The Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale (; RIN; ) was a political organization dedicated to the promotion of

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, ...

national

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Torn during its existence between different ideological tendencies, the RIN essentially represented the left wing of the

Quebec sovereignty movement 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, ...

of the 1960s. The RIN participated in negotiations during 1968 with a view to unifying different independence parties but was ultimately excluded from the final negotiations leading to the formation of 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 ...

. On October 26, 1968, the party congress decided, on the proposal of President

Pierre Bourgault Pierre Bourgault (January 23, 1934 – June 16, 2003) was a politician and essayist, as well as an actor and journalist, from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated sovereignty for Quebec from Canada. Biography ...

, to dissolve and called on its members to join individually the Parti Québécois.

History

The Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale was founded on September 10, 1960, by about 30 people at the very beginning of the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...

. The founders included many of former Alliance Laurentienne members. (The Alliance Laurentienne was dissolved after the creation of the RIN.) The founding members included

André D'Allemagne André d'Allemagne (October 14, 1929 – February 1, 2001) was a translator, political science teacher, essayist and a militant for the independence of Quebec from Canada. Along with some 20 other people including Marcel Chaput and Jacques Bellem ...

, Jacques Bellemare, and

Marcel Chaput Marcel Chaput (October 14, 1918 – January 19, 1991 The RIN rejoiced at being able to fill up a room under such circumstances. Pierre Bourgault also gave a speech that night.. On May 23, 1961, he again spoke as part of a public meeting organize ...

. Other prominent members included

Andrée Ferretti Andrée Ferretti (1935-September 29, 2022) was a Canadian political figure and author. She was the vice president of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale (RIN), a Quebec independence movement and later political party of the 1960s. ...

Hubert Aquin Hubert Aquin (24 October 1929 – 15 March 1977) was a Quebec writer, filmmaker and intellectual. He is particularly known for his novel ''Next Episode (novel), Next Episode''. He is also an important figure in the history of the Quebec Soverei ...

and

Raymond Villeneuve Raymond Villeneuve (born September 11, 1943) is a founding member of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), a Quebec separatist movement responsible for various acts of violence in Canada. Villeneuve remained out of the spotlight as he was v ...

. D'Allemagne, having participated in the Alliance Laurentienne, said that he had found the Alliance's

right-wing 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 ...

tendencies quite unpleasant, which was a factor leading to the creation of an officially-neutral organization. However, as the RIN attracted many new young members it quickly became associated with more radical

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

ideas. In October 1960, the first general assembly of the organization published its manifesto calling for the independence of Quebec.

, who had joined shortly after foundation, became its president in 1964. Following the wish of the members, as expressed in a resolution in 1963, the RIN was turned into a political party. Bourgault and his impassioned and fiery speeches contributed largely to the popularity of the RIN, and he is often wrongly believed to be the founder of the movement. In 1963, Georges Schoeters, Raymond Villeneuve and Gabriel Hudon, ex-members of the RIN youth wing, left the party to form the underground revolutionary Front de Libération du Québec. In the

1966 Quebec general election The 1966 Quebec general election was held on June 5, 1966, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Union Nationale (UN), led by Daniel Johnson, Sr, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage. I ...

, the RIN, along with the

Ralliement National Ralliement national (RN) (in English: "National Rally") was a separatist and right-wing populist provincial political party that advocated the political independence of Quebec from Canada in the 1960s. The party was led by former '' créditiste ...

(RN) won about 8.8% of the popular vote and no seats. Bourgault lost the northern Duplessis riding by a very small margin, a great accomplishment for such a

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...

. Although it never gathered a high number of votes in Quebec, it played an important role in the birth of the modern " indépendantiste" movement in Quebec and was very active in public demonstrations. Famous protests of the RIN include a 1964 demonstration disapproving the visit of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

to Quebec, and a 1968 protest about the presence of

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was brought to Canada by French settlers celebrating the traditional feast day of the Na ...

that turned to riot. Their members and supporters were also present in 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 ...

crowd and their symbols visible when

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

shouted his famed "

Vive le Québec Libre " (, 'Long live free Quebec!') was a phrase in a speech delivered by French President Charles de Gaulle in Montreal, Quebec on July 24, 1967, during an official visit to Canada for the Expo 67 world's fair. While giving an address to a large c ...

" (Long live free Quebec). In October 1967, the charismatic

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 ...

Member of 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 represen ...

and former cabinet minister

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian 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 seek, ...

left his party when its members voted to not debate his idea of two independent but associated states (Quebec and Canada). Shortly afterward, the Mouvement Souveraineté-Association was founded with Lévesque as leader. The RIN quickly engaged in talks over a possible merger with the MSA. Bourgault and D'Allemagne strongly believed that the forces for Quebec independence had to unite to challenge the "old parties" (Liberals and Union Nationale). Bourgault and Lévesque started to clash, as Lévesque had come to distrust the RIN because of its perceived rowdy behaviour. Additional opposition to the idea of a merger came from within the RIN itself; some militants such as Ferretti were heartbroken at the prospect of the "end" of their party. Ultimately, however, the desire for a strong independentist force carried the day. By 1968, the [Mouvement Souveraineté-Association had come to an agreement with the Ralliement National to form the

and deliberately excluded the RIN as an entity. The RIN was divided on its position towards the PQ but ended up being dissolved, some of its members joining Lévesque's newly-created party.

Leaders

* André D'Allemagne (1960-1961) * Marcel Chaput (1961-1962) * Guy Pouliot (1962-1964) *

(1964-1968)

Publication

The party had its own periodical, which was published monthly and then biweekly. * ''L'Indépendance. Organe officiel du Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale'', vol. 1, issue 1 (September 1962) - vol. 6, issue 20 (September 1968)

Election results

Notes

References

In English

* Stein, Michael B.
Separatism
, in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008 *
Pierre Bourgault
, in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008 * Smart, Patricia.
Aquin, Hubert
, in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008

In French

* Labrecque, Jean-Claude (2002). ''Le RIN'', Montréal: Productions Virage, 78 min. (script: Michel Martin, Jean-Claude Labrecque) * Bruno Deshaies.

, in the site ''Le Rond-Point des sciences humaines'', 2002 * D'Allemagne, André (2000). ''Une idée qui somnolait : écrits sur la souveraineté du Québec depuis les origines du RIN, 1958-2000'', Montréal: Comeau & Nadeau, 250 p. * RIN. ''Programme politique du Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale : tel qu'adopté à son congrès de mai 1965'', Montréal: RIN, 75 p. * Pelletier, Réjean (1974). ''Les militants du R.I.N.'', Ottawa : Editions de l'Université d'Ottawa, 82 p. * D'Allemagne, André (1974). ''Le R.I.N. de 1960 à 1963 : étude d'un groupe de pression au Québec'', Montréal : Editions L'Etincelle, 160 p. * RIN. ''Mémoire du Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale au Comité parlementaire de la constitution'', 1964, 45 p. * Gauvin, Jean-François.
Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale
, in the site ''L'indépendance du Québec'', updated June 2, 2004 * Frappier, Bernard.
Histoire : RIN
, dossier in Vigile.net * Cliche, Mathieu.
Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale
, im ''QuébecPolitique.com'',updated January 4, 2007 *
Crise interne au RIN
", in ''Les Archives de Radio-Canada''. Société Radio-Canada, updated January 5, 2004 *
Dissensions au congrès du RIN
", in ''Les Archives de Radio-Canada''. Société Radio-Canada, updated April 6, 2005

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rassemblement pour l'Independance Nationale Provincial political parties in Quebec Political parties established in 1960 Political parties disestablished in 1968 Defunct secessionist organizations in Canada Defunct political parties in Canada Pro-independence parties Social democratic parties in Canada Republicanism in Canada Quebec sovereignty movement Quebec nationalism 1960 establishments in Quebec 1968 disestablishments in Canada