The Parti de la démocratie socialiste (PDS; en, Party of Democratic Socialism) was a 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 * ...

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 ...

. Founded as the New Democratic Party of Quebec ouveau Parti Démocratique du Québec (NPDQ) the NPDQ was originally affiliated with the federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

(NDP) but separated from the NDP in 1989 before disaffiliating entirely in 1991. A new section of the federal NDP, called New Democratic Party of Canada - Québec Section was refounded in 1990, and is active only in federal politics.

History

The PDS' roots can be traced to 1939, with the founding of the Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif (FCC), later renamed

Parti social démocratique du Québec The Parti social démocratique du Québec (PSD; ) was the Quebec wing of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. It was founded in 1939 as the Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif and was led by Romuald-Joseph Lamoureux in the 1944 general e ...

(PSD) in 1955. The FCC/PSD was the Quebec counterpart of Canada's federal

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

(CCF) party. After the CCF became the

(NDP) in 1961, the NPDQ was created in 1963 following the concerted efforts of the Quebec Federation of Labour ( Fédération des travailleurs du Québec) (FTQ) and of the Quebec section of the

(CCF), which had been known as the

(PSD) since 1955. On the federal level, in its role as the Quebec section of the NDP, the NPDQ contested the

Canadian federal elections This article provides a summary of results for Canadian general elections (where all seats are contested) to the House of Commons, the elected lower half of Canada's federal bicameral legislative body, the Parliament of Canada. The number of s ...

between 1962 and 1988. Until the end of the 1960s, in conformity with the division of roles that had been decided in 1963, the NPDQ was active exclusively on the federal political level in Quebec. This left the provincial political level to the pro-independence Parti socialiste du Québec, PSQ) led by former PSD leader

Michel Chartrand Michel Chartrand (20 December 1916 – 12 April 2010) was a Canadian trade union leader from Quebec. Born in Outremont and trained as a typography and print worker, Chartrand became involved in union activism in the 1940s. During the '' Grande ...

. After the disappearance of the PSQ around 1968, the NPDQ continued to concentrate most of its attention on the federal level during the 1970s and the early 1980s. It made a few incursions on the provincial level, running a few candidates, first in the Quebec general election of 1970, and later in the general election of 1976, the second time as part of a coalition with the

Regroupement des militants syndicaux The Regroupement des militants syndicaux or RMS (in English: ''Trade-Union Militants Grouping'') was a political organization founded in 1974 by members of the Groupe socialiste des travailleurs du Québec involved in the three main trade-unions in ...

(RMS). The provincial party became defunct following leader

Henri-François Gautrin Henri-François Gautrin (born July 30, 1943 in Béthune, France) is a Quebec politician, professor and physicist. He was the Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Verdun in the Montreal region. He represented the Quebec Liberal ...

's resignation in 1979. In the mid-1980s, the federal NDP's Quebec section determined that there was a new political vacuum in Quebec politics and that, in addition to its role in federal politics, the time had come for the NPDQ to return to the provincial scene. The NPDQ registered as a political party in Quebec in 1985 and selected

Jean-Paul Harney Jean Paul or ''variation'' may refer to: Places * Rue ''Jean-Paul-II'', several streets, see List of places named after Pope John Paul II * Place ''Jean Paul II'', several squares, see List of places named after Pope John Paul II People Given nam ...

as leader. It ran in the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in 1985, 1989 and 1994. In 1989, the NPDQ voted to disaffiliate from the federal NDP as a result of policy differences, such as the provincial party's opposition to the

Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord (french: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the gov ...

; its support for Quebec's language policy; differences with the federal party over the

Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement 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 total ...

; and its more favourable position towards

Quebec nationalism 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 ...

. As a result, the NPDQ concentrated its activities on the Quebec provincial political level, and its members became free to adhere to any federal political party. Similarly, the federal NDP directed its activities in Quebec exclusively on the federal political level, through its Quebec branch renamed the New Democratic Party of Canada (Quebec Section), which runs candidates only in federal elections and whose members became free to adhere to any provincial political party in Quebec. Practically, this brought the situation back to what it had been between 1963 and 1968, but with the difference that the NPDQ, which after the first division of 1963 had ended up being an organization centred on federal politics, now ended up being an organization centred on provincial politics after the second division of 1989. During this time, the party came under the influence of sovereigntists. Tensions between the provincial and federal parties came to a head in 1990 when the NPDQ announced its support for Gilles Duceppe's candidacy as a

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

candidate in a federal by-election and urged federal NDP candidate Louise O'Neill to withdraw from the contest so as not to

split the vote Vote splitting is an election, electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate. ...

. As a result, the federal party voted to sever its "fraternal ties" to its former provincial wing and the provincial party was encouraged to change its name. The federal NDP denounced the provincial party when it nominated former Front de libération du Québec member Paul Rose as a candidate in a provincial by-election. Rose had been convicted for his role in the murder of

Pierre Laporte Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of Quebec when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ ...

during the 1970

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...

. The federal NDP announced that they were seeking legal means to force the NPDQ to stop calling using the name "New Democratic".Canadian Press, "McLaughlin distances party from ex-terrorist," ''Hamilton Spectator'', December 12, 1991 After the general election of 1994, the NPDQ decided to change its name to Parti de la Democratie Socialiste (PDS). Rose was elected its leader two years later. Under this new name, the PDS contested the general election of 1998. In 2002, the PDS became a part of the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

coalition

Union des forces progressistes The Union des forces progressistes (UFP) was a left-wing political party in Quebec, Canada, active from 2002 to 2006. History The Union des Forces Progressistes (UFP) was formed in 2002 out of desire to unite Québec's leftists into a political ...

(UFP; Union of Progressive Forces), together with the

Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste The Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste or RAP ( en, Rally for a Progressive Alternative) began as the Rassemblement pour l'alternative politique, a social movement founded in 1997 as an attempt to unite the progressive and leftist forces ...

(RAP; Union for a Progressive Alternative) and the

Communist Party of Quebec The Communist Party of Quebec (french: Parti communiste du Québec, PCQ-PCC) is a communist provincial political party in Quebec. It is affiliated with, but officially independent from, the Communist Party of Canada. In 2005, a sovereigntis ...

. As a consequence, the PDS withdrew its official party registration with the chief electoral officer and participated under the UFP banner in the Quebec general election of 2003. In 2006, the UFP merged with

Option citoyenne Option citoyenne was an alterglobalization, sovereigntist and feminist political organization in the Canadian province of Quebec. The group was created by Françoise David in 2004; David and François Saillant were its official spokespersons. O ...

to form

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 ...

. It remains an organized tendency within the new coalition under the name "Québec socialiste". Québec solidaire contested the 2007 general election and won its first seat in the National Assembly in 2008. In 2014, supporters of the federal NDP founded a new

New Democratic Party of Quebec The New Democratic Party of Quebec (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Québec; NPDQ) is a federalist and social-democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The party is a revival of the comparable Nouveau Parti Démocratique ...

(NPDQ) which intends to stand candidates in the 2018 provincial election.

Electoral results (Quebec general elections)

Leaders of the NPD-Québec/Parti de la Democratie Socialiste

NPDQ * Robert Cliche (1964–1968) * Roland Morin (1970–1973) *

(1973–1979) * ''none'' (''party not active'') *

(1985–1988) * Roland Morin (1987–1989) * Gaétan Nadeau (1989–1990) * Michel Parenteau (1990–1992) * Jean-François Sirois (1992–1994) PDS (not affiliated with NDP) * Jocelyne Dupuis (1994–1996) * Paul Rose (1996–2002) * ''none'' (''PDS merged into the UFP'')

References

{{reflist

External links

National Assembly historical information

La Politique québécoise sur le Web
Defunct provincial political parties in Quebec 1963 establishments in Quebec 2002 disestablishments in Quebec Democratic socialist parties in North America Political parties established in 1963 Political parties disestablished in 2002 New Democratic Party of Quebec

History

Electoral results (Quebec general elections)

Leaders of the NPD-Québec/Parti de la Democratie Socialiste

See also

References

External links