Liberal Party of Quebec
 | |
| Current Leader: |  Jean Charest |
| Founded: | 1867 |
| Headquarters: | 4364 Saint-Denis Street Montreal, Quebec H2J 2L1(514) 288-4364info@plq.org |
| Colours: | Red (also Blue) |
| Political ideology: | Neoliberal & Federalist (unionist) |
The Parti libéral du Québec (Liberal Party of Quebec), or PLQ, is a Quebec liberal party. It traditionally supports Canadian federalism, as opposed to Quebec sovereignty, and the role of government in the economy, although in recent years its economic policies have moved towards neoliberalism.
The Liberal Party is descended from the Parti canadien (or Patriotes who supported the Patriotes Rebellion), and les rouges, who fought for responsible government and against the authority of the Catholic Church in Lower Canada - an opposition movement that led to the 1837 Patriotes Rebellion. The most notable figure of this period was Louis-Joseph Papineau.
The Liberal Party has faced different opposing parties in different eras of its history. Until the 1930s, its main opposition was the Conservatives, and that party's successor, the Union Nationale until the 1970s. In the modern era, the Liberals have alternated in power with the Parti Québécois. The Liberals have always been associated with the colour red; each of their three main opponents in different eras have been associated with the colour blue.
| Table of contents |
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2 Post-1960 and the modern era 3 Leaders of the Parti Libéral du Québec 4 Election results (since 1970) 5 See also 6 External links |
Post-Confederation
The Liberals were in opposition to the ruling Quebec Conservative Party for most of the first 20 years after Confederation, except for 18 months of Liberal minority government in 1878-1879. However the situation changed with the execution of Louis Riel in 1885 by the federal Conservative government, an unpopular decision in Quebec. Honoré Mercier rode this wave of discontent to power in 1887, but was brought down by a scandal in 1891 (he was later cleared of all charges). The Conservatives then returned to power until 1897.
The Liberals won the 1897 election, and held power without interruption for the next 39 years; the Conservatives never held power in Quebec again. This mirrored the situation in Ottawa, where the arrival of Wilfrid Laurier in the 1896 federal election marked the beginning of Liberal dominance at the federal level. Notable long-serving Premiers of Quebec in this era were Lomer Gouin and Louis-Alexandre Taschereau.
By 1935, however, the Conservatives had an ambitious new leader, Maurice Duplessis, who merged his party with dissident ex-Liberals of the Action libérale nationale to form a new party, the Union Nationale. Duplessis led the UN to power in the 1936 election. The Liberals returned to power in the 1939 election, but lost it again in the 1944 election. They remained in opposition to the ruling Union Nationale until one year after Duplessis's death in 1959.
Under Jean Lesage, the party won an historic election in 1960, ending sixteen years of rule by the conservative Union Nationale, and ushering in the Quiet Revolution. Under the slogan maîtres chez nous (masters in our own house), the Quebec government undertook several major initiatives, including:
Post-1960 and the modern era
Under Lesage, the Liberals developed Quebec nationalist and federalist wings. Some Liberals, including senior Cabinet minister René Lévesque, left the Liberals to join the sovereignty movement, participating in the founding of the Parti Quebecois under Levesque's leadership.
Relations soured between the Quebec Liberal Party and the federal Liberal Party of Canada under Lesage, and particularly under Robert Bourassa.
As Premier, Bourassa instituted Bill 22 to protect the French language, and pushed Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau for constitutional concessions. His government was also embarrassed by several scandals. Bourassa resigned from the party's leadership after the loss of the 1976 Quebec election to René Lévesque's Parti Quebecois.
Bourassa was succeeded as Liberal leader by the former of the respected Montreal newspaper, Le Devoir, Claude Ryan. Ryan led the successful federalist campaign in the 1980 Quebec referendum on Quebec sovereignty, but then lost the 1981 Quebec election. He resigned as Liberal leader some time later, which paved the way for the return of Robert Bourassa.
When Bourassa returned as Premier in the 1980s, he successfully persuaded the federal Tory government of Brian Mulroney to recognise Quebec as a distinct society, and sought greater powers for the province in the Meech Lake and Charlottetown constitutional accords. Both of these proposals, however, were defeated. While a Quebec nationalist, Bourassa remained an opponent of independence for Quebec.
Daniel Johnson, Jr succeeded Bourassa as Liberal leader and Premier of Quebec in 1994, but soon lost the 1994 Quebec election to the Parti Quebecois under Jacques Parizeau.
In 1994, nationalist members of the Liberal party led by Jean Allaire and Mario Dumont, including many from the party's youth wing, left to form the Action démocratique du Québec because of the Liberal party's refusal to endorse independence after the failure of the Charlottetown Accord. As in 1980, the PLQ campaigned for a non vote in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.
Since the election of April 14, 2003, the Liberals have formed the current government of Quebec under Premier Jean Charest, a former federal Progressive Conservative cabinet minister and leader. Under the leadership of Charest the Liberals have moved to the right as former supporters of the federal Conservatives during the Brian Mulroney years gain prominent positions in the Liberal party under Charest's leadership. The current Liberal government has proposed a policy of reform of social programs and cuts to government spending and the civil service similar to those of recent Progressive Conservative governments in Ontario and Alberta.
Since 1962, the PLQ has had no formal links with the Liberal Party of Canada, and, at times, relations between the two parties have been strained. The party includes among its members supporters of the federal Liberals, former federal Progressive Conservatives and some supporters of the federal New Democratic Party.
Leaders of the Parti Libéral du Québec
Election results (since 1970)
| General election | # of candidates | # of seats won | % of popular vote |
| 1970 | 108 | 72 | 45.40% |
| 1973 | 110 | 102 | 54.65% |
| 1976 | 110 | 26 | 33.77% |
| 1981 | 122 | 42 | 46.07% |
| 1985 | 122 | 96 | 55.99% |
| 1989 | 125 | 92 | 49.95% |
| 1994 | 125 | 47 | 44.40% |
| 1998 | 124 | 48 | 43.55% |
| 2003 | 125 | 76 | 45.99% |