Option nationale, registered as Option nationale – Pour l'indépendance du Québec (National Option – For the Independence of Quebec), was a

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

and

left-wing nationalist Left-wing nationalism or leftist nationalism, also known as social nationalism, is a form of nationalism based upon national self-determination, popular sovereignty, national self-interest, and left-wing political positions such as social equali ...

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 * ...

, Canada. It advocated for the sovereignty of Quebec from Canada, and said a vote for Option nationale is an electoral mandate for full-fledged

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

(''de facto'' sovereignty), before holding a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

to adopt the constitution of Quebec as an independent state (''de jure'' sovereignty). It merged with

Québec solidaire Québec solidaire (QS; ) is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada. The party and media outlets in Canada usually use the name "Québec solidaire" in both French and English, but the party's name is sometimes ...

on January 1, 2018 to become a

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

within the party.

History

It was founded in 2011 by

Jean-Martin Aussant Jean-Martin Aussant () is a Canadian economist, musician, and politician, now serving as Executive director of the Chantier de l' économie sociale. He represented Nicolet-Yamaska in the National Assembly of Quebec from 2008 to 2012, first as ...

, a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

(MNA) who had quit 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 ...

(PQ) earlier that year after being elected in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. The party had planned to use the name "Option Québec", as a nod to

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 ...

's 1968 manifesto ''

An Option for Quebec ''An Option for Quebec'' (French: ''Option Québec'') is an essay by former Premier of Quebec René Lévesque published in 1968. The essay presents the constitutional proposal of a group of progressive liberals who, after leaving the Liberal Party ...

'', but it was already taken by another group. In August 2011, before the party was founded, Aussant was courted by the

Parti Indépendantiste Parti may refer to: *Parti (surname), a Hungarian surname, and a list of people with the name * ''Parti'' (architecture), the organizing concepts behind an architect's design * *, a lake in Russia See also *Partie (disambiguation) *Party (disambi ...

, with leader Eric Tremblay hoping to have his first member of the National Assembly. Aussant refused however, saying he disagreed with the party's position on reducing immigration, and with the view of the party that the 1995 referendum was lost because of "anglophone and ethnic votes". Aussant insists that economic fears propagated by federalists were responsible for the referendum defeat. Shortly after the creation of Option nationale,

Lisette Lapointe Lisette Lapointe (born September 13, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Quebec politician, journalist and teacher, who sat in the Quebec National Assembly first as a Parti Québécois MNA and then as an Independent. She is now mayor of Saint-Adol ...

, wife of former Quebec Premier

Jacques Parizeau Jacques Parizeau (; August 9, 1930June 1, 2015) was a Canadian politician and Québécois economist who was a noted Quebec sovereigntist and the 26th premier of Quebec from September 26, 1994, to January 29, 1996. Early life and career Pariz ...

, acquired a membership card from the party, but decided to continue sitting as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

until the end of her term, and did not run for reelection in the 2012 provincial election. During the campaign of the 2012 general election, columnist Dan Delmar of the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' commented: On June 19, 2013, Jean-Martin Aussant resigned as leader of Option nationale, and Nathaly Dufour became interim leader. On October 26, 2013,

Sol Zanetti Sol Zanetti (born 1982) is a Quebec politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of Jean-Lesage as a member of Québec solidaire. He was previously the lea ...

became the new leader of Option nationale. It merged with Québec solidaire on January 1, 2018 to become a collective within the party.

Election results

References

External links

Option nationale website
( French only) {{Quebec provincial political parties 2011 establishments in Quebec 2018 disestablishments in Quebec Left-wing nationalist parties Organizations based in Longueuil Pro-independence parties Quebec sovereignty movement Quebec nationalism Political parties established in 2011 Political parties disestablished in 2018 Provincial political parties in Quebec Secessionist organizations in Canada Republicanism in Canada Social democratic parties in Canada