The Action libérale nationale (ALN)('National Liberal Action') was a short-lived provincial
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada. It was founded during the
Great Depression and led by
Paul Gouin. The ALN played an important role in the foundation of the
Union Nationale.
Origin and beliefs
The party was created in 1934 by dissidents from the
Liberal Party of Quebec
The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; ...
. It soon received the support of French Canadian nationalists as
federal Liberal Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
Édouard Lacroix
Édouard Lacroix (January 6, 1889 – January 19, 1963) was a politician and business person in Quebec, Canada.
Background
He was born on January 6, 1889, in Sainte-Marie, Quebec. At the age of twelve he began working in United States lumb ...
, Liberal
Members of the Legislature Oscar Drouin
Oscar Drouin (September 29, 1890 – July 16, 1953) was a politician in Quebec, Canada.
Background
He was born on September 29, 1890 in Quebec City.
Member of the legislature
Drouin won a by-election in 1928 and became the Liberal Member ...
and
Philippe Hamel
Philippe Hamel (October 12, 1884 – January 22, 1954) was a Quebec nationalism, nationalist and Progressivism, progressive politician in Quebec, Canada.
Background
He was born on October 12, 1884, in Quebec City. His father was Charles-Ant ...
, and Québec City mayor
Joseph-Ernest Grégoire
Joseph-Ernest Grégoire (July 31, 1886 – September 17, 1980) was a French Canadian politician.
Background
He was born in Disraeli, Quebec on July 31, 1886. He was an attorney and a professor. Member of the Barreau du Quebec in 1913, ...
.
The ALN promoted
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...
,
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and was not affiliated to any federal party. Its platform included the following proposals:
* Farm credit;
* Voluntary
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
from cities to rural areas;
*
Rural electrification
Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billion ...
;
*
Nationalization of electricity;
*
Corporativism;
*
Electoral reform
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:
* Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-r ...
;
Its ideology was influenced by the
social doctrine of the Catholic Church promoted by the priest
Lionel Groulx
Lionel Groulx (; 13 January 1878 – 23 May 1967) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, historian, and Quebec nationalist.
Biography
Early life and ordination
Lionel Groulx, né Joseph Adolphe Lyonel Groulx, the son of a farmer and lumber ...
, and the economical ideas of
Esdras Minville
Esdras Minville (November 7, 1896 in Grande-Vallée – December 9, 1975) was a Canadian writer, economist and sociologist. He served as the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Université de Montréal, and was the first French-Can ...
.
Electoral breakthrough
In order to unite the vote against the Liberal government of
Alexandre Taschereau, the Action libérale nationale (ALN) and the
Conservative Party of Quebec
The Conservative Party of Quebec (CPQ; french: Parti conservateur du Québec (PCQ)) is a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was authorized on 25 March 2009 by the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec. The CPQ has gradually run more c ...
decided to run only one candidate of either party in each district for the
1935 Quebec election. With 29% of the vote, the ALN elected 26 out of 57 candidates; the Conservatives received 19% of the vote and won 16 seat out of 33 in which they ran a candidate.
Bilan du Siècle, 1934: Manifeste de l'Action libérale nationale
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Decline
Less than a year later, Conservative Leader Maurice Duplessis
Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...
, a rising star in provincial politics, tried to pressure ALN Leader Paul Gouin into merging both parties. While Gouin cuts ties with Duplessis, 22 of his Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) joined the new party, known as Union Nationale, which won the 1936 Quebec election.
Gouin did not run for re-election to the legislature in 1936. ALN MNAs Vital Cliche
Vital Cliche (September 10, 1890 – February 23, 1976) was a politician Quebec, Canada and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (MLA).
Early life
He was born on September 10, 1890 in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec and became an ...
, Wilfrid-Eldège Lauriault and Frederick Arthur Monk ran for re-election as Independents. None of them were elected. Cliche ran as an Action libérale nationale candidate in a by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
held on March 17, 1937, in his home district of Beauce Beauce may refer to:
* Beauce, France, a natural region in northern France
* Beaucé, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, France
* Beauce, Quebec, an historical and cultural region of Canada
** Beauce (electoral district), a fed ...
. He was defeated.
The ALN opposed conscription and contested the 1939 Quebec election. Other than Gouin who took the leadership, the party was unable to attract any of its former candidates from the 1935 election. Instead René Chaloult
René Chaloult (January 26, 1901 – December 20, 1978) was a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada.
Background
He was born on January 26, 1901, in Quebec City.
Political career
Chaloult first won a seat to the Legislative Assembly of ...
and Oscar Drouin
Oscar Drouin (September 29, 1890 – July 16, 1953) was a politician in Quebec, Canada.
Background
He was born on September 29, 1890 in Quebec City.
Member of the legislature
Drouin won a by-election in 1928 and became the Liberal Member ...
, who had grown disillusioned with Duplessis after they joined the Union Nationale, ran as Liberal candidates. The party won only 4.5% of the vote and none of its 56 candidates were elected. It disappeared soon after.
Legacy
Even though the ALN did not survive the 1930s political realignment
A political realignment, often called a critical election, critical realignment, or realigning election, in the academic fields of political science and political history, is a set of sharp changes in party ideology, issues, party leaders, regional ...
in Quebec politics, many of its policies were eventually implemented by the provincial governments of Maurice Duplessis, Adélard Godbout
Joseph-Adélard Godbout (September 24, 1892 – September 18, 1956) was a Canadian agronomist and politician. He served as the 15th premier of Quebec briefly in 1936, and again from 1939 to 1944. He served as leader of the Parti Libéral du Qu ...
and Jean Lesage
Jean Lesage (; 10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from Quebec. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960 to 16 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is ...
.
Election results
See also
* Politics of Quebec
The 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 Quebec is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, P ...
* Quebec general elections
This article provides a summary of results for the general elections to the Canadian province of Quebec's unicameral legislative body, the National Assembly of Quebec (and its predecessor, the Legislative Assembly of Quebec). The number of ...
* List of Quebec premiers
This is a list of the premiers of the province of Quebec since Canadian Confederation in 1867. Quebec uses a unicameral (originally bicameral) Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that c ...
* List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
This is a list of the leaders of the opposition party of Quebec, Canada since Confederation (1867).
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 ...
* National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
* Timeline of Quebec history
This 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 Q ...
* Political parties in Quebec
Notes
External links
National Assembly historical information
La Politique québécoise sur le Web
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action Liberale Nationale
Political parties established in 1934
Defunct provincial political parties in Quebec
Political parties disestablished in 1939
1934 establishments in Quebec
1939 disestablishments in Quebec