Action libérale nationale
National Liberal Action Action libérale nationale | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Paul Gouin |
| Founded | June 6, 1934 |
| Dissolved | October 25, 1939 |
| Split from | Quebec Liberal Party |
| Merged into | Union Nationale |
| Ideology | Quebec Nationalism Progressivism Corporativism Political catholicism |
TheAction libérale nationale(ALN)('National Liberal Action') was a short-lived provincialpolitical partyinQuebec,Canada. It was founded during theGreat Depressionand led byPaul Gouin.The ALN played an important role in the foundation of theUnion Nationale.[1]
Origin and beliefs
[edit]The party was created in 1934 by dissidents from theLiberal Party of Quebec.It soon received the support of French Canadian nationalists asfederal LiberalMember of ParliamentÉdouard Lacroix,LiberalMembers of the LegislatureOscar DrouinandPhilippe Hamel,and Québec City mayorJoseph-Ernest Grégoire.[2]
The ALN promotedsocial justice,nationalismand was not affiliated to any federal party. Its platform included the following proposals:[3]
- Farm credit;
- Voluntarymigrationfrom cities to rural areas;
- Rural electrification;
- Nationalizationof electricity;
- Corporatism;
- Electoral reform;
Its ideology was influenced by thesocial doctrine of the Catholic Churchpromoted by the priestLionel Groulx,and the economical ideas ofEsdras Minville.[2]
Electoral breakthrough
[edit]In order to unite the vote against the Liberal government ofAlexandre Taschereau,the Action libérale nationale (ALN) and theConservative Party of Quebecdecided to run only one candidate of either party in each district for the1935 Quebec election.With 29% of the vote, the ALN elected 26 out of 57 candidates; the Conservatives received 19% of the vote and won 16 seat out of 33 in which they ran a candidate.[4]
Decline
[edit]Less than a year later, Conservative LeaderMaurice Duplessis,a rising star in provincial politics, tried to pressure ALN LeaderPaul Gouininto merging both parties. While Gouin cuts ties with Duplessis, 22 of his Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) joined the new party, known asUnion Nationale,which won the1936 Quebec election.
Gouin did not run for re-election to the legislature in 1936. ALN MNAsVital Cliche,Wilfrid-Eldège LauriaultandFrederick Arthur Monkran for re-election asIndependents.None of them were elected. Cliche ran as an Action libérale nationale candidate in aby-electionheld on March 17, 1937, in his home district ofBeauce.He was defeated.
The ALN opposed conscription and contested the1939 Quebec election.Other than Gouin who took the leadership, the party was unable to attract any of its former candidates from the1935 election.InsteadRené ChaloultandOscar Drouin,who had grown disillusioned with Duplessis after they joined the Union Nationale, ran as Liberal candidates. The party won only 4.5% of the vote and none of its 56 candidates were elected. It disappeared soon after.
Legacy
[edit]Even though the ALN did not survive the 1930spolitical realignmentin Quebec politics, many of its policies were eventually implemented by the provincial governments of Maurice Duplessis,Adélard GodboutandJean Lesage.[2]
Election results
[edit]| General election | # of candidates | # of seats won | % of popular vote |
| 1935 | 57 | 26 | 29.57% |
| 1936 | No candidates ran under the ALN label in 1936. | ||
| 1939 | 56 | 0 | 4.53% |
See also
[edit]- Politics of Quebec
- Quebec general elections
- List of Quebec premiers
- List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
- National Assembly of Quebec
- Timeline of Quebec history
- Political parties in Quebec
Notes
[edit]- ^Patricia G. Dirks, The Failure of L'Action Libérale Nationale,ISBN0-7735-0831-7,McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, Montreal, 1991.
- ^abc"Action libérale nationale | The Canadian Encyclopedia".thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.Retrieved2020-11-09.
- ^Paul Gouin (1898–1976), Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College, 1997-2006
- ^Bilan du Siècle, 1934: Manifeste de l'Action libérale nationale
