The SPQ Libre ! or Syndicalistes et progressistes pour un Québec libre ! (spelled with or without the exclamation mark) is a
political club that, until March 2010, operated within 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 ...
. Its president is former
labour union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...
leader
Marc Laviolette
Marc Laviolette (born c. 1950s in Ottawa, Ontario) was Mayor of Ottawa for much of 1991. He was declared Mayor on 18 February 1991 after Jim Durrell resigned to become president of the fledgling Ottawa Senators ice hockey team. Laviolette had b ...
.
History
The movement finds its roots in the desire of many progressive
Quebec sovereigntists
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 ...
to bring back disillusioned
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 ...
militants and voters to the Parti Québécois, an established party for independence and
social democracy
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 s ...
, instead of creating a ''
spoiler effect
Vote splitting is an 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.
Vote spl ...
'' with third parties. Notable initiators of its birth are former
Centrale des syndicats du Québec
The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ; Quebec Labour Congress) is the third biggest trade union in Quebec, Canada, by membership.
It was founded in 1946 when three earlier unions merged to form the ''Corporation générale des instituteurs e ...
union president
Monique Richard
Monique Richard (born December 12, 1947) is a Quebec politician. She is a member of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the district of Marguerite-D'Youville. She was elected in the 2008 provincial election. She is a member of the Part ...
, former
Confédération des syndicats nationaux
The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN; Confederation of National Trade Unions) is the second largest trade union federation in Quebec by membership.
History
It was founded in Hull in 1921 as the ''Confédération des travailleurs ca ...
union president Marc Laviolette (the current SPQ Libre president), former president of the feminist
Fédération des femmes du Québec The Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ; English: "Quebec Women's Federation") is a feminist organization binding individuals and groups in a common goal to "promote and defend the interests and the rights of women and to fight against all form ...
and future BQ Member of Parliament
Vivianne Barbot, and former Parti Québécois minister
Robert Dean.
Opening the Parti Québécois to the concept of political clubs was first approved by then party leader
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry (; March 9, 1937 – November 6, 2018) was a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Quebec from 2001 to 2003. A member of the Parti Québécois (PQ), he led the party from 2001 to 2005, also serving as the leader o ...
himself, convinced by left-wing activists. The party ratified this new possibility during the
Parti Québécois National Council of 2005. This made it possible for the SPQ Libre to become a political club within the structure of the party.
Monique Richard
Monique Richard (born December 12, 1947) is a Quebec politician. She is a member of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the district of Marguerite-D'Youville. She was elected in the 2008 provincial election. She is a member of the Part ...
, having become the SPQ Libre spokeswoman, was elected president of the Parti Québécois at the 2005 National Council, something seen by the SPQ Libre as a left-wing victory in the PQ. It declared its intent to field a sharply progressive candidate for the
Parti Québécois leadership election of 2005, who ended up being editor of
L'aut'journal ''L'aut'journal'' () is a French language newspaper distributed in Quebec freely and through subscription. It was founded in 1984 by political scientist and journalist Pierre Dubuc, and as of 2004 has a circulation of 35,000 copies.
It advocates ...
and Secretary of the SPQ Libre
Pierre Dubuc.
After continued criticism of
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ ...
perceived shift to the right on certain policy issues, the PQ expelled the group in March 2010, saying the attacks on Marois leadership and policies were "undermining party unity".
Identity question
After the PQ’s defeat in 2007, factions of the SPQ criticized the party leadership for allowing
the "identity question" and defense of "Québécois de souche" to be led by the
Action démocratique du Québec.
Description
The SPQ Libre is explicitly left-wing, pro labour unions and in favour of
Quebec independence
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 determined enough to achieve it. Being a political club with the intent of assuring a strong left-wing presence in a party and to influence it, its nature is notably reminiscent of the
New Democratic Party's
New Politics Initiative
The New Politics Initiative (NPI) was a faction of Canada's New Democratic Party. It was generally viewed to be further left than Alexa McDonough's leadership, but not as far left as the Socialist Caucus.
The NPI believed that the NDP was movin ...
or, to a lesser extent, of the
New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus
The New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus is an unofficial left-wing faction within Canada's New Democratic Party.
Its manifesto maintains that the New Democratic Party has moved too far to the right, and is in danger of becoming indistinguishable ...
.
Its creation represents in many ways a response to the creation of the
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 ...
(and
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. Op ...
), as well as to the discontent of some militants of the PQ leftist faction. Thus, a goal of the SPQ Libre is to demonstrate that stronger leftists have their place in the Parti Québécois, portrayed by the SPQ Libre as the only party able to achieve sovereignty.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Political faction
A political faction is a group of individuals that share a common political purpose but differs in some respect to the rest of the entity. A faction within a group or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," ...
*
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 ...
*
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 o ...
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Political movements in Canada
Political party factions in Canada
Quebec nationalism
Secessionist organizations in Canada
Organizations based in Quebec