''Cité Libre'' was an influential political journal published 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, through the 1950s and 1960s. Co-founded in 1950 by editor and future

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

, the publication served as an organ of opposition to the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

government of

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 his ...

. The journal published contributions by intellectuals such as Trudeau,

Gérard Pelletier Gérard Pelletier, (June 21, 1919 – June 22, 1997) was a Canadian journalist and politician. Career Pelletier initially worked as a journalist for ''Le Devoir'', a French-language newspaper in Montreal, Quebec. In 1961 he became editor-i ...

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

Pierre Vallières Pierre Vallières ( – ) was a Québécois journalist and writer, known as an intellectual leader of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). He was the author of the essay ''Nègres blancs d'Amérique'', translated as ''White Niggers of Am ...

and other intellectuals and activists. In doing so, the journal gained a reputation for its radical viewpoints at a time when anti-Duplessis views were difficult to get into print. The journal was

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and often criticised the strong influence that the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

then had in Quebec. It also favoured

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

, as shown by its opposition to such measures as the

Padlock Law The ''Act to Protect the Province Against Communistic Propaganda'' (french: Loi protégeant la province contre la propagande communiste), commonly known as the "Padlock Law" or "Padlock Act" (french: La loi du cadenas), was a law in the province ...

(adopted by Duplessis in 1937) and its support of the

Asbestos Strike The Asbestos strike of 1949, based in and around the town of Asbestos, Quebec, Canada, was a four-month labour dispute by asbestos miners. It has traditionally been portrayed as a turning point in Quebec history that helped lead to the Quiet Rev ...

. Editor Trudeau helped form the Rassemblement, a group devoted to turning the public against Duplessis. This group, combined with ''Cité Libre'', helped foster the intellectualism that revived the

Quebec Liberal Party 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; e ...

, which defeated the Union Nationale in 1960. Many of the themes raised by ''Cité Libre'' found fruition during Quebec's

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...

of the 1960s. A number of the journal's contributors went on to take leading parts in that movement. As the 1960s progressed, Quebec society became divided between

Quebec nationalists Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

and sovereigntists such as Lévesque and Vallières and Canadian

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

s such as Trudeau and Pelletier. This caused a rift among the journal's board members, ultimately leading to the magazine's evolution into a federalist journal. As well, the journal abandoned its earlier interest in socialist ideas and became more and more

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

in orientation. The division among Quebec's left, as well as the entry of a number of ''Cité Libre'' figures into electoral politics, led to the journal's demise in 1966. ''Cité Libre'' was revived in July 1991 to help promote Canadian national unity in Quebec and combat the perceived (pro-Quebec nationalist) "political unanimism" in the province. In this era, the editorship of the magazine was taken over by academics

Max Nemni Max Nemni is a Canadian political scientist and writer, best known for a series of biographies of former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau which he cowrote with his wife Monique Nemni.Monique Nemni Monique Esther Nemni (March 27, 1936 – 2 November 2022) was an Egyptian-born Canadian linguist and writer, best known for a series of biographies of former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau which she cowrote with her husband Max Nemni.< ...

. In 1998, an

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

version (also under the name ''Cité Libre'') was launched; unlike most other

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

publications, both the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and English versions were identical in their respective content."The English-language Cite libre crosses the Quebec border". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 10, 1998. Publication ceased (both in French and English) in 2000, officially because of the magazine's perception that separatism was defeated. ''Cité Libre'' was further revived in mid-March 2008, in response to what they saw as the destruction of the progressive traditions of the Liberal Party of Canada under the leadership of

Stéphane Dion Stéphane Maurice Dion (born 28 September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the European Union since 2017. Dion was Leader of ...

. For the founders, this included Dion's tacit endorsement of the Security and Prosperity Partnership North American Union (SPP-NAU) agenda.

References

External links

Encarta: Pierre Trudeau
2009-10-31) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cite Libre 1950 establishments in Quebec 1966 disestablishments in Quebec 1991 establishments in Quebec 2000 disestablishments in Quebec Cultural magazines published in Canada Defunct political magazines published in Canada French-language magazines published in Canada Magazines established in 1950 Magazines disestablished in 1966 Magazines established in 1991 Magazines disestablished in 2000 Magazines published in Montreal Political history of Quebec