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(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to promoting independence for the Province of Quebec . Members and supporters of the BQ are sometimes called Bloquistes [blɑˈkists], a word formed on analogy to Péquiste (a Parti Québécois supporter).
The Bloc Québécois started in 1990 as an informal coalition of Progressive Conservative (PC) and Liberal members of the Parliament of Canada from Quebec, who left their original parties following the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord. This coalition was led by Lucien Bouchard, who had been federal Minister of the Environment until he quit the PC caucus.
In the 1993 election, the Bloc won 54 seats in Quebec, narrowly becoming the official opposition in Canada's parliament.
In the 1995 Quebec referendum, sovereignty was narrowly defeated, with just 50.6 per cent of voters opting to remain in Canada. The day after the referendum, Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau stepped down. Bouchard left federal politics, and was acclaimed the new leader of the Parti Québécois.
The Bloc's leadership was then held by Michel Gauthier. Although the party tends to represent the social democratic side of the political spectrum, it has no particular unifying ideology apart from promoting Quebec sovereignty, so in the wake of the referendum defeat Gauthier proved unable to hold the fractious caucus together, and resigned as leader less than a year later. The leadership was then passed to Gilles Duceppe in 1997. Duceppe is still leader of the Bloc today.
In the 1997 election, the Bloc dropped to 44 seats, losing official opposition status to the Reform Party.
In the 2000 election, the Bloc dropped further to 38 seats. As well, the Bloc has lost several of those seats in subsequent by-elections, marking the first time since the 1982 patriation of the Constitution that the Liberals have held the majority of Quebec's parliamentary seats.
On December 3, 2003, member of Parliament Robert Lanctôt announced he is quitting the Bloc Quebecois and joining the Liberal Party of Canada saying to the press: "After dreaming about sovereignty for 40 years, I said to myself that dreaming is fine, but at a certain point you have to wake up."
See also
Politics of Quebec - Politics of Canada - Parti Quebecois
External Links
- Bloc Quebecois website (French)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Bloc Québécois."
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Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.