Parti Québécois Crisis, 1984

The Parti Québécois Crisis of 1984 was one of the most severe internal party crises in Quebec politics.

Origins

In September 1984, Progressive Conservative politician Brian Mulroney became Prime Minister of Canada, with the backing of many Parti Québécois (PQ) supporters. Tensions erupted between the so-called radical supporters of the Parti Québécois and the more moderate ones over their leader René Lévesque’s decisions to:

* shift toward a more conciliatory approach with the federal government over constitutional issues (a policy known as beau risque);
* put the promotion of sovereignty on the back burner.

In November 1984, six PQ MNAs resigned from the Cabinet. They were soon followed by other legislators who crossed the floor to sit as Independents. [ [http://www.radio-canada.ca/radio/profondeur/renelevesque/episode10.html Point de Mire sur René Lévesque, Épisode 10 : Le départ, Radio-Canada] ]

Consequences

The PQ’s majority at the legislature, which had started the term with 80 MNAs, almost completely vanished. Only 60 MNAs belonged to the PQ by the end of the term. On June 3, 1985, the PQ lost a series of four by-elections, managing to finished third in the district of L’Assomption, behind Progressive Conservative Leader André Asselin, with only 20% of the vote.

Eventually, the incident resulted in the resignation of Premier René Lévesque himself. In September 1985, a party leadership election chose Pierre Marc Johnson, another moderate, as his successor.

However, the PQ lost the 1985 election and by 1987, the party’s radical wing pressured Johnson into quitting. Radicals were able to get Jacques Parizeau, one of their own, to take over the leadership of the party.

Defectors

The defectors were:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse border-color: #444444"
- bgcolor="darkgray"

MNA
District
Resignation from
Cabinet
Decision to sit as
an Independent
Resignation from
Legislature
Status following 1985 Election

Pierre de BellefeuilleDeux-Montagnesn/aNovember 20, 1984n/aDefeated as a
"Parti indépendantiste" candidate
Jules BoucherRivière-du-Loupn/aJanuary 28, 1985n/aDid not run for re-election
Louise HarelMaisonneuveNovember 27, 1984n/an/aRe-elected as a "PQ" candidate
Camille LaurinBourgetNovember 26, 1984n/aJanuary 25, 1985Did not run for re-election
Denis LazureBertrand (Montérégie)December 4, 1984n/aDecember 4, 1984Did not run for re-election
Denise Leblanc-BanteyÎles-de-la-MadeleineNovember 26, 1984November 27, 1984n/aDid not run for re-election
Jacques LéonardLabelleNovember 22, 1984November 27, 1984May 23, 1985Did not run for re-election
Gilbert PaquetteRosemontNovember 26, 1984February 4, 1985n/aDid not run for re-election
Jacques ParizeauL’AssomptionNovember 22, 1984n/aNovember 27, 1984Did not run for re-election"'
Jérôme ProulxSaint-Jeann/aNovember 22, 1984 [Jérôme Proulx crossed the floor again to sit with the PQ in December 1984] n/aDefeated as a "PQ" candidate

Members of the Cabinet are indicated with bold fonts.

Notes