The Parti National () was the name taken by the

Liberal Party of Quebec 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 ...

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 ...

, under the premiership of

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Libera ...

Origin and beliefs

It was founded on November 17, 1885, the day following the execution of Métis Leader

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

. Many

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s resented the way the federal government of Sir John A. Macdonald had Riel hanged for treason. Mercier proposed to create a broader coalition which would include

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

dissidents as well as his Liberal base. In the following days 50,000 people gathered in the Champ de Mars 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 ...

to hear Mercier voice their support for Riel. The Parti National, which was not affiliated with any federal party, promised to use the influence of the provincial government to protect the

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

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, ...

and of its

and Catholic identity.

Rise to power

The party won a narrow majority of seats to the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

in the 1886 provincial election and took office in January 1887. It won a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning Candidate#Candidates in elections, candidate or political party, party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyo ...

in the 1890 election, doing poorly only in the

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

area where it was opposed by Ultramontan

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Louis-François Richer Laflèche Louis-François Laflèche (September 4, 1818 – July 14, 1898) was a Catholic bishop of the diocese of Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, Canada. Early life and career Laflèche was born on September 4, 1818, in the village of Sai ...

. Its achievements include: * Organizing the first interprovincial conference 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 ...

in 1887 * Passing the ''Jesuit Estates Act'', which gave the order $400,000 in compensation for loss of property confiscated by the government decades earlier * Establishing a department of Agriculture and Colonization in 1887 and appointing Curé Labelle as its deputy minister * Expanding the railroad to support the migration of urban residents to rural parts of Quebec, such as the

Laurentides The Laurentides (, ) is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian Mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 C ...

and Gaspésie * Creating night schools, starting in 1889

Decline

With only 18 months served in its second term of office, the National Party was caught in a corruption scandal and removed from office by Quebec Lieutenant-governor

Auguste-Réal Angers Sir Auguste-Réal Angers (4 October 1837 – 14 April 1919) was a Canadian judge and parliamentarian, holding seats both as a member of the House of Commons of Canada, and as a Senator. He was born in 1837 probably in Quebec City and died in W ...

. Mercier stepped down as party leader and the Liberals were overwhelmingly defeated in the 1892 election. Mercier was later cleared of all charges.

Other ''Partis Nationaux''

* Mercier had tried to create a "Parti national" in 1872. This first attempt seems to have been short-lived and fruitless. Biography of Honoré Mercier, Assemblée nationale du Québec
*

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

politicians

René Chaloult René Chaloult (January 26, 1901 – December 20, 1978) was a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada. He is best known for submitting a motion for the Flag of Quebec. Background He was born on January 26, 1901, in Quebec City. Political ...

Oscar Drouin Oscar Drouin (September 29, 1890 – July 16, 1953) was a politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on September 29, 1890, in Quebec City. Member of the legislature Drouin won a by-election in 1928 and became the Liberal Membe ...

Joseph-Ernest Grégoire Joseph-Ernest Grégoire (; July 31, 1886 – September 17, 1980) was a French Canadian politician. Background He was born in Disraeli, Quebec on July 31, 1886. He was an attorney and a professor. Member of the Barreau du Quebec in 191 ...

Philippe Hamel Philippe Hamel (October 12, 1884 – January 22, 1954) was a nationalist and progressive politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on October 12, 1884, in Quebec City. His father was Charles-Antoine-Auguste and his mother was Sophie ...

and Adolphe Marcoux announced the creation of a "Parti National" in 1937, after they had

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

the Union Nationale. It seems that this effort was abandoned briefly after. Chalout and Drouin ran as Liberals in the 1939 election.

Footnotes

External links