The Red Party (french: Parti rouge, or french: Parti démocratique) was a political group that contested elections in the Eastern section of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

. It was formed around 1847 by radical

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

s inspired by the ideas of

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower ...

, the ''

Institut canadien de Montréal The Institut canadien de Montréal (English; Canadian Institute of Montreal) was founded on 17 December 1844, by a group of 200 young liberal professionals in Montreal, Canada East, Province of Canada. The Institute provided a public library and d ...

'', and the reformist movement led by the

Parti patriote The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal prof ...

of the 1830s. The Red Party did not experience electoral success in the same manner as the Blue Party, their electoral rivals in Canada East. Because of their anti-clerical beliefs, the Red Party was condemned by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, contributing to their lack of electoral success. The party did form government as part of a coalition with the

Clear Grits Clear Grits were reformers in the Canada West district of the Province of United Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their name is said to have been given by David Christie, who said that only those were wanted ...

and Liberals from Canada West on some occasions before confederation, but never held a majority in their section of the province. After

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, the party was dissolved, with members forming the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

at the federal level, and the

Liberal Party of Quebec The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

at the provincial level.

History

The party was a successor to the

, a radical political movement in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

responsible for the

rebellions of 1837–1838 The Rebellions of 1837–1838 (french: Les rébellions de 1837), were two armed uprisings that took place in Lower and Upper Canada in 1837 and 1838. Both rebellions were motivated by frustrations with lack of political reform. A key shared g ...

. The reformist rouges did not believe that the 1840 Act of Union had truly granted a

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

to former Upper and Lower Canada. They advocated important democratic reforms,

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

anism, and secularism (separation of the state and the church). They were perceived as

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and radical by their political adversaries. Some of its members desired the abolition of the semi-

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

seigneurial system Seigneurial system may refer to: * Manorialism - the socio-economic system of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period * Seigneurial system of New France The manorial system of New France, known as the seigneurial system (french: Régime seigneu ...

of land ownership, although Papineau was himself a seigneur and a vocal defender of the traditional system, which he wanted reformed, not abolished. The elected rouges typically allied with the

in the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

of the

. The party primarily sat in opposition to the Liberal-Conservative-Bleu government that governed the province for most of the period between the fall of the reform movement and confederation. However, the rouges did form government with the Clear Grits once, after the fall of the Macdonald-Cartier ministry on a vote of non-confidence. This resulted in the shortest-lived government in Canadian history, falling four days after it was called by the Governor-General. After Confederation, its more moderate members (notably including Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

, who would become Canada's first francophone Prime Minister) formed what became the

in conjunction with their Upper Canadian Clear Grit allies.

Ideology

The Red Party opposed the union of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

and

into the United

, and demanded its termination. When talks for

Canadian confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

began, its members either opposed the idea, or suggested a decentralized confederation. Some elements of the party advocated for full sovereignty, or joining with the United States, for the French-speaking part of Canada. They were opposed to the

ultramontane Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by th ...

politics of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

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 ...

and the

Parti bleu The Blue Party (french: Parti bleu) was a political group that contested elections in the Eastern section of the Province of Canada. The Blue Party was ideologically located on the political right, and was defined by its support for the Catholi ...

Manifestos

The Red Party published the following manifestos: * ''Manifeste du Comité constitutionnel de la réforme et du progrès'', 1847 (

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

) * ''Manifeste du Club national démocratique'', 1849 (

)

References

Additional references

*
Parti rouge
, in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica Foundation, 2008 * Claude Bélanger,

, in ''The Quebec History Encyclopedia'', 2006 *

, in ''Canadian Confederation'', Library and Archives Canada, December 14, 2001, updated July 16, 2012

Additional French-language information sources

* Lamonde, Yvan (2000). ', Montréal: , 576 p.
online
* Lamonde, Yvan (1994). ', Saint-Laurent: Fides, 369 p. * Lamonde, Yvan (1990). ', Montréal: Boréal, 176 p. * de Lagrave, Jean-Paul (1976). ', Montréal: Editions de Lagrave, 150 p. * Bernard, Jean-Paul (1971). ', Montréal: Presses de l'Université du Québec, 394 p. * Dumont, Fernand, Montminy, Jean-Paul, and Hamelin, Jean ed. (1971). ', Québec: Presses de l'Université Laval, 327 p. {{Authority control Political parties in Lower Canada Canada 1848 Political parties established in 1848 Radical parties Liberal parties in Canada

History

Ideology

Manifestos

See also

References

Additional references

Additional French-language information sources