The Civic Action League () was a

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

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, ...

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 ...

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. It existed from 1951 to 1961.

Origins

It was established in January 1951 by

good government Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for the ...

activists who were known as the ''Public Morality Committee''. Élection de Jean Drapeau à la mairie de Montréal, Bilan du Siècle
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Accomplishments

The party managed to elect a plurality of the city councillors in 1954 and its candidate

Jean Drapeau Jean Drapeau (; 18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include ...

became

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. However the majority of the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

was made up of Independents and often blocked legislation proposed by the League. Nonetheless, the League introduced party politics in Montreal's city government and abolished council seats reserved for businesses, city associations and agencies.

Decline

Drapeau lost his bid for re-election in 1957. In the subsequent years, the party was plagued by conflicts between Drapeau and former Executive Committee Chairman Pierre DesMarais. In September 1960, Drapeau led 17 of the League's 33 councillors into the

Civic Party of Montreal The Civic Party of Montreal () was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1960 to 1994. Throughout its history, the Civic Party was dominated by the personality of its leader Jean Drapeau. Origins It was esta ...

. By October 1960, the League was wiped off the political map.

Mayoral Candidates

Victories are indicated in bold.

Footnotes

{{Authority control Municipal political parties in Montreal