Pur et dur (; a common expression in French literally meaning "pure and hard") is a term used in

Quebec politics The politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of Quebec is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Prem ...

to refer to hardliners 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 ...

and the Quebec independence movement.Article title
/ref> It is most commonly used in the media, where it was popularized. It is also used to criticize some members of the

. Some within the party resent the use of the term by the media, but some have embraced it. It is similar to the term " SNP fundamentalist", used in Scottish politics for a faction of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

, another pro-independence party. Many of the first "purs et durs" came from the

Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale The Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale (; RIN; ) was a political organization dedicated to the promotion of Quebec national Quebec sovereignty movement, independence from Canada. Torn during its existence between different ideological t ...

who, through

entryism Entryism (also called entrism, enterism, infiltration, a French Turn, boring from within, or boring-from-within) is a political strategy in which an organization or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organiz ...

, joined the Parti Québécois in the early days of the 1960s. They are associated with strong opinions about independence (including the need to attain it quickly, the question of an eventual

supranational union A supranational union is a type of international organization and political union that is empowered to directly exercise some of the powers and functions otherwise reserved to State (polity), states. A supranational organization involves a g ...

, or "

sovereignty-association The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...

", and the question of the "

étapisme Étapisme ( French for ''gradualism'') is the term for a strategy for independence dominant in the Parti Québécois since 1974. It is associated with the figure of Claude Morin, who convinced Parti Québécois leader René Lévesque and eventually ...

" approach) and language protection . Some also criticize the party for not being

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 ...

enough. These militants have famously made the leadership of the Parti Québécois a test and daunting task. The media has tied the resignation of every former PQ leader except

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 ...

to the disapproval of the "pur et dur", especially in the case of Pierre-Marc Johnson. Parizeau, a former

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 ...

, has sometimes been portrayed as "pur et dur."

Examples

These are people having been portrayed by some as ''purs et durs'', while this "status" is debatable. *André Joli-Coeur * Denis Lazure *

* Jean-Claude St-André * Josée Legault * Patrick Bourgeois * Paul Bégin *

Pierre Bourgault Pierre Bourgault (January 23, 1934 – June 16, 2003) was a politician and essayist, as well as an actor and journalist, from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated sovereignty for Quebec from Canada. Biography ...

* Pierre Falardeau *Robert Laplante * Robin Philpot * Yves Michaud Two notable exceptions are Guy Bertrand and Gilles Grégoire. Both are founding members of the

, but have (or had) come to be disowned by the ''purs et durs''. Bertrand was called, by

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, ...

, an "

ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

in bedroom slippers," mostly because of his vigorous attempts to get the PQ to declare unilateral independence, but later wrote that an "intolerant, ethnocentric, egocentric" Québécois nationalism has been the bane of Quebec and Canada. A skilled lawyer, he has taken his anti-separatism cause to court several times. Grégoire was a founding member and elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

twice but was cast out when he was convicted of having sex with minor girls and sentenced to jail. He died in 2006.

References

Quebec sovereignty movement Quebec political phrases Political party factions in Canada {{Poli-term-stub

Examples

See also

References