The Ligue nationaliste canadienne, also known as the Ligue nationaliste, was a

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: The ...

and

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

organization 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, during the early 20th century. Founded by

Henri Bourassa Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight fo ...

and journalist

Olivar Asselin Olivar Asselin (November 8, 1874 – April 18, 1937) was a writer and journalist in Quebec, Canada. He was a prominent nationalist, pamphleteer and polemist. Biography Asselin was born in Saint-Hilarion, Charlevoix, Quebec. His name is a co ...

, the newspaper '' Le Nationaliste'' was its official organ until 1910, when Bourassa founded ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

'' which became the Ligue's mouthpiece. The party was created in 1903 to counter what was perceived to be the evils of imperialism and to instill a pan-Canadian nationalist spirit in the Francophone population. The League opposed political dependence on either Britain or the United States, supporting instead Canadian autonomy within the British Empire. In the 1908 Quebec election the Ligue won three seats in the Quebec Legislative Assembly; Bourassa won in two seats ( Montreal Division #2 and

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérég ...

) and chose to sit for the latter, and

Armand Lavergne Armand Renaud Lavergne, or La Vergne (February 21, 1880 – March 5, 1935) was a Quebec lawyer, journalist and political figure. He represented Montmagny in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal member from 1904 to 1908 and as a Con ...

was elected in Montmagny. Bourassa did not run for re-election in 1912 Quebec election; Lavergne served as the party's only member until leaving office in the 1916 election.

References

Civic and political organizations of Canada Political history of Quebec Defunct provincial political parties in Quebec 1903 establishments in Quebec Political parties established in 1903 Canadian nationalism 1910s disestablishments in Quebec Political parties disestablished in the 1910s {{Quebec-hist-stub

See also

References