The Parti Québécois leadership election of 2005 was held from November 13 to November 15, 2005 to elect the new leader of the

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 ...

, the main

sovereigntist Sovereigntism, sovereignism or souverainism (from , , meaning "the ideology of sovereignty") is the notion of having control over one's conditions of existence, whether at the level of the self, social group, region, nation or globe. Typically ...

and

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

political party 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, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was the second race of its kind in the history of the party, following the leadership election of 1985. It was conducted in two rounds, under a

preferential voting Preferential voting or preference voting (PV) may refer to different election systems or groups of election systems: * Any electoral system that allows a voter to indicate multiple preferences where preferences marked are weighted or used as cont ...

system. Former Minister

André Boisclair André Boisclair (; born April 14, 1966) is a former Canadian politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and sovereigntist party in Quebec. Between January 1996 and March 2003, Boisclair serv ...

was elected at the first round ballot with 53.7% of votes from party members, making him the first

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

leader of a major

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and one of the first in the world.

Unfolding

Background

On June 4, 2005, party leader

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 ...

announced his intention to resign as leader of the PQ after getting 76.2% in a vote of confidence in his leadership from delegates to the party National Council. The party appointed

Louise Harel Louise Harel ( ; born April 22, 1946) is a Quebec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opposition in the National Assembly ...

as its interim leader.

Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe (; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian retired politician, proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the federal political party, Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Ca ...

, leader of the federal-level sovereigntist political party, the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

, was expected to be a strong candidate if he had decided to run. On June 11, he however announced that he would remain leader of the Bloc despite pressure to make a bid for the leadership of the PQ.

Campaign

After months of pre-campaign, the race officially began on September 15, 2005, the official

deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

for entering the race. Soon, Boisclair emerged as a favorite in the polls, with

Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a Member of the National Assembly (Quebec), member of the National Assembly in various ridings ...

second,

Richard Legendre Richard Legendre (born January 19, 1953, in Montmagny, Quebec) is a former professional tennis player and politician in Quebec, Canada. Tennis Legendre was born in Montmagny, Quebec. He once represented Canada at the Davis Cup and had a care ...

a close third and Louis Bernard fourth. The validity of these polls, much touted by the media, was however challenged by some candidate organizations since they were conducted on the whole population of Quebec, rather than the actual voter pool, the legal members of the Parti Québécois. Also criticized was the intense media focus on the four candidates leading in these said polls, leaving the ideas of the other candidates in the dark. The later were much less discussed and their opening monologues were even cut for

pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

commentary in LCN live broadcastings of the official candidates' debates. An early, albeit brief issue in the campaign was the so-called ''Affaire Boisclair''. On September 10, 2005, ''

Le Devoir (, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...

'' columnist Michel David referred in his column to a relatively unnoticed past article of ''

Le Droit ''Le Droit'' is a Canadian French-language digital weekly newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capital ...

'' alluding to rumours of André Boisclair having lived a wild younger life and taken

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. Boisclair initially recognized a youth of partying and mistakes. Days later, after much media pressure, he admitted to having "consumed". Ironically, this only made his popularity stronger in polling, something credited by pundits to popular sympathy in the face of the weight of the media scrutiny. The fact that Boisclair

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

in 2000 on the subject of his

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

did not hampered his campaign either. Polls showed that more than 90% of Quebecers were not opposed to a gay

Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following tha ...

. On public perceptions, Pauline Marois also raised the theory that her campaign was hurt by the fact that she was female. Boisclair, being the frontrunner, became the target of many other candidates and their supporters. Adding to the problematic "wild past" reputation the candidate had gained from the ''Affaire Boisclair'', some progressive militants put into question Boisclair's left-wing values. A group of most progressive candidates, Pierre Dubuc,

Jean Ouimet Jean Ouimet (born September 3, 1954, in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec) is a Canadian politician from Quebec and the president of Naviga-Cité, a multimedia company. He is the former leader of the Parti vert du Québec, a green party, and now an ...

Gilbert Paquette Gilbert Paquette (born October 19, 1942) is a Canadian university professor, businessman, researcher and politician. Paquette is a researcher at the ''Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le téléapprentissage'' (CIRTA-LICEF), which he fo ...

and

Jean-Claude St-André Jean-Claude St-André (born September 27, 1962) is a Quebec provincial politician and was the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec representing L'Assomption for the Parti Québécois. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in social sciences from ...

, soon grew closer to Marois, not only because of her experience and her safer known past, but also because of perceived stronger progressive values. Shortly before the vote, Paquette withdrew, announcing his support for Marois. The left-wing SPQ-Libre faction of the party asked the Dubuc supporters to vote for Marois as second choice, as did Ouimet.

Ghislain Lebel Ghislain Lebel (February 17, 1946 – January 1, 2023) was a Quebec politician and notary. Background Ghislain Lebel has been an activist in the Quebec independence movement since his teenage years, having been part of the Rassemblement pour ...

asked his supporters to vote for Boisclair on the second ballot.

Ideas

A number of ideas were put forward by the candidates, especially during the official candidates' debates held across Quebec. Amongst others, André Boisclair expounded a

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

reduction plan and spoke of free

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

provided by the state. Richard Legendre talked much of more autonomy for Quebec regions. Pauline Marois spoke of

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

in an eventual ''Eau-Québec'', like what was created with

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

for

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

during the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...

. As part of the struggle against poverty, Dubuc, Marois, Ouimet and Paquette supported a

guaranteed minimum income Guaranteed minimum income (GMI), also called minimum income (or mincome for short), is a social-welfare spending, welfare system that guarantees all citizens or families an income sufficient to live on, provided that certain eligibility conditions ...

system. Many candidates focused on

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

and

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

. Lebel was noted for the humour he brought to the debates. However, his more conservative political beliefs made him a

black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

in the midst of the largely progressive slate of candidates. St-André defended the ideas of the ''

pur et dur Pur et dur (; a common expression in French literally meaning "pure and hard") is a term used in Quebec politics to refer to hardliners of the Parti Québécois and the Quebec independence movement. It is most commonly used in the media, where ...

'' party stream, notably that of making ''gestures of rupture'' with the rest of Canada, which were sovereign state actions before

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

contrary to the

Canadian constitution The Constitution of Canada () is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various ...

. The strongest consensus between all candidates was that most of these projects were possible only through

national independence Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international l ...

Vote

The voting was conducted by phone from November 13 to November 15, 2005 through a system used for popular votes for the

Star Académie ''Star Académie'' is a Canadian reality television series that started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of young women and men under the age of 30 competing for the title of the next solo singing sens ...

television show. The winner of the party leadership election was declared on November 15, 2005. The date was chosen in honour of the anniversary of the first electoral victory of the Parti Québécois on November 15, 1976. The election took place under a system of

in two rounds.

Public debates

The seven public debates were orchestrated by election president Lyne Marcoux. They were broadcast live via the Parti Québécois official website, pq.org, and the LCN television

news channel News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or telev ...

. In order to allow substantial and orderly exchanges with such a number of people, every occasion was divided into a series of three discussions, amongst three candidates each. Candidate groupings were set at random. Additionally, for every debate, opening and closing speeches were addressed, and selected questions from the audience and the internet were debated. This selection was executed by an impartial panel led by

Monique Richard Monique Richard (born December 12, 1947) is a Quebec politician. She is a member of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the district of Marguerite-D'Youville. She was elected in the 2008 provincial election. She is a member of the Par ...

, the party president.

Solidarity and public finances

The debate on solidarity and

public finances Public finance refers to the monetary resources available to governments and also to the study of finance within government and role of the government in the economy. Within academic settings, public finance is a widely studied subject in man ...

took place on September 21, 2005 in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

. On solidarity, the project of a

gathered Dubuc, Marois, Paquette and Ouimet. Boisclair said himself open to a debate on free

covered by the state and declared

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

his priority. He presented a

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occu ...

reduction plan. A fierce confrontation occurred between St-André and Boisclair when the former repeatedly challenged the latter to engage himself in fighting corporate

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

, which he finally did. Boisclair also defended the Zero Deficit policy of the previous Parti Québécois government of

Lucien Bouchard Lucien Bouchard (; born December 22, 1938) is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician. A minister for two years in the 24th Canadian Ministry, Mulroney cabinet, Bouchard then founded and led the Bloc Québécois and became Leader ...

, of which Boisclair was part.

Sustainable development and economy

The debate on

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

and

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

took place on September 28, 2005 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Most candidates focused on

and

, with Marois promising water nationalization in the form of an "Eau-Québec" Crown corporation. Richard Legendre clashed with Boisclair over the latter's alleged slowness to trigger a referendum, with Boisclair supporting a referendum launched "as soon as possible during the next mandate" in line with the party's 2005 platform and Legendre advocating one within his first year in power. Legendre also criticized the way Boisclair adopted his moratorium on pigsties while being Minister of the Environment.

Culture

The debate on

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

took place on October 12, 2005 in

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 ...

. Ouimet underlined that making sure artists never fall into the

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

gap is the way to have a healthy culture in Quebec. Candidates also discussion on the

Charter of the French Language The ''Charter of the French Language'' (, ), also known as Bill 101 (, ), is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is th ...

Sovereignty and leadership

The debate on sovereignty and leadership took place on October 19, 2005 in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. Since the method and pace of attaining independence was usually hotly debated in the party, media commentators predicted that it would be the most tumultuous of the seven. The debate was ultimately described as surprisingly non-confrontational.

Territory

The debate on territory took place on October 26, 2005 in

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

Education

The debate on education took place on November 2, 2005 in Saguenay.

Health

The debate on

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

took place on November 9, 2005 in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Candidates

Official

Candidates listed have collected at least 1000 signatures from 40 different ridings, with a minimum of 10 signatures per riding. In order of official candidacy, they were: *

- Former professional tennis player and former Minister of Sports. He is considered close to

François Legault François Legault (; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician serving as the 32nd premier of Quebec since 2018. A founding member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he has led the party since it began in 2011. Legault sits as a Nationa ...

. Puts forward plans of more autonomy for Quebec regions. * Louis Bernard - Former Chief of Staff to Parti Québécois

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...

and former Secretary general of the Government to Parti Québécois Premiers René Lévesque and

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 ...

. *

- Former Minister of the Environment and House Leader. Polls show him to be the frontrunner. Notably centers his plans on education (with plans of free, state-provided higher education) and

reduction. *

- Former Minister of Finance, former Minister of Education and former

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

of Quebec. *

- Former Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament who quit his seat in 2002. He is more conservative than the other candidates and the party center and advocates a more traditional form of nationalism. Wishes that the party would do more to appeal to voters of the right-wing

Action démocratique du Québec The (, ), commonly referred to as the , was a right-wing populist and conservative provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defined itself as autonomist; it had support from nationalists and federalists. Its ...

. *

- Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly, considered a ''pur et dur'' close to Robert Laplante's strategy of ''gestures of rupture'' with Canada between an eventual PQ victory and the attainment of independence. Is a harsh critic of corporate tax evasion. * Pierre Dubuc - Official candidate of the SPQ Libre left-wing and pro-union political club and editor of the left-wing paper L'aut'journal. *

- Progressive former minister under René Lévesque. *

- Former head of the

Green Party of Quebec The Green Party of Quebec (GPQ; , PVQ) is a Quebec political party whose platform is the promotion of green politics. It has not won any seats in the National Assembly of Quebec. Its platform is oriented towards promotion of green values, sus ...

and former adviser to Parti Québécois leader Jacques Parizeau. Has plans for sustainable development, wealth distribution (national and international),

participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy, participative democracy, or semi-direct democracy is a form of government in which Citizenship, citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their ...

, the elaboration of a

social contract In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is an idea, theory, or model that usually, although not always, concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Conceptualized in the Age of Enlightenment, it ...

and a party direction through

collegiality Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues, especially among peers, for example a fellow member of the same profession. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and, at least in theory, respect each other's abilities t ...

Withdrawals

* Hugues Cormier - Physician and candidate in the riding of Crémazie in the 2003 election. Controversy brought him to pull out three days after officially entering the race. *

Gilles Hébert Gilles Hébert has been a Canadian artist since his retirement from roles as the director of numerous art institutions. Early life and education Born in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Hebert received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of M ...

- Former public service union representative. * Gilles Paquette - Former Parti Québécois candidate. Did not gather enough signatures in time for the deadline. Had a project of a sovereign Quebec state combining republicanism and monarchy, opposite to most of the final official candidates plans for a Quebec republic.

Declined

* Maxime Barakat - Militant of the Parti Québécois. Subsequently, supported Pauline Marois. *

Camil Bouchard Camil Bouchard (born October 27, 1945) is a Canadian Quebec politician, teacher and psychology researcher. He was a Member of National Assembly of Quebec from 2003 to 2010, representing the riding of Vachon in Longueuil. He is a member of the ...

- Member of the National Assembly. Threw his support behind Louis Bernard. *

Jean-Pierre Charbonneau Jean-Pierre Charbonneau (born January 3, 1950, in Saint-Eustache, Quebec) is a journalist and a former Quebec politician. He was the Quebec MNA member under the Parti Québécois for the provincial ridings of Borduas and Verchères in the Mon ...

- Former cabinet minister and former President of the National Assembly. *

- Bloc Québécois leader. He declined, notably to honor his promise of contesting the next federal election at the BQ helm. *

Joseph Facal Joseph Facal (born 12 March 1961) is a Canadian politician, academic, and journalist in the province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2003 and was a cabinet minister in the government ...

- Former cabinet minister considered more centrist than other PQ members. He cited the professional and family commitments that led him to quit the cabinet in 2003. He has since sided with candidate Pauline Marois. *

- Former leader. A number of people requested that he become a candidate at the race for his own succession. After a summer reflection, the former Premier declined. * Laurent M. Leclerc - Singer and actor. *

- Former cabinet minister and past well-known aspirant to the leadership. He cited family commitments. *

Daniel Turp Daniel Turp (born April 30, 1955) is a professor of constitutional and international law at the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served as a Bloc Québécois member of Parliament from 1997 to 2000 and as a Parti Québéco ...

- PQ Member of the National Assembly and past Member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois. He declared his support for André Boisclair.

Timeline

* June 4, 2005 - Party leader Bernard Landry states his intention to resign as leader of the PQ after getting 76.2% in a vote of confidence at the Party National Council. * June 5, 2005 - Former Parti Québécois minister Pauline Marois is first to announce her intention to enter the leadership race. The statement is criticized by some militants because of its haste, coming one day after the resignation speech of Bernard Landry. * June 13, 2005 - Gilles Duceppe announces that he will not enter the race and will remain at the helm of the Bloc Québécois for the next federal election. * June 13, 2005 - The party presents the official rules of the upcoming race. * June 15, 2005 - An open letter to Bernard Landry is published in newspapers, including ''Le Devoir''. It implores the former leader to become candidate in the race for his own succession for the sake of the cause of sovereignty. It is signed by over forty people (mostly from minorities), like Bloc Québécois MP

Maka Kotto Maka Kotto (born December 7, 1961) is a Cameroonian-born Canadian politician. Educated in France, Kotto immigrated to Quebec, Canada, where he was an educator before entering politics. Kotto was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assemb ...

, Bloc Québécois past candidate and president of the PQ Montréal-Ville-Marie organisation

Maria Mourani Maria Mourani (born 19 May 1969) is a Canadian politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the federal riding of Ahuntsic in Canada. She was formerly a member of the Bloc Québécois before leaving the party over its support for th ...

and past Bloc Québécois MP Osvaldo Nunez, notably. This follows the launch of "retourbernardlandry.org", an

online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...

sharing the same goal. * July 11, 2005 - The candidacy of Richard Legendre is officially accepted by the party. * July 30, 2005 - The candidacy of Louis Bernard is officially accepted by the party. * August 5, 2005 - The candidacy of André Boisclair is officially accepted by the party. * August 16, 2005 - Former leader Bernard Landry, after reflexion, ends the uncertainty around a possible candidacy of his to succeed himself. He officially renounces to become candidate and professes in faith in the capacity of the party to find a new leader and renew itself. * August 18, 2005 - The candidacy of Pauline Marois is officially accepted by the party. * August 19, 2005 - The candidacy of Ghislain Lebel is officially accepted by the party. * August 25, 2005 - The candidacy of Jean-Claude St-André is officially accepted by the party. * September 1, 2005 - Bloc Québécois MP and former Parti Québécois minister

Serge Ménard Serge Ménard (born 27 September 1941) is a politician from Quebec, Canada. He was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1993 to 2003, and a member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011. Outside politics he has been a lawyer, lecturer an ...

announces his support for candidate Louis Bernard. * September 2, 2005 - Days after official candidacy, psychiatrist Hugues Cormier resigns after being suspended by his employer, the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Hospital for asking patients to sign his candidacy slip. * September 6, 2005 - Bloc Québécois MP Maka Kotto announces his support for Pauline Marois. He had previously favoured a return of Bernard Landry, until the latter's definite refusal of August 16. * September 7, 2005 -

, the Parti Québécois interim leader, speaks at a Bloc Québécois gathering and states that the PQ leadership candidates should debate, not battle. * September 9, 2005 - Former Parti Québécois vice president

Marie Malavoy Marie Malavoy (born March 23, 1948, in Berlin, Germany) is a Canadian politician and teacher. She was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Taillon in the Montérégie region for the Parti Québécois. Following the P ...

announces her support for Pauline Marois
Référendum: Pauline Marois précise sa position
* September 9, 2005 - The candidacy of SPQ Libre representative Pierre Dubuc is officially accepted by the party. * September 10, 2005 - ''Le Devoir'' columnist Michel David refers in his column to a relatively unnoticed past article of

alluding to rumors of André Boisclair having lived a wild younger life, taken cocaine and having been strongly reprimanded by then Parti Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard for it. * September 12, 2005 - The candidacy of Gilbert Paquette is officially accepted by the party. * September 13, 2005 - After having been brought to court because of alleged drunk driving, candidate Gilbert Paquette announces to a press conference that he intends to remain in the race. * September 15, 2005 - Jean Ouimet becomes the ninth and last official candidate. * September 15, 2005 - The deadline for entering the race, with the required 1,000 signatures, is reached, launching officially the race for the party leadership. * September 16, 2005 - The party presents the nine official candidates. * September 16, 2005 - At the party headquarters, André Boisclair is asked about the rumors surrounding his past. Boisclair denies a reprimand meeting with leader Lucien Bouchard, but admits that he had made "mistakes" in his youth. * September 16, 2005 - At a brunch commemorating the 2004 Parti Québécois victory of

Elsie Lefebvre Elsie Lefebvre (born May 5, 1979, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Quebec politician. She was the Member of the National Assembly for the Laurier-Dorion riding from 2004 to 2007, and later served on Montreal City Council. She is trilingual, speaking F ...

in the

Parti Libéral du Québec 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 nuan ...

stronghold of Laurier-Dorion, former leader Bernard Landry states his hopes that the accusation excesses will cease, seemingly referring to the scrutiny around Boisclair's past personal life. He also enjoins militants in his speech, his first public speech since his resignation, to rally around the future elected leader, whoever he or she may be. * September 18, 2005 - André Boisclair is a guest of the '' Tout le monde en parle'' television show. * September 19, 2005 - At a

Lévis Lévis () is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre-Laporte Bridge, connect we ...

press conference, when asked directly if he had ever taken cocaine, André Boiclair responds "What I want to tell you is I made mistakes, things I regret. Yes, I consumed. I can't be clearer than that." * September 19, 2005 - The first official public debate is held at Sherbrooke on the subject of "solidarity & public finances". * September 20, 2005 - Richard Legendre receives the support of

and

François Gendron François Gendron (born November 3, 1944, in Val-Paradis, Quebec) is a politician and teacher in Quebec, Canada. He was a Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Abitibi-Ouest. He represented the Parti Québécois from 1976 t ...

, respectively the youngest and oldest Members of the National Assembly. * September 28, 2005 - The second official public debate is held at Montreal on the subject of "sustainable development & economy". * September 30, 2005 - Ghislain Lebel declares in an interview with ''Le Devoir'' that André Boisclair's victory seems unavoidable. * October 4, 2005 - Jean Ouimet and Gilbert Paquette hold a common press conference during which they deplore the lack of media attention for the candidates and the importance put by them on population-wide polls that, they say, give wrong impressions, since the actual leadership vote is held only amongst party members. The two also speak of projects like the elaboration of a social contract, wealth redistribution in Quebec and the world and a provisional constitution before independence. * October 6, 2005 - The

Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

organizes a public debate on "language" at its home office of Montreal, the Maison Ludger-Duvernay. Seven out of nine candidates attend. * October 10, 2005 -

Corinne Côté-Lévesque __NOTOC__ Corinne may refer to: Places * Corinne, Saskatchewan, Canada, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Oklahoma, United States, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Utah, United States, a town * Corinne, West Virginia, United States, a c ...

, the widow of Parti Québécois founder René Lévesque, announces her support for Louis Bernard. She would succumb to cancer only nine days later. * October 12, 2005 - Gilbert Paquette speaks, in a ''Le Devoir'' interview, of the possibility of a common candidacy for the four candidates most to the left, Pierre Dubuc, Jean Ouimet, Jean-Claude St-André and himself, saying that four candidates is too much for the most progressive. * October 12, 2005 - The third official public debate is held at

on the subject of "culture". * October 14, 2005 - The recruiting period is over, midnight of October 14 being the deadline for new members to become party members and have voting rights for the election. The party organization reports a 60% membership rise, from 71,000 to 112,000. * October 14, 2005 - Former Parti Québécois leader and former Premier of Quebec

states that, if he had heard of André Boisclair taking cocaine while under his government, he would have considered the issue serious and launched an inquiry to decide what to do with the situation. * October 19, 2005 - A number of public figures publish the manifesto ''

For a clear-eyed vision of Quebec For or FOR may refer to: English language *For, a preposition *For, a complementizer *For, a grammatical conjunction Science and technology * Fornax, a constellation * for loop, a programming language statement * Frame of reference, in physics * ...

'' (better known in French as ''Pour un Québec lucide''). It proposes a number of measures like making electricity fees higher to reduce the debt and unfreezing university fees to invest in education. Reactions are mixed. Amongst the Parti Québécois leadership hopeful, André Boisclair agrees on the necessity of debt reduction but not on the university fees issue. Pauline Marois shows herself to be lukewarm. Gilbert Paquette criticizes it harshly at the Quebec City debate. * October 19, 2005 - The fourth official public debate is held at Quebec City on the subject of "sovereignty and leadership". * October 21, 2005 - In an interview with ''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'', Jean Ouimet speaks of a probable rally of the most progressive candidates, Pierre Dubuc, Gilbert Paquette, Jean-Claude St-André and himself, behind Pauline Marois to defeat André Boisclair, seen as not enough to the political left. Ouimet states that, out of the frontrunners (usually identified as Louis Bernard, André Boisclair, Richard Legendre and Pauline Marois), Marois embodies to him their values the best. * October 21, 2005 - At the recording of Larocque-Auger, a political show of the

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

network, Lucien Bouchard reveals that he did not know that André Boisclair had taken cocaine while being a minister under his government. * October 25, 2005 - In ''Campaign Rule 1: Be No More Virtuous Than the Voters'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' examines the case of André Boisclair, the Boiclair Affair and the apparent tolerance of the Quebec people, notably with the flaws of their political figures. * October 25, 2005 - On SRC radio, party heavyweight

Louise Beaudoin Louise Beaudoin (born September 26, 1945 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Rosemont in the National Assembly of Quebec until 2012, as a member of the Parti Québécois (PQ). She sat as an ...

announces her support for Pauline Marois, citing as a reason for her decision Marois' emphasis on an eventual ''international offensive'', a diplomatic plan to prepare the recognition of an independent Quebec. Beaudoin is a former Parti Québécois Minister of International Relations. * October 26, 2005 - The fifth official public debate is held at Rimouski on the subject of "territory". * November 2, 2005 - The sixth official public debate is held at Saguenay on the subject of "education". * November 2, 2005 - Ghislain Lebel declares that André Boisclair will be his second choice on the ballot. * November 5, 2005 -

Lisette Lapointe Lisette Lapointe (born September 13, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Quebec politician, journalist and teacher, who sat in the Quebec National Assembly first as a Parti Québécois MNA and then as an Independent. She is the widow of Jacques Pari ...

, the spouse of former party leader and premier Jacques Parizeau, declares her support for André Boisclair. * November 8, 2005 - Pierre Dubuc and the SPQ Libre ask their supporters to vote for Pauline Marois as second choice. * November 9, 2005 - The seventh official public debate is held at Gatineau on the subject of "health". * November 10, 2005 - Gilbert Paquette withdraws his nomination and asks his supporters to vote for Pauline Marois because of her values that he judges more to the left than those of Boisclair. * November 12, 2005 - Both André Boisclair and Pauline Marois state their intention to support the final victor of the race. * November 13, 2005 - Voting by telephone begins at 8 a.m.. * November 15, 2005 - Voting ends at 5 p.m.. * November 15, 2005 - At first round, André Boisclair is declared victor of the election and the new leader of the Parti Québécois with 53.7% of party member votes. At the Quebec City gathering, he delivers a speech calling for party unity and a future referendum on sovereignty.

Slogans

* Louis Bernard - ''Un homme solide, un Québec solidaire'' - A solid man, a Quebec of solidarity *

- ''Ensemble'' - Together * Pierre Dubuc - ''Indépendant, tout est possible'' - Independent, everything is possible *

- ''Debout avec vous'' - Standing with you *

- ''En équipe pour le pays!'' - Teamed-up for the country! *

- ''Pour réussir notre indépendance'' - To succeed with our independence *

- ''Souverains... avec un véritable contrat social'' - Sovereign... with a true social contract *

- ''Venez, faisons ensemble du Québec un pays'' - Come, let us together make of Quebec a country *

- ''L'autre façon de faire!'' - The other way of doing things!

Results

Former Minister André Boisclair was elected leader of the Parti Québécois at the first round ballot. The turnout was around 76% of party members. *Eligible voters: 137,238 *Turnout: 76.69% *:

withdrew and endorsed

on November 10, 2005.
The results are shown as announced by election officials on PQ website.

References

External links

Official Parti Québécois website

Election

Election page
on the official Parti Québécois website
Election page
on SRC website

on Canoe.qc.ca {{DEFAULTSORT:Parti Quebecois leadership election, 2005 2005 elections in Canada

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2005 in Quebec Parti Québécois leadership election

Unfolding

Background

Campaign

Ideas

Vote

Public debates

Solidarity and public finances

Sustainable development and economy

Culture

Sovereignty and leadership

Territory

Education

Health

Candidates

Official

Withdrawals

Declined

Timeline

Slogans

Results

See also

References

External links

Election