The '' (Liberal Party of Quebec, although it refers to itself in English as the '''Québec Liberal Party'''), or '''PLQ''', is a
Liberal Political Party in the
Canadian province of
Quebec . It has not been affiliated with the
Liberal Party Of Canada since 1955.
It has traditionally supported
Quebec Federalism , i.e., Quebec remaining within the
Canadian Confederation . It has also supported an adequate role for the government in the economy, although in recent years, due to public financial debt its economic policies have moved towards more free entreprise. It remains, however, a socially
Liberal party, which is in line with the Quebec mainstream.
The Liberal Party is descended from:
# the ''
Parti Canadien '', or ''Parti Patriote'' who supported the 1837
Lower Canada Rebellion , and
# ''
Les Rouges '', who fought for
Responsible Government and against the authority of the
Catholic Church in
Lower Canada .
The most notable figure of this period was
Louis-Joseph Papineau .
The Liberal Party has faced different opposing parties in different eras of its history. Its main opposition from the time of Confederation (1867) to the
1930s was the
Quebec Conservative Party . That party's successor, the ''
Union Nationale '', was the main opposition to the Liberals until the
1970s . In the modern era, the Liberals have alternated in power with the ''
Parti Québécois '', a
Social Democratic party that is based on the idea of
Independence Of Quebec from Canada. The Liberals have always been associated with the colour red; each of their three main opponents in different eras have been associated with the colour blue.
The Liberals were in opposition to the ruling Conservatives for most of the first 20 years after
Confederation , except for 18 months of Liberal
Minority Government in
1878 -
1879 . However, the situation changed in
1885 when the federal
Conservative government executed
Louis Riel , the leader of the French-speaking
Métis (mixed race) people of western Canada. This decision was very unpopular in Quebec.
Honoré Mercier rode this wave of discontent to power in
1887 , but was brought down by a scandal in
1891 . He was later cleared of all charges. The Conservatives returned to power until
1897 .
The Liberals won the
1897 Election , and held power without interruption for the next 39 years; the Conservatives never held power in Quebec again. This mirrored the situation in Ottawa, where the arrival of
Wilfrid Laurier in the
1896 Federal Election marked the beginning of
Liberal dominance at the federal level. Notable long-serving
Premiers Of Quebec in this era were
Lomer Gouin and
Louis-Alexandre Taschereau .
By
1935 , however, the Conservatives had an ambitious new leader,
Maurice Duplessis . Duplessis merged his party with dissident ex-Liberals who had formed the ''
Action Libérale Nationale ''. Duplessis led the new party, the ''
Union Nationale '' (UN), to power in the
1936 Election . The Liberals returned to power in the
1939 Election , but lost it again in the
1944 Election . They remained in opposition to the ''Union Nationale'' until one year after Duplessis's death in
1959 .
Under
Jean Lesage , the party won an
Historic Election In 1960 , ending sixteen years of rule by the conservative ''Union Nationale''. This marks the beginning of the
Quiet Revolution , which dramatically changed Québec society. Under the slogan ''maîtres chez nous'' (masters in our own house), the Québec government undertook several major initiatives, including:
- full Nationalization of the electricity industry through expansion of the government-owned Hydro Québec -- this major initiative of the government was led by the minister of natural resources, René Lévesque ;
- creation of a Ministry of Education, taking responsibility for the schools away from the Roman Catholic Church ;
- pressuring the federal government of Canada to renegotiate federal-provincial relations.
Under Lesage, the Liberals developed a
Québec Nationalist wing. Some Liberals, including senior
Cabinet minister
René Lévesque , left the Liberals to join the
Sovereignty Movement , participating in the founding of the ''
Parti Québécois '' under Levesque's leadership.
Relations soured between the Québec Liberal Party and the federal
Liberal Party Of Canada under Lesage, and particularly under
Robert Bourassa . In 1955, the PLQ severed its affiliation with the Liberal Party of Canada, and, at times since then, relations between the two parties have been strained.
As
Premier , Bourassa instituted Bill 22 to introduce
French language as the official language in Québec, and pushed
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau for
Constitutional concessions. His government was also embarrassed by several scandals. Bourassa resigned from the party's leadership after the loss of the
1976 Election to René Lévesque's ''Parti Québécois''.
Bourassa was succeeded as Liberal leader by
Claude Ryan , the former director of the respected Montreal newspaper, ''
Le Devoir ''. Ryan led the successful federalist campaign in the
1980 Quebec Referendum on Québec sovereignty, but then lost the
1981 Election . He resigned as Liberal leader some time later, paving the way for the return of Robert Bourassa.
When Bourassa returned as
Premier in 1985, he successfully persuaded the federal
Progressive Conservative government of
Brian Mulroney to recognize Québec as a
Distinct Society , and sought greater powers for the Quebec and the other provinces. This resulted in the
Meech Lake and
Charlottetown Constitutional Accords . Both of these proposals, however, were not ratified. While a
Québec Nationalist , Bourassa remained an opponent of independence for
Québec .
Daniel Johnson, Jr. succeeded Bourassa as Liberal leader and Premier of Québec in 1994, but soon lost the
1994 Election to the ''Parti Québécois'' under
Jacques Parizeau .
In 1993, after the failure of the Charlottetown Accord, many nationalist members of the Liberal party led by
Jean Allaire and
Mario Dumont , including many from the party's youth wing, left to form the ''
Action Démocratique Du Québec '' because of the Liberal party's refusal to endorse independence. As in 1980, the PLQ campaigned for a ''non'' vote in the
1995 Quebec Referendum on
Sovereignty .
Since the
Election Of April 14, 2003 , the Liberals have formed the current government of Québec under Premier
Jean Charest . Charest is a former federal
Progressive Conservative cabinet minister and leader, who still holds to the ideals of his former party. Under the leadership of Charest, the Liberals have moved to the right as former supporters of the federal Conservatives during the
Brian Mulroney years gain prominent positions in the Liberal party under Charest's leadership. The current Liberal government has proposed a policy of reform of social programs and cuts to government spending and the civil service similar to those of recent Progressive Conservative governments in
Ontario and
Alberta and Liberal government in
British Columbia .
Midway through its current mandate, polls indicate the
Charest government has been riding on the highest dissatisfaction rates ever recorded for a government in place in Quebec. Highly controversial proposals to reform education, labor and social policy, stalled attempts to "streamline" the provincial civil service, growing labor unrest, and other factors give the ''
Parti Québécois '' a chance to win the next provincial election expected in 2007 or 2008.
The party includes among its members supporters of the federal Liberals, federal Conservatives, and some supporters of the federal
New Democratic Party .
