Union national (Québec)
Union national | |
---|---|
founding | November 7, 1935 |
resolution | June 19, 1989 |
Alignment |
Conservatism Quebec nationalism |
The Union Nationale (UN) was a conservative - nationalist political party in the Canadian province of Quebec , which existed from 1935 to 1989. It emerged from the merger of the Parti conservateur du Québec with the Action libérale nationale . The provincial government appointed it three times: from 1936 to 1939, from 1944 to 1960 and from 1966 to 1970. The UN represented the traditional rural values of Québec and was closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church . She campaigned for a comprehensive autonomy of the province, but without aiming for independence. Their economic policy was medium-sized, directed against state intervention and encouraged foreign investment. The UN found little support among the English-speaking part of the population and in the metropolis of Montreal .
history
In 1934 dissident members of the Parti libéral du Québec founded the Action libérale nationale . In the elections to the National Assembly in 1935, they formed an alliance with the Parti conservateur du Québec, which had existed since 1867 . The fact that candidates from both parties did not compete against each other in the individual constituencies was intended to break the power of the Liberals, but this did not succeed: together they won 42 out of 90 seats, compared to 48 of the Liberals. Maurice Duplessis , chairman of the Conservatives, became opposition leader. After a commission had uncovered various cases of corruption in the liberal government of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau , Duplessis pushed through new elections. In order to join forces, he called a meeting in Sherbrooke on June 20, 1936 , at which the unification of the two parties was decided.
The new party, which had no formal ties to the Conservative Party at the federal level, won the elections on August 17, 1936, and Maurice Duplessis became the new Prime Minister. Initially he had taken a more liberal position, but now he increasingly led the party to the right. The Roman Catholic Church received government support so that it could run schools, hospitals and other social institutions. Shortly after Canada declared war on Germany, Duplessis called new elections. They took place in October 1939 and ended in a victory for the Liberals, who had promised that conscription would not be introduced. In 1940 the opposition UN campaigned in vain against the introduction of women's suffrage at the provincial level.
Since compulsory military service was introduced, this led to an election victory for the UN in October 1944. Clientelism , conservative financial policies and an electrification program for rural areas consolidated the UN's dominance in Québec. The party asserted itself as the strongest political force three times in a row. Accusations were repeatedly raised that the government was too closely connected to the Catholic clergy, that it was suppressing religious minorities such as the Jehovah's Witnesses , manipulating the elections in their favor and demanding low license fees for the exploitation of raw materials. After Duplessis' death in 1959, Paul Sauvé succeeded as the new head of government, but he died after only three months in office. Under his successor Antonio Barette , the UN lost the elections in June 1960. The victorious liberals under Jean Lesage then implemented extensive social and economic reforms and overcame political rigidity (see Silent Revolution ).
From 1961 Daniel Johnson senior renewed the party and led it to another election victory in 1966. The UN continued the reforms begun by the Liberals. When Johnson died in 1968, the UN fell into a crisis. A nationalist and a federalist wing were formed, and part of the conservative base turned to the Ralliement créditiste du Québec . Under Jean-Jacques Bertrand , the UN had to accept a halving of the vote in the 1970 elections. In 1973 not a single UN candidate was successful. In 1975 there was a merger with the Parti présidentiel , a spin-off from the Ralliement créditiste. In the 1976 elections, the UN won another eleven seats, but during the legislative period six members left the party.
In 1981 the UN was again unable to win a single seat, and the share of the vote fell to four percent. The electoral base had almost completely turned away and was now supporting either the federalist liberals or the separatist Parti Québécois . On June 19, 1989, the provincial chief electoral officer canceled the party's registration because it could not pay its debts. Michel Le Brun, the last party chairman, founded the Parti Renaissance in 1992 , but it was also dissolved two years later for financial reasons. The Action démocratique du Québec, founded in 1994, is considered the political successor to the UN .
Election results
Results of the National Assembly elections:
choice | seats total |
candidates data |
Weighted seats |
be right | proportion of |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1936 | 90 | 90 | 76 | 323.812 | 56.88% |
1939 | 86 | 85 | 15th | 563.297 | 39.13% |
1944 | 91 | 90 | 48 | 505,661 | 38.02% |
1948 | 92 | 91 | 82 | 775.747 | 51.24% |
1952 | 92 | 92 | 68 | 847.983 | 50.15% |
1956 | 93 | 93 | 72 | 956.082 | 51.80% |
1960 | 95 | 95 | 43 | 977.318 | 46.61% |
1962 | 95 | 95 | 31 | 900.817 | 42.15% |
1966 | 108 | 108 | 56 | 948.928 | 40.82% |
1970 | 108 | 108 | 17th | 564,544 | 19.65% |
1973 | 110 | 110 | 0 | 146.209 | 4.92% |
1976 | 110 | 108 | 11 | 611,666 | 18.20% |
1981 | 122 | 121 | 0 | 144.070 | 4.00% |
1985 | 122 | 19th | 0 | 7,759 | 0.23% |
Party leader
Surname | Chair | premier |
---|---|---|
Maurice Duplessis | 1935-1959 | 1936-1939, 1944-1959 |
Paul Sauvé | 1959-1960 | 1959-1960 |
Antonio Barrette (interim) | 1960 | 1960 |
Yves Prévost (interim) | 1960-1961 | |
Antonio Talbot (interim) | 1961 | |
Daniel Johnson sr. | 1961-1968 | 1966-1968 |
Jean-Jacques Bertrand | 1968-1971 | 1966-1970 |
Gabriel Loubier | 1971-1974 | |
Maurice Bellemare (interim) | 1974-1976 | |
Rodrigue Biron | 1976-1980 | |
Michel Le Moignan (interim) | 1980-1981 | |
Roch La Salle | 1981 | |
Jean-Marc Béliveau | 1982-1985 | |
Maurice Bouillon | 1985 | |
André Léveillé | 1985-1986 | |
Paul Poulin | 1986-1987 | |
Michel Le Brun | 1987-1989 |
See also
Web links
- Union Nationale ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
Individual evidence
- ^ Élections générales. Le directeur général des élections du Québec, accessed on April 14, 2014 (French).