Partenaires pour la souveraineté (English: Partners of Sovereignty) was a Quebec sovereigntist organization that existed in the mid-to-late 1990s. It was an umbrella group of several high-profile organizations, including Quebec labour unions and other pre-existing sovereigntist groups. Partenaires pour la souveraineté was launched in January 1995 as a coalition of fifteen organizations, including the

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, Quebec, Hull in 1921 as the ''Confédération des t ...

, the Quebec Federation of Labour, the Mouvement national des Québécois, the Centrale de l'enseignement du Québec,

Les Intellectuels pour la souveraineté (in English: Intellectuals for Sovereignty), or IPSO, is a group of intellectuals studying and promoting Quebec independence. It was created on June 21, 1995 by the publication of their manifesto, four months before the second referendum on Qu ...

, and the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

. One of the coalition's first activities was to facilitate the printing of several popular pamphlets, promoting what its leaders regarded as the benefits of Quebec sovereignty in relation to the economy, social policy, culture, education, international relations, citizenship issues, and person liberties. Partenaires pour la souveraineté's leader was Nicole Boudreau, a former leader of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in

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 ...

. During the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty, Boudreau undertook a tour to encourage women to support the sovereigntist option. The coalition also launched a $150,000 radio advertisement campaign in the middle of the referendum campaign to support the sovereigntist "Oui" option. Ultimately, the sovereigntist option was narrowly defeated. Partenaires pour la souveraineté began publishing a journal, the ''Partenaires Express'', in 1996. The 1997, the coalition led a campaign to increase public support for Quebec's

Charter of the French Language The ''Charter of the French Language'' (, ), also known as Bill 101 (, ), is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is th ...

. The Centrale de l'enseignement du Québec, representing Quebec teachers, withdrew from the coalition in February 1998. While reiterating their support for

Quebec independence The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...

, the union's leaders said they were withdrawing to protest spending cuts introduced by the sovereigntist

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 ...

government, with which the coalition was closely aligned. The Confédération des syndicats nationaux also withdrew from the coalition later in the same year to protest the PQ's "pro-business" bias.Lysiane Gagnon, "A dearth of new blood for the PQ," ''Montreal Gazette'', 8 August 1993, D3. Partenaires pour la souveraineté seems to have become dormant after this time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Partenaires pour la souverainete Quebec sovereignty movement