The Parizeau Affair (French: ''l'Affaire Parizeau'') was a political controversy that occurred in
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, ...
during the
2003 Quebec general election
The 2003 Quebec general election was held on April 14, 2003, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec (Canada). The Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ), led by Jean Charest, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Premier Berna ...
campaign.
Description
On March 31, 2003, an article was published in the
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
newspaper ''
Le Nouvelliste'' claiming that the former
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 ...
(PQ) leader,
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau (; August 9, 1930June 1, 2015) was a Canadian politician and economist who served as the 26th premier of Quebec from September 26, 1994, to January 29, 1996.
Early life and career
Parizeau was born in Montreal, Quebec, the s ...
, had reiterated his controversial statement that the
1995 referendum failed due to "''
money and the ethnic vote''."
The same evening, the Quebec Leaders' Debate was held between
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, he was a member of Parliament (MP) between 1984 and 1998. After holding se ...
, leader of the
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 ...
, and
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry (; March 9, 1937 – November 6, 2018) was a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Quebec from 2001 to 2003. A member of the Parti Québécois (PQ), he led the party from 2001 to 2005, also serving as the leader ...
, leader of the Parti Québécois. During the debate, Charest surprised Landry on live television by presenting the article and questioning whether the PQ leader shared his predecessor's views.
This resulted in a controversy that continued to receive attention in the days and weeks following the debate.
In response, the PQ attempted to denounce Charest's actions as an attack on Parizeau's reputation and dignity, denying that he had repeated his comments.
Meanwhile, Landry addressed the issue at several press conferences, stating that he did not agree with Parizeau's unfortunate comments in 1995. However, these efforts did not entirely protect the party from backlash, and the debacle was speculated to have hurt Landry's campaign.
On April 2, 2003, in an effort to distance his scandal from the party, Parizeau announced that he would no longer be campaigning for the Parti Québécois.
The Parizeau Affair is thoroughly covered in the documentary .
See also
*
Sovereigntist events and strategies
This is a list of subjects related to the Quebec independence movement.
List History
New France – '' The Conquest'' – Province of Quebec – ''Constitutional Act of 1791'' – Lower Canada – ''Declaration of Independence'' – Republic ...
*
Quebec sovereigntism
References
Political history of Quebec
2003 in Quebec
{{Quebec-poli-stub