The Parti nationaliste du Québec was a fringe

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 ...

-based federal political party in

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 ...

, that advocated sovereignty of Quebec and was founded by

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 ...

(PQ) supporters. Its primary goal was to represent Quebec's interests in Ottawa and serve as a federal wing for the PQ.

Origins

For decades, the Social Credit Party's Quebec wing, the

Ralliement créditiste Historically in Quebec, Canada, there were a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the s ...

, attracted many

Quebec nationalists 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 ...

as a party that could represent Quebec's interests in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. When Créditistes were wiped off the electoral map in 1980 federal election, the political situation seemed favourable for the growth of the Parti nationaliste. The Parti nationaliste was a successor to the Union Populaire, a party that had little success in the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and 1980 federal elections.

Beau risque

Marcel Léger Marcel Léger (June 8, 1930 – February 5, 1993) was a Canadian politician, and a supporter of Quebec sovereignty. He also founded the Canadian polling firm that became Léger Marketing. Background Léger was born in Montreal. He is the fath ...

,Marcel Léger, Assemblée nationale du Québec
who had been the PQ Member of the provincial legislature for the district of

LaFontaine LaFontaine is a provincial electoral district in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It consists of the neighbourhood of Rivière-des-Prairies in the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Tr ...

since

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

became the party's first leader on September 14, 1983. He was a former Minister of the Environment who had been dropped from the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

in 1982. In the aftermath of the 1982 Patriation of the Constitution by the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

, PQ leader

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 ...

adopted the

beau risque In Quebec politics, ''le beau risque'' (, ''the noble risk'' or ''the good risk'') is a political catch phrase describing the "risk" the Parti Québécois (PQ or "''péquistes''") took in asking Quebecers to support federal Progressive Conservativ ...

strategy and refused to give his blessing to Léger's efforts to establish the Parti nationaliste. Instead, Lévesque backed

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

's pledge to have Quebec integrate the Canadian constitution in honour and dignity. Léger resigned as leader on May 17, 1984, and was succeeded by Denis Monière, a Professor of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

who later founded

Parti indépendantiste (1985) The Parti indépendantiste (English: Independentist Party) was a provincial party which advocated Quebec sovereignty in Québec, Canada in the second half of the 1980s. Denis Monière Founded by Denis Monière in 1985, the party was establishe ...

and is a founding member of Option nationale (2011-).

1984 election

The party ran 74 candidates in the 1984 federal election. All of them ran in

districts and were defeated, including interim leader Denis Monière, who ran in the district of Duvernay. The party conducted a very modest campaign, lacking financial and human resources. Most PQ supporters voted for the Progressive Conservative Party which won 58 out of Quebec's 75 districts and Mulroney became

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Decline

During the months that followed the 1984 defeat, the PQ dealt with the worst crisis of its existence. Five cabinet members, including Minister of Finance

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 Pariz ...

, resigned. The PQ lost the 1985 provincial election. The PQ's misfortunes distracted the Parti nationaliste's supporters. It left them with little time available for federal politics. Monière went on to help found the

Parti indépendantiste Parti may refer to: *Parti (surname), a Hungarian surname, and a list of people with the name * ''Parti'' (architecture), the organizing concepts behind an architect's design * *, a lake in Russia See also *Partie (disambiguation) *Party (disambi ...

in 1985. The Parti indépendantiste was a Quebec provincial party that aimed to attract more radical supporters of the PQ who were disappointed with the

approach. The Parti nationaliste unsuccessfully ran a candidate in the September 29, 1986

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the district of Saint-Maurice. It ceased to exist soon after.

Legacy

The Parti nationaliste may have provided the groundwork for the subsequent success of the sovereigntist

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

(BQ) in federal politics. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, 54 out of the BQ's 75 candidates were elected. Three of them,

Antoine Dubé Antoine Dubé (born 15 May 1947) was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born in Sainte-Rita, Quebec, Dubé has worked in administration and recreation. In 1984, he unsuccessfully sought a seat in federal parliament wi ...

Réal Ménard Réal Ménard (born May 13, 1962) is a Canadian politician, who was a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2009. He was the second Canadian member of Parliament to come out as gay. Ménard is a political scien ...

and

Yves Rocheleau Yves Rocheleau (born 31 October 1944) was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2004. He is a consultant by career, including government work. Born in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec, Rocheleau was elected in the Trois-Rivièr ...

, had run under the Parti nationaliste label nine years earlier.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parti Nationaliste Du Quebec Federal political parties in Canada Defunct political parties in Canada Defunct secessionist organizations in Canada Political parties established in 1983 1983 establishments in Quebec