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The (, ), commonly referred to as the , was a
right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...
and
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
provincial
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defined itself as
autonomist Autonomism or ''autonomismo'', also known as autonomist Marxism or autonomous Marxism, is an anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose ...
; it had support from
nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
and federalists. Its members were referred to as ''adéquistes'', a name derived from the French pronunciation of the initials 'ADQ'. The party was founded by dissidents of the
Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...
who did not accept the
Charlottetown Accord The Charlottetown Accord () was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canada, Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendums in Canada, referendum on October ...
, and first contested the 1994 provincial election, electing Mario Dumont to the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. Under longtime leader Dumont, the ADQ had a strong showing in the 2007 provincial election, reducing the ruling
Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...
(PLQ) to a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
and relegating 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 establishi ...
(PQ) to third place. The ADQ won 41 seats with 31% of the popular vote to serve as the
Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
in the National Assembly. However, the ADQ's popularity declined significantly soon afterward and in the 2008 provincial elections, the party failed to secure at least twenty percent of the popular vote or twelve Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) in the last election, and consequently lost
official party status Official party status refers to the Westminster system, Westminster practice which is used in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures of recognizing Parliamentary group, parliamentary caucuses of political parties. In parliamentar ...
, though in early 2009 it was recognised as an official party by the PLQ and the PQ. On 21 January 2012, the membership approved a merger with the
Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (, , CAQ) is a Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist, Autonomism in Quebec, autonomist and conservatism, conservative
. The merger was recognised by the Directeur général des élections du Québec on 14 February 2012.


History


Foundation and first decade: 1994–2002

The party was formed in 1994 by a group of
nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
, known as ''les allairistes'', that supported the Allaire Report, a document that advocated a decentralized federal system in which the provincial
Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...
would have significantly increased powers. After the failure of the
Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord () was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial Premier (Canada), premiers. It was intended to ...
, which made many Québécois feel rejected by the rest of Canada, the Liberals adopted the Allaire Report as their constitutional policy. However, the party later chose the
Charlottetown Accord The Charlottetown Accord () was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canada, Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendums in Canada, referendum on October ...
over the Allaire Report in 1992. The Charlottetown Accord would have recognized Quebec as a " distinct society" within Canada, but consisted of a much milder reform of the Canadian federal system. While most Liberals supported the Charlottetown Accord, a number of them opposed it and quit the party. Led by Jean Allaire, an attorney from Laval and author of the Allaire Report, and Mario Dumont, a rising political star who had been President of the Liberal Youth Commission, the dissidents founded the ADQ. Allaire became the first party leader, but resigned within a few months for health reasons. He was succeeded by Mario Dumont, who retained the leadership until early 2009. Shortly before the 1994 provincial election, Yvon Lafrance, a one-term Liberal
backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...
who served under
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just ...
, switched parties to join the ADQ, becoming the party's first sitting member of the legislature. In the ensuing election campaign, Dumont took part in the televised leaders debate and was elected as an MNA, but could not expand his electoral support significantly enough to get other party members elected. For the next eight years, he was the ADQ's lone MNA. In the
1995 Quebec referendum The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of ...
on the Parti Québécois government's proposals for sovereignty, Dumont campaigned for the "Yes" side, in favour of the sovereignty option. However, in subsequent election campaigns, he has promised a moratorium on the sovereignty question, which earned him accusations of not having a clear and honest stand on the constitution question. Although Dumont was a very popular leader, support for the ADQ always lagged well behind him. In fact, for many years, the ADQ tried to capitalize on Dumont's personal popularity by using the official name ''Action démocratique du Québec-Équipe Mario Dumont'' (''Action démocratique du Québec-Team Mario Dumont'').


Rise: 2002

In
April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...
and June 2002, voter dissatisfaction with both the Parti Québécois (PQ) government of
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 ...
and the Liberal alternative presented by Jean Charest led the ADQ to an unexpected victory in a series of
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
s, bringing the party caucus to five members. After the by-election wins, the ADQ soared in popularity, leading the established parties in public opinion polling for the first time in its existence. For a brief period, a number of political analysts predicted that the ADQ could gather as much as 42% of the vote and more than 80 seats in the National Assembly, which would have been enough for a strong majority. The increased popularity of the party provided the ADQ with larger
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
support, more money and star candidates for the subsequent election. Dumont, who was able to recruit Beauce businessman Marcel Dutil, chairman of Groupe Canam Inc. as director of the ADQ's fund-raising activities, was considered as a serious candidate for the office of
Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following tha ...
for the first time.


Retreat: 2002–2003

As a result of the ADQ attaining greater popular support, its political opponents conducted
negative campaigning Negative campaigning is the process of deliberately spreading negative information about someone or something to damage their public image. A colloquial and more derogatory term for the practice is mudslinging. Deliberate spreading of such in ...
against the ADQ for the first time. Those efforts were successful in damaging the public perception of the party. Moreover, the party's repeated backtracking on its various policies, including a
flat rate A flat fee, also referred to as a flat rate or a linear rate refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. Less commonly, the term may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of u ...
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
of 20 per cent, may have appeared opportunist and harmed the party's image as a viable alternative. It was also revealed that a close advisor of Mario Dumont had a criminal record, which prompted the media to question Dumont's judgment. The popularity of the ADQ declined. Dumont did not make any major mistake during the televised leaders' debate, but did not deliver the outstanding performance he needed to gain momentum. By contrast, Quebec Liberal leader Jean Charest was able to put
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 ...
of the Parti Québécois on the defensive. The ADQ received 18% of the vote at the 2003 provincial election. All ADQ incumbents and star candidates, except Dumont, were defeated. The losses were compensated by the election of three new ADQ MNAs, who were still unknown at the provincial level but were well established in their communities. The ADQ drew enough votes from previous PQ supporters to give the victory to Jean Charest's Liberals, but did not make a significant breakthrough in the National Assembly.


Resurgence: 2003–2007

In the months that followed the election, the ADQ benefited from anger over the decision of the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...
(CRTC) not to renew the license of Quebec City radio station
CHOI-FM CHOI-FM is a French language, French-language FM broadcasting, FM radio station that broadcasts on the frequency 98.1 Hertz, MHz out of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, with a talk radio, talk format. Locally, it is known as ''Radio X'' (a reference ...
. Radio host Jeff Fillion urged listeners to vote for ADQ candidate Sylvain Légaré in a by-election for the local district of Vanier. Légaré defended the station's
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
and was elected on September 20, 2004, which raised the number of ADQ seats back to five. A few days later, the ADQ held a convention in
Drummondville Drummondville () is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville ...
, where its members adopted the new constitutional position of the ADQ, which was labeled as ''autonomist'' without much precision on what it actually means. ADQ members also elected ex- Liberal minister Yvon Picotte as President of the ADQ, a job previously held by political analyst Guy Laforest. In the January 2006 federal election, ten
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Members of Parliament were elected in Quebec, at the federal level. Four of those newly elected federal Members of Parliament –
Maxime Bernier Maxime Bernier (; born January 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician who is the founder and leader of the People's Party of Canada (PPC). Formerly a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative Party, Bernier left the caucus in 2018 t ...
, Steven Blaney, Jacques Gourde and
Josée Verner Josée Verner, (born December 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. She also serve ...
– came from districts represented by ADQ members at the provincial level. All except Bernier were at one point ADQ activists. Blaney was ADQ candidate in Beauce-Nord in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
. This breakthrough prepared the ground the subsequent growth of the ADQ, which could rely on a number of supporters from the modest Conservatives' organization in Quebec. In May 2006, the ADQ held a general council () in Granby, where Dumont brought up the subject of having the current federal Conservative government broach the subject of a new round of constitutional talks in order to get Quebec to finally sign the Constitution. Embarrassing comments were made by party president Yvon Picotte about PQ Leader
André Boisclair André Boisclair (; born April 14, 1966) is a former Canadian politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and sovereigntist party in Quebec. Between January 1996 and March 2003, Boisclair serv ...
. Boisclair had decided not to run in a by-election for the district of Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques in Montreal, the district where he lives and which includes Montreal's
Gay Village A gay village, also known as a gayborhood or gaybourhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay vil ...
. Accusing Boisclair of being a coward, Picotte jokingly said that the riding would fit Boisclair, who is openly gay, like a glove (''comme un gant''). Many journalists criticized Picotte, saying his comment sounded
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
. Within days, Picotte apologized. In November 2006, the ADQ held its sixth party convention. The next month, it adopted its platform for the 2007 election, entitled "A Plan A for Quebec" ("Un plan A pour le Québec") and defined its stance on the controversial
reasonable accommodation A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make fair the same system for an individual based on a proven need. That need can vary. Accommodations can be religious, physical, mental or emotional, academic, or em ...
debate, which was well received by a substantial number of voters.


2007 provincial election

When the 2007 election campaign started, the ADQ was running only a few candidates with widespread name recognition and lacked the financial resources its rivals (especially the Liberals) had. Marcel Dutil announced that even though he likes Dumont, he would vote strategically in favour of the Liberals. However, polls showed that the ADQ had the potential to significantly increase its representation in the National Assembly. Dumont ran an effective campaign, unveiling one plank from his electoral platform every day and therefore benefiting from sustained attention from his opponents and the media. Dumont's performance had its own setbacks, however, as it led to more scrutiny of the ADQ. The Liberals criticized the ADQ's financial plan as vague and unrealistic, accusing Dumont of underestimating its total cost. According to them, the ADQ's promises totaled $6.3 billion rather than the $1.7 billion announced by Dumont. Besides, many journalists accused the ADQ of being a one-man show. Two candidates, who had made inappropriate comments, were dropped by the party from the election. On election day, the ADQ made a surprisingly strong showing. It took 21 seats from the Quebec Liberal Party and 15 seats from the PQ. All five ADQ incumbents were re-elected, for a total of 41 seats. (The election of so many legislators without prior parliamentary experience led cartoonist Serge Chapleau to portray the ADQ MNAs as elementary school kids with Dumont as their teacher.) The reigning Liberals were reduced to a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
, with only 48 MNAs. For the first time, the ADQ received a
plurality Plurality may refer to: Law and politics * Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority * Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...
of the
popular vote Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the tota ...
among
Francophones The French language became an international language, the second international language alongside Latin, in the Middle Ages, "from the fourteenth century onwards". It was not by virtue of the power of the Kingdom of France: '"... until the end ...
and formed the
official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
. Nonetheless, it failed to take a single seat on the island of Montreal, but it did come second in many of the city's ridings.


Official Opposition

The ADQ MNAs and supporters met in
Victoriaville Victoriaville () is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of ...
in late September 2007 to detail the party's environmental policy. Former PQ Cabinet Member Jean Garon, former
Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
André Caillé and environmental activist
Steven Guilbeault Steven Guilbeault (; born June 9, 1970) is a Canadian politician and activist who has served as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture since 2025. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party, Guilbeault has sat as a Member of Par ...
attended the convention. Tom Pentefountas, a former ADQ candidate in the district of Nelligan in a 2004 by-election, succeeded Gilles Taillon as President of the party. Pentefountas enjoys little name recognition among voters in general, but he is a member of the Greek community and lives in Montreal. ADQ supporters hope that his profile might facilitate the party's attempts to connect with these constituencies. During the year that followed the 2007 election, a number of ADQ members such as Éric Caire, Gilles Taillon and especially Sébastien Proulx emerged as effective and articulate legislators. Nonetheless, according to journalist Gilbert Lavoie, the more experienced PQ caucus was better able to position itself as the best alternative to Jean Charest's Liberals. Political observers made unflattering comments about the ADQ's performance, and political support for the party seemed to lose momentum again. The ADQ suffered a major setback in 2008, losing four consecutive by-elections by substantial margins. Its support did not exceed 15% in any of the districts at stake. Furthermore, MNAs Pierre-Michel Auger and André Riedl, as well as power broker Yvon Picotte, switched political affiliation from ADQ to Liberal in October 2008.


2008 federal election

ADQ Leader Mario Dumont made no official endorsement in the 2008 federal election. He said that he would vote Conservative, but claimed that his colleagues and party's supporters were free to support whoever they wanted. MNAs Pierre Gingras, Ginette Grandmont, Linda Lapointe, Lucie Leblanc and Sébastien Proulx campaigned on behalf of the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
's candidates. Yet, the election provided no increase in membership for Quebec's Conservative delegation to Parliament.


2008 provincial election

Quebec premier Jean Charest subsequently called a snap
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
for December 8, 2008. Polls indicated that the ADQ entered the campaign far behind the governing Liberals and the PQ. The party was routed in this election, falling to seven seats, six of whom were incumbents. This was five seats short of official status in the legislature. While giving his concession speech, Dumont announced that he would not be the leader of his party for the subsequent election. While political commentators wondered whether the ADQ would survive Dumont's departure, there were three candidates for the 2009 leadership election. On February 27, 2009, Sylvie Roy was named the interim leader of the party.


By-election loss of Dumont's seat

The ADQ candidate came in third place in a June 21, 2009 by-election to fill the
Rivière-du-Loup Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city (Quebec), city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the Judicial districts of Quebec ...
seat that Dumont vacated when he resigned from the National Assembly. Dumont had held the seat for 14 years; he had carried it in the 2008 provincial election with over 50% of the vote, compared to the less than 15% garnered by ADQ candidate Gilberte Côté. The loss reduced the ADQ to six seats in the National Assembly.


2009 leadership elections

In 2009, MNA Éric Caire, former MNA and former party president Gilles Taillon, and former MNA Christian Lévesque ran for the party leadership to succeed Dumont. MNA François Bonnardel also considered entering the contest, but decided to manage Taillon's campaign. Myriam Taschereau, a former federal Conservative candidate, and director of communications in the Prime Minister's Office, had also declared she would run, but later withdrew and endorsed Caire. On October 18, 2009, Taillon was elected leader on the second ballot by the slim margin of 50.03% of ballots cast, two votes more than runner-up Caire. Lévesque had been eliminated after finishing third on the first ballot. On November 6, 2009, Caire and supporter Marc Picard left the party, alleging that the party organization lacked transparency and that Taillon had a dictatorial style of leadership. They resigned from caucus to sit as independents. This reduced the size of the ADQ caucus to four seats in the National Assembly. On November 10, 2009, 23 days after his election as party leader, Taillon announced a new leadership election, citing the party infighting and alleging irregularities in the party's financial affairs, dating back to 2003, which he had called in the
Sûreté du Québec The (SQ; , ) is the State police, provincial police service for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. There is no official English name, though the agency's name is sometimes translated as Quebec Provincial Police ...
to investigate. It was later revealed that he never contacted the Sûreté du Québec. He then explained that he would remain the leader until the results of a new leadership election, in which he would not be a candidate. Caire said he would not run again for the party leadership, adding "Mr. Taillon has done irreparable damage to the ADQ... I don't know how the party will recover from this. I can't see the party going through a second leadership race. The last one almost destroyed us." On November 19, 2009, the party executive acclaimed
Gérard Deltell Gérard Deltell (born August 8, 1964) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Louis-Saint-Laurent since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, Deltell was Opposition House Leader from 2020 to 2022 und ...
as the party's leader. After Deltell assumed the leadership, the party enjoyed a modest rebound, rising from 5% in the polls in spring 2010 to 15% by the end of the year, and enjoying a substantial lead in the
Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
region. The party maintained the level of support it had had in the 2008 election in the by-elections held in Saint-Laurent and Kamouraska-Temiscouata in fall 2010. The ADQ held a convention on November 13, 2010, adopting a number of proposals dealing with democratic reform and anti-corruption measures. Deltell received a 97% vote of confidence from the party membership and received considerable attention when, in his opening address, he referred to Premier Jean Charest as the "godfather of the Liberal family". Charest threatened legal action if the statement was not retracted. Deltell refused to apologize or issue a retraction and no action was taken.


2012 dissolution and merger

After Deltell took over the leadership, the party recovered from its precarious position, to a solid 18 percent of support in the opinion polls. The ADQ recovery was at the expense of the Liberals because of Charest's unpopularity; after that, Charest recovered, but the ADQ benefited from a loss of support for the PQ following the collapse of the Bloc Québécois on the federal stage and internal dissent. After former PQ minister
François Legault François Legault (; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician serving as the 32nd premier of Quebec since 2018. A founding member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he has led the party since it began in 2011. Legault sits as a Nationa ...
established a new movement called the Coalition pour l'avenir du Québec in February 2011, as an alternative to the sovereignty movement, there were calls for the ADQ to merge with it because of their similar policies. Polls suggested the new movement would win a plurality of seats at the next election with 35 percent, with the ADQ taking eight percent if they did not merge. On 14 November 2011, Legault officially launched the movement as a new political party under the slightly modified name of Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ). On December 14, 2011, the ADQ announced it had agreed to merge with the CAQ, pending final approval from the party membership. On January 21, 2012, the ADQ membership approved the merger of their party with the CAQ, with 70% of the party membership voting to merge. The remaining ADQ MNAs, all of which supported the merger, were expected to join the larger CAQ caucus in the National Assembly, increasing the CAQ caucus size to nine members and increasing the pressure on Charest to call an election. On 22 January 2012, the results of the mail-in vote were announced, with 70% of ADQ members approving the merger with the CAQ. In mid-December, after the parties had agreed in principle to merge, two former ADQ MNAs who had left to sit as independents joined the CAQ. The four MNAs where were still members of the ADQ at the party's dissolution–Deltell, Sylvie Roy, Janvier Grondin and Francois Bonnardel–joined the existing five person CAQ caucus which was made up of other former ADQ and PQ MNAs. Deltell served as the CAQ's parliamentary leader until Legault returned to the legislature in 2012. As of 2018, Bonnardel, Caire and Picard are the last parliamentary survivors of the ADQ. Bonnardel was elected in the ADQ's 2007 surge and joined Legault's cabinet when the CAQ won government at the 2018 election, while Picard joined the CAQ in 2011 after two years as an independent.


Ideology

The ADQ advocated
liberal economics Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...
reforms, or
neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...
, coupled with support for increased autonomy for Quebec deriving from
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 ...
. On the political spectrum of Quebec, the ADQ was to the
political right Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property, ...
of the Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois. The ADQ advocated the autonomy of individuals, the autonomy of
municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
s, and the autonomy of Quebec within Canada. * Fiscal Responsibility: reducing
government spending Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or ...
by scaling back Quebec's
civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
, in order to balance the budget and pay the provincial debt; *
Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
: lifting freezes on college tuition and abolishing school boards; *
Electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results. Description Reforms can include changes to: * Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...
: implementing an election reform in which the
Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following tha ...
would be elected by
popular vote Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the tota ...
(i.e., a presidential government) and 50 of Quebec's 125
legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
seats would be determined by
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
; *
Health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
: encouraging private healthcare delivery, in order to reduce the burden on Quebec's
public healthcare Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...
system; *
Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
: "
reasonable accommodation A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make fair the same system for an individual based on a proven need. That need can vary. Accommodations can be religious, physical, mental or emotional, academic, or em ...
" granted to immigrants, preventing cultural communities from interfering with a number of mainstream values of the Quebec society, such as
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
; * Labour: erasing mandatory dues for nonmembers of
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
and forcing the secret vote; * Relations with the Federal Government: re-opening constitutional talks and increasing Quebec's autonomy within Canada, without holding another Quebec referendum; *
Tax Reform Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxati ...
: extensively restructuring the Quebec tax system, and lowering taxes overall. In later years, the ADQ abandoned a number of radical
free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...
proposals, including issuing school vouchers to give parents the ability to pay for the education of their children at a school of their choice. Furthermore, the ADQ's
conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
was not based on religious values.


Electoral support

Socially and geographically, the core support of the ADQ was similar to that of the
Ralliement créditiste There were a few political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement in Quebec. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; th ...
, the provincial wing of the Social Credit Party in the
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
, and 1963 federal elections and the 1970 provincial election, the Union Nationale in the 1976 provincial election and the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
in 2006 federal election. Its strongest base was provided by
Chaudière-Appalaches Chaudière-Appalaches (, ) is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the " Beauce" (; compare with the electoral district of Beauce). It is named for the Chaudière River and the Appalachia ...
and
Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
, the most conservative regions of Quebec. The party's popularity also reached other predominantly
French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
areas of the province, including
Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...
,
Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...
,
Centre-du-Québec Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 census population of 242,399 inhabitants. Description The Centre-du- ...
and even
Montérégie Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion. ...
in the 2007 provincial election. However, the ADQ had more difficulty breaking through in
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula () and the . It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The predominant economic activities are fishing, forestry and tourism. ...
,
Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts, the municipality of Cantley, Quebec, Cantley and the Papineau Regional County Municipal ...
and the more cosmopolitan urban districts of the
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
area. Because of the polarization of the debate over
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
from
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
to 1995, conservative voters often limited their choice between the Quebec Liberal Party or the Parti Québécois. However, a number of commentators claim that resentment of the rest of Quebec against Montreal's perceived
hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of ...
, general mistrust towards current office holders, taxpayers' frustration and constitutional fatigue let a cultural gap in Quebec society become more apparent and provided a window of opportunity for the ADQ to grow. Charest is not a slam-dunk
Chantal Hébert, ''The Toronto Star'', February 23, 2007


Leaders


Presidents


Presidents of Youth Commission

The Youth Commission of the ADQ was created in August 1995.


Members of the National Assembly


Defeated ADQ star candidates


Prominent members


Election results

* - The ADQ did not exist during the 1989 election, but Liberal
backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...
Yvon Lafrance joined the party on March 2, 1994, six months before the 1994 election, becoming their first member to sit in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
.


General conventions

General conventions () were open to all card-carrying supporters.


Sources

* Julien Béliveau, ''Mario Dumont â€” Le pouvoir de l'image''


See also

*
Politics of Quebec 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, Pr ...
* List of Quebec general elections *
List of Quebec premiers This is a list of the prime ministers of the province of Quebec since Canadian Confederation in 1867. Quebec uses a unicameral (originally bicameral) Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the prime minister is the leader of the ...
* List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition *
National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...
* Timeline of Quebec history * Political parties in Quebec * Jean-François Plante


Notes


External links


Action démocratique du Québec website

Directeur Général des Élections du Québec entry

National Assembly historical information

La Politique québécoise sur le Web
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action Democratique Du Quebec Quebec nationalism Autonomy Conservative parties in Canada Organizations based in Montreal Political parties established in 1994 Political parties disestablished in 2012 Coalition Avenir Québec Defunct provincial political parties in Quebec 1994 establishments in Quebec 2012 disestablishments in Quebec Right-wing populism in Canada Right-wing populist parties