Pur et dur (a common expression in
French literally meaning "pure and hard") is a term used in
Quebec politics
The politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of Quebec is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Premi ...
to refer to hardliners of 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 ...
and the
Quebec independence movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...
.
Article title
/ref> It is most commonly used in the media, where it was popularized. It is also used to criticize some members of 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 ...
. Some within the party resent the use of the term by the media, but some have embraced it. It is similar to the term " SNP fundamentalist", used in Scottish politics for a faction of the Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
, another pro-independence party.
Many of the first "purs et durs" came from the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale who, through entryism
Entryism (also called entrism, enterism, or infiltration) is a political strategy in which an organisation or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organization in an attempt to expand influence and expand the ...
, joined the Parti Québécois in the early days of the 1960s. They are associated with strong opinions about independence (including the need to attain it quickly, the question of an eventual supranational union
A supranational union is a type of international organization that is empowered to directly exercise some of the powers and functions otherwise reserved to states. A supranational organization involves a greater transfer of or limitation of ...
, or "sovereignty-association
The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...
", and the question of the " étapisme" approach) and language protection (see Charter of the French Language
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...
). Some also criticize the party for not being social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
enough.
These militants have famously made the leadership of the Parti Québécois a test and daunting task. The media has tied the resignation of every former PQ leader except 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
Parize ...
to the disapproval of the "pur et dur", especially in the case of Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson (born July 5, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985, making him the province's shortest-serving premier, and the first Baby Boomer to hold t ...
. Parizeau a former Premier of Quebec
The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the ...
, has sometimes been portrayed as "pur et dur."
Examples
These are people having been portrayed by some as ''purs et durs'', while this "status" is debatable.
*Paul Bégin
Paul Bégin (born May 15, 1943, in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec) is a former Quebec politician and Cabinet Minister. Member of the Parti Québecois, he served as the province's Justice Minister from 1994 to 1997 and from 2001 to 2002.
Begin is a g ...
*Patrick Bourgeois
Les B.B. (pronounced leh beh beh) was a Canadian band from the province of Quebec. It had great success in the 1980s and the early 1990s. It is made up of Patrick Bourgeois (vocals, guitar, bass), Alain Lapointe (keyboards, guitar, bass and backi ...
*Pierre Bourgault Pierre Bourgault (January 23, 1934 – June 16, 2003) was a politician and essayist, as well as an actor and journalist, from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereignty for Quebec ...
* André Joli-Coeur
*Robert Laplante
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
*Denis Lazure
Denis Lazure (October 12, 1925 – February 23, 2008) was a Canadian psychiatrist and politician. Lazure was a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) from 1976 to 1984 and from 1989 to 1996. He is the father of actress Gabrielle La ...
*Josée Legault
Josée Legault (born 1966) is a Canadian journalist. She has been a political columnist for the English-language Montreal newspaper '' The Gazette'', as well as for ''Le Devoir'', ''L'actualité'', and currently '' Le Journal de Montréal''.
Bi ...
* Yves Michaud
*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
Parize ...
*Robin Philpot Robin Philpot (born 1948) is a Quebec journalist and 2007 electoral candidate for the Parti Québécois.
Background
Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, where his father Roderick Philpot was an alderman of the city of Fort William, Philpot is ...
*Jean-Claude St-André
Jean-Claude St-André (born September 27, 1962) is a Quebec provincial politician and was the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec representing L'Assomption for the Parti Québécois.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in social sciences from ...
*Pierre Falardeau
Pierre Falardeau (December 28, 1946 – September 25, 2009) was a Québécois film and documentary director, pamphleteer and noted activist for Quebec independence.
Falardeau wrote at least one book, ''Rien n'est plus précieux que la libert� ...
Two notable exceptions are Guy Bertrand and Gilles Grégoire
Gilles Grégoire (May 6, 1926 – November 22, 2006) was a co-founder of the Parti Québécois.
Born in Quebec City, Quebec, the son of Joseph-Ernest Grégoire, he was elected in 1962 to the House of Commons of Canada with the Ralliement des c ...
. Both are founding members of 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 ...
, but have (or had) come to be disowned by the ''purs et durs''.
Bertrand was called, by 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 ...
, an "ayatollah
Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیتالله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Etymology
The title is originally derived from ...
in bedroom slippers," mostly because of his vigorous attempts to get the PQ to declare unilateral independence, but later wrote that an "intolerant, ethnocentric, egocentric" Québécois nationalism has been the bane of Quebec and Canada. A skilled lawyer, he has taken his anti-separatism cause to court several times.
Grégoire was a founding member and elected to the National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
twice but was cast out when he was convicted of having sex with minor girls and sentenced to jail. He died in 2006.
See also
*Pure laine
The French term ''pure laine'' (, often translated as 'old stock' or 'dyed-in-the-wool'), refers to Québécois people of French-Canadian ancestry, especially those descended from the original settlers of New France who arrived during the 17th ...
*Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...
*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 ...
*Québécois (word)
(''e'') or Quebecois(e) may refer to:
* Related to the Canadian province of Quebec
** most often, Québécois people, a native or inhabitant of Quebec
** any native or resident of Quebec, see Demographics of Quebec
** the French culture of Quebe ...
* SNP fundamentalist
* Fundi - equivalent term in Green politics
Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...
References
Quebec sovereignty movement
Quebec political phrases
Political party factions in Canada
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