René Chaloult (January 26, 1901 – December 20, 1978) was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

politician in

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 ...

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 ...

Background

He was born on January 26, 1901, in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Political career

Chaloult first won a seat to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec as a Union Nationale candidate in the 1936 election in the district of Kamouraska. In 1937, he and colleagues

Oscar Drouin Oscar Drouin (September 29, 1890 – July 16, 1953) was a politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on September 29, 1890 in Quebec City. Member of the legislature Drouin won a by-election in 1928 and became the Liberal Member ...

Joseph-Ernest Grégoire Joseph-Ernest Grégoire (July 31, 1886 – September 17, 1980) was a French Canadian politician. Background He was born in Disraeli, Quebec on July 31, 1886. He was an attorney and a professor. Member of the Barreau du Quebec in 1913, ...

Philippe Hamel Philippe Hamel (October 12, 1884 – January 22, 1954) was a Quebec nationalism, nationalist and Progressivism, progressive politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on October 12, 1884, in Quebec City. His father was Charles-Ant ...

and

Adolphe Marcoux Adolphe Marcoux (October 29, 1884 – September 10, 1951) was a physician and a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada. Born in Beauport, Quebec, Marcoux won a seat to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec as a Union Nationale candidate in ...

left the Union Nationale.Chronologie parlementaire depuis 1791 (1937-1939)
/ref> Chaloult joined the Liberals and won re-election in the 1939 election as the Member for the district of Lotbinière. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Chaloult opposed

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

. He won re-election 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 ...

in Québec-Comté electoral district in the

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

and 1948 elections, but was defeated in the 1952 election and in the district of Jonquière-Kénogami in the 1956 election. Chaloult retired to live at his summer home in Kamouraska. Each year on July 1, he would fly the Quebec flag outside his summer home at half-staff to show his nationalist inclinations.

Death

He died on December 20, 1978.

Legacy

For many years, Chaloult urged Quebec to adopt a distinctive design for its

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

. On November 19, 1946, Chaloult entered a motion to provide Quebec with a unique flag. Two years later, the motion was to be voted on January 21, 1948. However, the opportunistic government of

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

instead issued a decree creating the current Quebec flag.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaloult, Rene 1901 births 1978 deaths French Quebecers Politicians from Quebec City Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs Université Laval alumni