The Parti des travailleurs du Québec (PTQ) (English: Workers Party of Quebec) was a political party in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

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 ...

. It first issued a manifesto in 1976 and fielded candidates in provincial elections until the 1990s, never rising above fringe status. Gérard Lachance was party leader for at least part, and possibly all, of its existence. In a 1981 interview, party spokesperson Maurice Gohier indicated that the PTQ was not

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

but promoted both

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

for Quebec. Its platform called for workers to be given a greater influence in the governing of society. The PTQ did not appear on the ballot in the 1985 provincial election due to registration difficulties, although some party members ran as non-affiliated candidates. The party's central offices were burgled in the 1989 provincial election, and a party official indicated that the names and addresses of party members were stolen.Michèle Ouimet, "Le PTQ dévalisé," ''La Presse'', 16 August 1989, B7.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parti des travailleurs du Quebec Provincial political parties in Quebec Defunct political parties in Canada Labour parties in Canada