The United Farmers of Quebec (''Fermiers unis de Québec'') were founded in 1918 as part of the broader

United Farmers United Farmers may refer to: *The United Farmers' MPs in the Canadian House of Commons who founded the Progressive Party of Canada in 1920 *United Farmers of Alberta, a political party which governed Alberta from 1921 to 1935 and also elected membe ...

movement in of Canada. The genesis of the organization was in protests resulting from the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

against the attempt of

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

's federal government to conscript farm youths into the Canadian military during World War I. Quebec farmers organized a large demonstration on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...

in Ottawa on May 15, 1918 bringing them into contact with the United Farmers national movement."United Farmers of Quebec"

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

The Quebec farmers organized 20 associations in western Quebec and in July 1918 organized the Interprovincial Union of Farmers as an umbrella group. By this time renamed to United Farmers of Québec, a conference held in Montreal in January 1920 finalized the organizational structure and elected A. H. Clement as president. As for 1921, UFQ had 5,000 members in 20 counties. From the beginning, UFQ was involved in politics, supporting Nérée Morin in 1920 provincial by-election in Kamouraska, and later nominating Joseph Lambert in 1921 federal by-election in Yamaska. At the Montreal convention in October 1921, the United Farmers and the ''Union des cultivateurs du Québec'' formed the ''Parti fermier-progressiste du Québec'' (Progressive Farmers of Québec) with the support of Joseph-Noé Ponton and the ''Bulletin des agriculteurs''. The party was inspired by both the program of the

Progressive Party of Canada The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the P ...

and the nationalism of

Henri Bourassa Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight fo ...

, and included, in particular, the development of natural resources, respect for human rights, reduction of military spending and opposition to conscription. The party supported 21 candidates, most of whom ran in conjunction with the Progressive Party of Canada in the 1921 federal election, but none were elected. The farmers' candidates won 42,000 votes, or 11% of the total in Quebec. By 1924, the group had been overshadowed by the more conservative Catholic Union of Farmers, which later became

Union des producteurs agricoles The Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) is an agricultural trade union representing producers in the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. Originally a Roman Catholicism, Catholic union called the ''Union catholique des cultivateurs'' (UCC), it she ...

Electoral results

References

{{Reflist 1920 establishments in Quebec 1924 disestablishments in Quebec Agrarian parties in Canada Defunct agrarian political parties Political history of Quebec Political parties disestablished in 1924 Political parties established in 1920 Social democratic parties in Canada United Farmers