasant. This was a factor leading to the creation of an officially neutral organisation. However, as the RIN attracted many new young members it quickly became associated with more radical left-wing ideas.
In October 1960, the first general assembly of the organization published its manifesto calling for the independence of Quebec. Pierre Bourgault
, who had joined shortly after foundation, became its president in 1964. Following the wish of the members as expressed in a resolution in 1963, the RIN was turned into a political party. Bourgault and his impassioned, fiery speeches contributed largely to the popularity of the RIN, and is often wrongly believed to be the founder of the movement.
In the 1966 Quebec general election
, the RIN, along with the Ralliement National
or RN, won about 8.8% of the popular vote and no seats. Bourgault lost the northern Duplessis riding
by a very small margin, a great accomplishment for such a third party. Although it never gathered a high number of votes Quebec-wide, it played an important role in the birth of the modern "indépendantiste" movement in Quebec and was very active in public demonstrations. Famous protests of the RIN include a 1964 demonstration disapproving the visit of Queen Elizabeth II
to Quebec, and a 1968 protest about the presence of Pierre Trudeau
on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
that turned to riot. Their members and supporters were also present in the Montreal
crowd and their symbols visible when French President Charles de Gaulle
shouted his famed "Vive le Québec Libre
" (Long live free Quebec).
In October of 1967, the charismatic Quebec Liberal Party Member of the National Assembly and former cabinet minister René Lévesque
left the Liberal Party when its members voted to not debate his idea of two independent but associated states (Quebec and Canada). Shortly after, the Mouvement Souveraineté-Association
was founded with Lévesque as leader. The RIN (as did the RN) quickly engaged in talks over a possible merger with the MSA. Bourgault and D'Allemagne strongly believed that the forces for Quebec independence had to unite to challenge the "old parties" (Liberals and Union Nationale). Andrée Ferretti notoriously opposed the idea of abandoning civil actions to jump into the provincial political arena. There were disagreements between the two organizations, caused in part by the clash between Bourgault and Lévesque. Lévesque had come to distrust the RIN because of its perceived rowdy behaviour. A conflict began between the two men that would last until Lévesque's death. Additional opposition to the idea of a merger came from within the RIN itself; some militants were heart-broken at the prospect of the "end" of their party. Ultimately, however, the desire for a strong independentist force carried the day. The MSA came to an agreement with the RN but not the RIN. By 1968, its left wing split to form the Le front de libération populaire (FLP), and most of what remained entered the Parti Québécois
in 1969.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Rally for National Independence) was a political organization dedicated to the promotion 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....
national independence
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...
from 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...
.
History
It was founded on September 10, 1960, by about 30 people at the very beginning of the Quiet RevolutionQuiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions...
. The founders included many of former Alliance Laurentienne
Alliance laurentienne
The Alliance laurentienne was a political organization founded by Raymond Barbeau on January 25, 1957. It was an early organization of the contemporary independence movement of Quebec but, unlike the majority of those to come, it adopted somewhat right-wing, even corporatist politics...
members. (The Alliance Laurentienne was dissolved after the creation of the RIN.) The founding members included André D'Allemagne
André D'Allemagne
André D'Allemagne was a translator, political science teacher, essayist and a militant for the independence of Quebec from Canada...
, Jacques Bellemare and Marcel Chaput
Marcel Chaput
Marcel Chaput "", in Bilan du Siècle, Université de Sherbrooke, retrieved June 5, 2008) was a scientist and a militant for the independence of Quebec from Canada...
. Other prominent members included Andrée Ferretti
Andrée Ferretti
Andrée Ferretti is a Canadian political figure and author. She was the vice president of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale , a Quebec independence movement and later political party of the 1960s...
, Hubert Aquin
Hubert Aquin
Hubert Aquin was a novelist, political activist, essayist, filmmaker and editor....
and Raymond Villeneuve
Raymond Villeneuve
Raymond Villeneuve is a Canadian political activist.Villeneuve remained out of the spotlight as he was volunteering for the Parti Québécois from 1988 until the 1995 referendum...
. D'Allemagne, having participated in the Alliance Laurentienne
Alliance laurentienne
The Alliance laurentienne was a political organization founded by Raymond Barbeau on January 25, 1957. It was an early organization of the contemporary independence movement of Quebec but, unlike the majority of those to come, it adopted somewhat right-wing, even corporatist politics...
, has stated that he had found the Alliance's right-wing tendencies quite unpleasant. This was a factor leading to the creation of an officially neutral organisation. However, as the RIN attracted many new young members it quickly became associated with more radical left-wing ideas.
In October 1960, the first general assembly of the organization published its manifesto calling for the independence of Quebec. Pierre Bourgault
Pierre Bourgault
Pierre Bourgault was a French Canadian politician and essayist of Breton origin, as well as an actor and journalist from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated sovereignty for Quebec from Canada.- Profile :Bourgault was born in East Angus in the Estrie region of Quebec...
, who had joined shortly after foundation, became its president in 1964. Following the wish of the members as expressed in a resolution in 1963, the RIN was turned into a political party. Bourgault and his impassioned, fiery speeches contributed largely to the popularity of the RIN, and is often wrongly believed to be the founder of the movement.
In the 1966 Quebec general election
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....
, the RIN, along with the Ralliement National
Ralliement national
Ralliement national was a political party that advocated the political independence of Quebec from Canada in the 1960s.It was led by former créditiste Gilles Grégoire...
or RN, won about 8.8% of the popular vote and no seats. Bourgault lost the northern Duplessis riding
Duplessis (electoral district)
Duplessis is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec.The riding was created in 1960 from parts of the Saguenay provincial electoral district. It includes the cities or municipalities of Sept-Îles, Port-Cartier, Havre-Saint-Pierre,...
by a very small margin, a great accomplishment for such a third party. Although it never gathered a high number of votes Quebec-wide, it played an important role in the birth of the modern "indépendantiste" movement in Quebec and was very active in public demonstrations. Famous protests of the RIN include a 1964 demonstration disapproving the visit of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
to Quebec, and a 1968 protest about the presence of Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
Fête nationale du Québec
Quebec's National Holiday is celebrated annually on June 24, St. John the Baptist DayIn Quebec, the national holiday is a paid statutory public holiday covered under the Act Respecting Labour Standards...
that turned to riot. Their members and supporters were also present in 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...
crowd and their symbols visible when French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
shouted his famed "Vive le Québec Libre
Vive le Québec libre speech
"Vive le Québec libre !" was a controversial phrase in a speech delivered by French president Charles de Gaulle in Montreal on July 24, 1967.De Gaulle was in Canada on an official visit under the pretext of attending Expo 67...
" (Long live free Quebec).
In October of 1967, the charismatic Quebec Liberal Party Member of the National Assembly and former cabinet minister 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...
left the Liberal Party when its members voted to not debate his idea of two independent but associated states (Quebec and Canada). Shortly after, the Mouvement Souveraineté-Association
Mouvement Souveraineté-Association
The Mouvement Souveraineté-Association was formed on November 19, 1967 by René Lévesque to promote the concept of sovereignty-association between Quebec and the rest of Canada....
was founded with Lévesque as leader. The RIN (as did the RN) quickly engaged in talks over a possible merger with the MSA. Bourgault and D'Allemagne strongly believed that the forces for Quebec independence had to unite to challenge the "old parties" (Liberals and Union Nationale). Andrée Ferretti notoriously opposed the idea of abandoning civil actions to jump into the provincial political arena. There were disagreements between the two organizations, caused in part by the clash between Bourgault and Lévesque. Lévesque had come to distrust the RIN because of its perceived rowdy behaviour. A conflict began between the two men that would last until Lévesque's death. Additional opposition to the idea of a merger came from within the RIN itself; some militants were heart-broken at the prospect of the "end" of their party. Ultimately, however, the desire for a strong independentist force carried the day. The MSA came to an agreement with the RN but not the RIN. By 1968, its left wing split to form the Le front de libération populaire (FLP), and most of what remained entered 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...
in 1969.
Leaders
- André D'Allemagne (1960-1961)
- Marcel Chaput (1961-1962)
- Guy Pouliot (1962-1964)
- Pierre Bourgault (1964-1968)
Publication
The party had its own periodical, published monthly, then biweekly.- L'Indépendance. Organe officiel du Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale, vol. 1, issue 1 (September 1962) - vol. 6, issue 20 (September 1968)
Election results
| General election | # of candidates | # of seats won | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 73 | 0 | 5.55% |
In English
- Stein, Michael B. "Separatism", in The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008
- "Pierre Bourgault", in The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008
- Smart, Patricia. "Aquin, Hubert", in The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008
In French
- Labrecque, Jean-Claude (2002). Le RIN, Montréal: Productions Virage, 78 min. (script: Michel Martin, Jean-Claude Labrecque)
- Bruno Deshaies. "Manifeste du Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale", in the site Le Rond-Point des sciences humaines, 2002
- D'Allemagne, André (2000). Une idée qui somnolait : écrits sur la souveraineté du Québec depuis les origines du RIN, 1958-2000, Montréal: Comeau & Nadeau, 250 p. ISBN 2-922494-33-0
- RIN. Programme politique du Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale : tel qu'adopté à son congrès de mai 1965, Montréal: RIN, 75 p.
- Pelletier, Réjean (1974). Les militants du R.I.N., Ottawa : Editions de l'Université d'Ottawa, 82 p. ISBN 0776630512
- D'Allemagne, André (1974). Le R.I.N. de 1960 à 1963 : étude d'un groupe de pression au Québec, Montréal : Editions L'Etincelle, 160 p. ISBN 0885150295
- RIN. Mémoire du Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale au Comité parlementaire de la constitution, 1964, 45 p.
- Gauvin, Jean-François. "Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale", in the site L'indépendance du Québec, updated June 2, 2004
- Frappier, Bernard. "Histoire : RIN", dossier in Vigile.net
- Cliche, Mathieu. "Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale", im QuébecPolitique.com,updated January 4, 2007
- "Crise interne au RIN", in Les Archives de Radio-Canada. Société Radio-Canada, updated January 5, 2004
- "Dissensions au congrès du RIN", in Les Archives de Radio-Canada. Société Radio-Canada, updated April 6, 2005
See also
- 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...
- List of Quebec general elections
- List of Quebec premiers
- List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
- National Assembly of QuebecNational Assembly of QuebecThe 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...
- 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....
- Political parties in Quebec
- Quebec Sovereignism
- 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...