The (, ), often shortened to the Bloc populaire or the Bloc, was a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1942 to 1947. It was founded on September 8, 1942, by opponents of conscription during the Second World War. The party ran candidates at both federal and provincial levels. In the 1945 federal election, the party made a minor breakthrough by winning two seats in the House of Commons.
Origin In early 1942, Liguori Lacombe formed the anti-conscriptionist Parti canadien which finished strongly in two February by-elections.
In the April 27, 1942 national plebiscite on conscription held in Canada, a little more than 70% of Quebec voters refused to free the federal government from its promise to avoid a general mobilization, while about 80 per cent of the citizens of the rest of Canada accepted it. (see also Second Conscription Crisis)
The party was inspired by the nationalist ideas of Henri Bourassa and supported by Montreal mayor Camillien Houde. Jean Drapeau and Pierre Elliot Trudeau were members in their youth.
In addition to opposing conscription, the party aimed to defend provincial autonomy and the rights of French-Canadians.
Provincial level
At the provincial level, it was led by André Laurendeau and won four seats in the 1944 Quebec general election, but soon lost popularity. Laurendeau resigned in July 1947, and the party dissolved and did not participate in the 1948 general election.
Federal level
At the federal level it was led by Maxime Raymond, who had been Member of Parliament (MP) from the province of Quebec since the 1925 federal election. He and two of his Liberal colleagues (Édouard Lacroix and Pierre Gauthier) crossed the floor to sit as Bloc populaire canadien MPs.
The Bloc populaire won a federal by-election in 1943.
The Bloc populaire's entry into provincial politics antagonized Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis, leader of the Union Nationale, who henceforth transferred his party's federal support to the "Independent Group" of anti-conscription MPs led by Frédéric Dorion in the 1945 federal election."A New Party in Quebec", Toronto Daily Star (editorial), October 31, 1944
In the 1945 federal election, the Bloc nominated 35 candidates. All of them except two ran in Quebec-based ridings. (Lionel Campeau, ran in the district of Nipissing in Northern Ontario and Léandre Maisonneuve ran in the Eastern Ontario riding of Prescott. Only two candidates were elected as Members of Parliament: Maxime Raymond and René Hamel. Though former Montreal mayor Camillien Houde was officially listed as an independent candidate, he was reported to be the Bloc populaire's co-leader in the 1945 election."Houde Sees War Against Russia Within 6 Months", Globe and Mail, June 5, 1945
In addition to the Bloc populaire, there was also an "Independent Group" of five anti-conscription MPs led by Frédéric Dorion which included Liguori Lacombe, Wilfrid Lacroix, Sasseville Roy and Emmanuel D'Anjou (D'Anjou had joined the Bloc in June 1944 but had left to join Dorion's group by the time of the 1945 election). Additionally, Arthur Cardin quit Mackenzie King's cabinet in May 1942 over the conscription issue to sit as an anti-conscription independent MP.
Decline
The Second World War ended in 1945, and by the late 1940s the party's concerns had largely become a non-issue. Many insiders abandoned the party. The Bloc populaire canadien contested neither the 1948 provincial election nor the 1949 federal election, and soon ceased to exist.
Publications The party published a modest and short-lived weekly newspaper, Le Bloc, in 1944 and 1945, with a circulation of about 15,000 copies. The newspaper was under the responsibility of Victor Trépanier in early 1944 and of Léopold Richer in 1944–1945. Paul-André Comeau, Le Bloc populaire, Éditions Québec/Amérique, Montréal, 1982, 478 pages, , pp. 286–290 The party also published a series of ten brochures reproducing the texts of radio speeches by its leaders.Comeau, op. cit., p. 468
Quebec provincial election results
General election # of candidates # of seats won % of popular vote 1944 80 4 14.40%
Members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec
MLA District Region Years of service Background Ovila Bergeron Stanstead Eastern Townships 1944–1948 Manager of a Credit Union Édouard Lacroix Beauce Chaudière-Appalaches 1944–1945 Lumber Merchant & Liberal MP André Laurendeau Montréal-Laurier Montreal East 1944–1948 Journalist Albert Lemieux Beauharnois Montérégie 1944–1948 Lawyer
Members of the Canadian House of Commons
MP District Region Years of service Background Joseph Armand Choquette Stanstead Eastern Townships 1943–1945 Farmer Joseph-Émile-Stanislas-Émmanuel D'Anjou Rimouski Bas-Saint-Laurent 1917-19241940–1945 Insurance Broker & Liberal MP Pierre Gauthier Portneuf Québec 1936–1958 Physician & Liberal MP René Hamel Saint-Maurice—Laflèche Mauricie 1945–1949 Lawyer Édouard Lacroix Beauce Chaudière-Appalaches 1925–1945 Lumber Merchant & Liberal MP Maxime Raymond Beauharnois—Laprairie Montérégie 1925–1949 Lawyer & Liberal MP
Notable defeated candidate
Candidate District Region Year Background Jean Drapeau Outremont Montréal-Jeanne-Mance Montreal West Montreal East 1942 (federal) 1944 (provincial) Lawyer Roger Duhamel St. James Montreal 1945 (federal) author
Prominent insider
Member Region Years Background Pierre Elliott Trudeau Montreal 1942–1945 Student
Notes
References
See also Conscription Crisis of 1944 Politics of Quebec List of Quebec general elections National Assembly of Quebec Timeline of Quebec history
External links Platform of the Bloc populaire (1944) National Assembly historical information La Politique québécoise sur le Web