Looking back at our past: Provincial political parties that no longer exist

With more than 150 years of existence, the Liberal Party of Quebec is the oldest political party among the 25 provincial parties currently recognized by the Chief Electoral Officer. However, in the history of the Quebec parliament, not all parties have enjoyed this longevity and many have disappeared over time. A look at some of the parties that have more or less briefly passed through Quebec’s political landscape.

Since the emergence of British parliamentarism in 1792, but especially after 1848 and the achievement of responsible government, candidates standing for election as members of parliament usually belong to parliamentary groups known as political parties.

Grouped around common interests, common values, or ideas, members of these organizations seek to obtain a majority of representatives and form a government to exercise power. In response to the changing political environment, some parties form alliances, merge or die off on their own.

From the ephemeral Mann Party to the satirical Lemon Party, the Labor Communist Party or the National Will, some of these defunct parties have succeeded in leaving a significant mark on their path. Here are some exceptional…

Union Nationale and its predecessors

National Liberal Action (ALN) was a party formed in 1934 by disaffected and nationalist liberals in the wake of the economic crisis of the 1930s. In 1935, Maurice Duplessis, leader of the Conservative Party, succeeded in convincing members of the ALN to join his party, which dates back to the mid-19th century, hoping to unseat the Liberals of Louis-Alexandre Dashereau.^e century

As a result of this alliance, the Union Nationale was born and Duplessis soon established himself as its leader. The following year, he took power and made history as the Union Nationale Prime Minister from 1936 to 1939 and from 1944 to 1959. Union National dissolved in 1989 after 54 years.

RIN and RN

Pierre Bourgault’s Rally for National Independence (RIN) and Gilles Grégoire’s Réaliment National (RN) are two ideologically opposed political parties, but they share the same ideal of Quebec independence. Both disappeared under different circumstances to join René Levesque’s Parti Québécois in 1968.

Quebec Credit Union

Popular in rural areas and proposing a monetary reform based on social credit, the Quebec Credit Union was born in 1970 as the provincial branch of the federal lenders. The colorful Camille Samson is the provincial chef. In its first year, the party elected 12 representatives in Quebec, but after the departure of Sampson, who founded the Democratic Party in 1978, it firmly disappeared, and its existence was short-lived.

The nature of the political world is one of constant flux. Parties come and go according to circumstances. Which of the four parties currently represented in the National Assembly will be around in fifty years?