The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a
Quebec nationalist
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 thirteen p ...
,
autonomist
Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tend ...
and
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 in ...
["Quebec election: CAQ victory proves separatism is no longer a major issue"](_blank)
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' provincial
political party in Quebec
The following is a list of all political parties in the Canadian province of Quebec. Parties represented in the National Assembly
Other registered parties
Other parties authorized by the Director-General of Elections:
Unregistered parties
* ...
.
It was founded by former
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
(PQ)
cabinet minister François Legault
François Legault (; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician serving as the 32nd premier of Quebec since 2018. A member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he has led the party since its founding in 2011. Legault sits as a member of the ...
and businessman
Charles Sirois; Legault also serves as the party leader. The party membership includes both
Quebec nationalists and
federalists
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 ...
. Legault has said it will never endorse a referendum on sovereignty, but will seek more
autonomy if necessary.
Not long after its formation, the party gained nine sitting Members of 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 ...
(MNAs) who had been elected as members of the PQ and of the
Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ); the ADQ later merged with the CAQ in January 2012.
The party is registered with the Director-General of Elections in Quebec under the name Coalition avenir Québec – L'équipe François Legault.
Members and supporters of the party are referred to as "caquistes", derived from the French pronunciation of the party's initials. However, the party has requested that the term "coalisés" be used instead.
On
1 October 2018, the CAQ won a majority of seats in 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 ...
, allowing it to form a government for the first time. It increased its majority in the
2022 elections.
History
Foundation and 2012 provincial election
In February 2011, François Legault and Charles Sirois held a press conference to announce the formation of a movement called the ''Coalition pour l'avenir du Québec'' ().
In September 2011, the CAQ began discussions with the ADQ on the possibility of a merger between the two groups.
The two parties were very similar ideologically.
On 14 November 2011, Legault held a press conference to launch the movement as a political party under the slightly modified name of Coalition Avenir Québec, unveiling a new logo at the same time. The actual registration of the party with the
Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
had already taken place on 4 November.
On 13 December 2011, the CAQ and the ADQ announced an agreement in principle to merge, pending final approval with the ADQ membership.
On 19 December 2011, two former PQ MNAs (
Benoit Charette
Benoit Charette (born July 19, 1976) is a Quebec politician elected in the 2008 provincial election for Deux-Montagnes. He was a member of the Parti Québécois, but left the party on June 21, 2011 to protest the party's focus on sovereignty. On ...
and
Daniel Ratthé
Daniel Ratthé (born 8 June 1956) is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec, who was elected to represent the riding of Blainville in the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2008 provincial election. He is an Independent MNA and a fo ...
) and two former ADQ MNAs (
Éric Caire
Éric Caire (born May 21, 1965) is a Canadian politician from Quebec, Canada, and the CAQ Member of the National Assembly for the electoral district of La Peltrie.
Early career
Caire was born in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. He was the owner of a l ...
and
Marc Picard
Marc Picard (born April 25, 1955) is a politician in the province of Quebec, Canada. He currently represents the Chutes-de-la-Chaudière district at the National Assembly of Quebec as a member of the CAQ.
Born in Saint-Raphaël (Bellechasse), ...
) who had earlier left their respective parties to sit as independents announced that they were joining the CAQ, becoming the new party's first sitting members.
In January 2012, PQ MNA
François Rebello
François Rebello (born November 25, 1970) is a Canadian politician. Rebello is a former MNA in the province of Quebec. Rebello represented the riding of La Prairie in the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2008 provincial election, after an un ...
switched party affiliation to the CAQ, becoming its fifth sitting member.
On 21 January 2012, the results of the ADQ's mail-in vote were announced: of the 54% of members who voted, 70% approved the merger with the CAQ. The ADQ's four remaining MNAs—
Sylvie Roy of
Lotbinière,
Janvier Grondin of
Beauce-Nord,
François Bonnardel of
Shefford, and leader
Gérard Deltell
Gérard Deltell (born August 8, 1964) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Louis-Saint-Laurent since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, Deltell was Opposition House Leader from 2020 to 2022 under ...
of
Chauveau—joined the CAQ, boosting its caucus to nine.
On 23 January 2012, the CAQ announced its first president,
Dominique Anglade, who would also be a candidate for the party in the next election.
She left the party in 2015, cited objections to the CAQ's positions on ethnic identity and immigration and ran for the Quebec Liberal Party.
On 5 August 2012,
Jacques Duchesneau
Jacques Duchesneau, (born February 7, 1949) is a Canadian politician, civil servant, former chief of police, and former president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Duchesneau was the member of the Q ...
, the
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
behind Quebec's anti-corruption unit, announced his candidacy for the riding of
Saint-Jérôme
Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the Montreal of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its resorts via the ...
in the
2012 provincial election.
He won the MNA seat.
On 4 September 2012, the CAQ won 19 seats in the
2012 provincial election.
2014 provincial election
In the
2014 provincial election held on 7 April, the CAQ won 22 seats, a gain of three seats.
The
TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a Federal government of the United States, federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, an ...
-sponsored second televised debate was noted as a turning point in the campaign and party leader François Legault's performance reflected positively on the CAQ's standing. Therefore, early voting results revealed a disastrous outcome for the party, while ballots cast on Election Day were much more favourable.
Also, overall returns marked a significant geographic shift in the CAQ electoral base. In the
Capitale-Nationale
Capitale-Nationale (; en, National Capital region) is one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has a land area of 18,7 ...
area, reputed for its
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 in ...
leanings and the influence of its talk-radio hosts, the
Quebec Liberal Party won four of the six seats previously held by the CAQ. A strategic vote of the anti-PQ electorate, as well as a pledge by Legault to spend no public money on projects dear to Mayor
Régis Labeaume
Régis Labeaume (born May 2, 1956) is a Canadian businessman, writer and politician. He served as mayor of Quebec City from 2007 to 2021. He was first elected on December 2, 2007 after the death of former mayor Andrée Boucher. He was reelected in ...
, such as the construction of a $97.5 million covered ice rink, the completion of the $60 million theatre Le Diamant, promoted by
Robert Lepage
Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director.
Early life
Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair l ...
, and the $20 million revitalization of the French colonial era new barracks, are possible causes for the backlash.
The CAQ losses in the Capitale-Nationale area were largely compensated with a significant breakthrough in the "
450 area" (
Laurentides
The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...
,
Lanaudière
Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census.
Geog ...
and
Montérégie
Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion.
...
), where it ended up with seven more seats.
Meanwhile, the CAQ support in
Chaudière-Appalaches and
Centre-du-Québec remained steady.
After 2014 provincial election
On 15 August 2014, CAQ MNA for
Lévis Christian Dubé resigned his seat to take a job at the
Caisse de dépôt et placement.
The subsequent 20 October 2014 by-election was won by CAQ candidate
François Paradis with 47 per cent of the popular vote.
Following much speculation, Gérard Deltell announced on 7 April 2015, that he would be running for the federal
Conservative Party of Canada in the riding of
Louis-Saint-Laurent
Louis-Saint-Laurent () is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004.
It was created in 2003 from parts of Portneuf (electoral district), P ...
in the upcoming
2015 federal election. His resignation as MNA for Chauveau took effect the same day.
On 26 August 2015, CAQ MNA Sylvie Roy resigned to sit as an independent following personal issues with party leadership.
On 2 October 2017,
Geneviève Guilbault
Geneviève Guilbault (born November 4, 1982) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in a by-election held in the electoral district Louis-Hébert on October 2, 2017.Louis-Hébert Louis-Hébert could refer to:
* Louis-Hébert (provincial electoral district)
*Louis-Hébert (federal electoral district)
Louis-Hébert () is a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. Represented in the House of Commo ...
that had long been held by the Quebec Liberal Party, winning over 51 per cent of the vote.
2018 Quebec provincial election and Legault government
On 1 October 2018, the CAQ won 74 seats, a gain of 53 seats compared to their performance in 2014, propelling them from third place to a strong majority government. The CAQ won 37.4 percent of the vote, four percentage points fewer than what the Liberals tallied four years earlier, and the lowest vote share on record for a party winning an outright majority. However, the CAQ dominated its traditional heartlands and also scored sweeps or near-sweeps in
Mauricie,
Estrie
Estrie () is an administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 per cent francophone. Angl ...
,
Lanaudière
Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census.
Geog ...
,
Montérégie
Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion.
...
, the
Laurentides
The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...
and
northern Quebec Northern Quebec (french: le nord du Québec) is a geographic term denoting the northerly, more remote and less populated parts of the Canadian province of Quebec.Alexandre Robaey"Charity group works with Indigenous communities to feed Northern Queb ...
. Historically, Quebec elections have seen very large disparities between the raw vote and actual seat count.
This marked the first time since the
1966 election, which was won by the now-defunct
Union Nationale, that a party other than the Quebec Liberals or the
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
formed government in Quebec. It was also the first time since then that a centre-right party had won government in the province.
[
The CAQ picked up support from a number of former PQ supporters who had come to believe there was no realistic chance of becoming independent from Canada. For instance, Patrick Légaré, a longtime PQ supporter from the longstanding sovereigntist stronghold of ]Terrebonne
Terrebonne, meaning ''good earth'' in French, is a name of several places in North America:
;Canada
*Terrebonne, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal
** Terrebonne station, a commuter railway station in Terrebonne, Quebec
**Terrebonne City Council, the go ...
, told ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' that he decided to vote for the CAQ because he believed "the dream of a separate Quebec is dead." His main concern was finding "someone who can beat the Liberals–and it isn't the PQ." As it turned out, most of the CAQ's gains came at the expense of the PQ, with several ridings that had been in PQ hands for four decades or more falling by landslide margins.
The CAQ then took the seat vacated by the resignation of former premier Philippe Couillard
Philippe Couillard (; born June 26, 1957) is a Canadian business advisor and former neurosurgeon, university professor and politician who served as 31st premier of Quebec from 2014 to 2018. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Quebec's Minister of He ...
in a by-election held 10 December 2018, increasing its total to 75 seats.
In December 2019 the party won the by-election in Jean-Talon
Jean-Talon is a provincial electoral riding in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. It consists of part of the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough of Quebec City.
It was named after former French colonial administrator of New ...
and in April 2022 won the by-election in Marie-Victorin
Brother Marie-Victorin, F.S.C. (April 3, 1885 – July 15, 1944), was a Canadian member of Brothers of the Christian Schools and a noted botanist in Quebec, Canada. He is known as the father of the Botanical Garden of Montreal.
Biograph ...
, both of which had been Liberal and Parti Québécois strongholds, raising its seat total to 76.
The party won another majority government in the 2022 elections, raising their seat count to 90.
Ideology and policies
The party long described itself as being neither of the left nor the right: it is not particularly economically conservative, with economic policies similar to the Quebec Liberal Party and social policies to their right. However, its politics have been described in the press as centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
and populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
by Quebec standards. From the time the CAQ's merger with the ADQ until 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 ...
gained its first MNA in 2021, the CAQ was the right-most party in the National Assembly.
The party includes former federal Conservatives, provincial Liberals and ex-péquistes.
The party proposes government investment in education and partial decentralization of the healthcare system. They promise "to further develop the entrepreneurial culture in Québec" and provide government resources for the private sector. The party also supports austerity "to provide the government with the flexibility it needs to adapt to the ongoing changes in the economy"; one measure specifically mentioned is leaving 6,000 open Hydro-Québec employment positions unfilled.
The party supports abolishing school boards and increasing the autonomy of principals and their governing boards.
The CAQ contends that the near half-century debate over sovereignty has hampered Quebec's economic and political progress. While the party does not support independence, it does identify as nationalist
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: Th ...
; it believes Quebec can thrive in Canada if the federal government is willing to grant more powers to the province. On 10 April 2014, Legault, previously a staunch sovereignist, stated that a CAQ government would never hold a referendum on leaving Canada: "here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here
Television
* Here TV (form ...
will never be a referendum for the life of the coalition even after 10 years, even after 20 years, so that's clear. And I was clear but people understood something else." François Legault added, "Once it is clear that there will never be a referendum with the Coalition Avenir Québec, the anglophones and allophones, who don't want a referendum, have to understand that we offer an alternative to the Liberals."
Legault has stated "aggressive y that a CAQ government would not repeal Bill 101
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...
. He has also stated that a CAQ government will demand greater power for Quebec.[
The party introduced an electoral reform bill in September 2019. It abandoned plans to hold a referendum on electoral reform in the 2022 general election claiming there was not enough time.
The party is critical of the system of ]equalization payments in Canada
In Canada, the federal government makes equalization payments to provincial governments to help address fiscal disparities among Canadian provinces based on estimates of provinces' ''fiscal capacity''—their ability to generate tax revenues. A p ...
and plans to remove Quebec from receiving such payments.
According to the party, Quebec is defined by "its historical heritage, the French language, its democratic ideals and the principles of the secularity of the State, and equality among men and women". The Party supported the Quebec ban on face covering but also argue the ban is not extensive enough. They propose to prohibit the wearing of religious symbols by personnel in a position of authority, including teachers. The party supports interculturalism
Interculturalism is a political movement that supports cross-cultural dialogue and challenging self-segregation tendencies within cultures.John Nagle, Multiculturalism's Double-Bind: Creating Inclusivity Cosmopolitanism and Difference. Ashgate Pub ...
to "integrate newcomers". This includes limiting immigration and promoting the use of French without creating new barriers. However, they want to exempt Quebec from the requirements of multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
. In 2018, it proposed cutting the number of immigrants by 20 per cent, to 40,000 annually. However, it plans to bring back numbers up to 52,000 a year in 2022.
Election results
House leaders
House whips
Party presidents
Campaign slogans
* 2012: ''C'est assez, faut que ça change !'' (Enough, things have to change!)
* 2014: ''On se donne Legault'' (Let's give ourselves Legault) (''Play on words with "go ahead"'')
* 2018: ''Maintenant.'' (Now.)
* 2022: "Continuons," ("Let's keep going.")[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/caq-quebec-solidaire-unveil-election-slogans-1.6556274 ]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coalition Avenir Quebec
Organizations based in Montreal
Political parties established in 2011
Provincial political parties in Quebec
2011 establishments in Quebec
Conservative parties in Canada
Right-wing politics in Canada
Right-wing parties in North America
Centre-right parties
Quebec nationalism
Autonomy