Bloc populaire

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The Bloc populaire canadien was a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec founded on September 8, 1942 by opponents of conscription during World War II. In the April 27, 1942 national referendum 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.

The party was inspired by the nationalist ideas of Henri Bourassa and supported by Montreal mayor Camillien Houde. Jean Drapeau and Pierre Trudeau were members in their youth. The party ran candidates at both federal and provincial levels.

In addition to opposing conscription, the party aimed to defend provincial autonomy and the acquired rights of French-Canadians. The party's motto was 'Le Canada aux Canadiens (non aux Britanniques) et le Québec aux Québécois (non aux Canadiens anglais)' - Canada for Canadians (not for the British) and Quebec for Quebeckers (not for English Canadians).

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.

At the federal level it was led by Maxime Raymond. Raymond had been a Liberal Member of Parliament since 1925, but had crossed the floor over the issue of conscription. Three additional Liberal MPs from Quebec, Éduard Lacroix, Pierre Gauthier and Joseph Emile Stanislas Emmanuel D'anjou, crossed the floor to sit as Bloc populaire canadien MPs.

The party nominated 35 candidates in the 1945 federal election but only two were elected as Members of Parliament. The Bloc populaire canadien did not contest the 1949 federal election bringing the party's existence to an end.