Nationalist (Canada)

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In Canadian elections, a number of candidates have run as Nationalists. These groups did not necessarily have anything to do with one another other than the use of the word "national". Some considered themselves Canadian Nationalists, while others saw themselves as strictly French Canadian or Quebecois Nationalists.

1 Quebec
2 Federal politics
- 2.1 Self-described nationalists in Canada
- 2.2 Nationalist political parties and groups
3 See also

[edit] Quebec

In Quebec, nationalism historically referred to advocacy of French-language rights, the Catholic religion (prior to the Quiet Revolution), and greater provincial powers with respect to the federal government. In French in Quebec, the word national is often used to refer to Quebec-wide, rather than Canada-wide, institutions, for example, the National Assembly of Quebec is the province's legislative assembly.

At the provincial level, Honoré Mercier led the Parti national in the 1880s. In effect, this was the same as the Parti libéral du Québec, and soon changed its name accordingly.

In the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Maurice Duplessis's Union Nationale was a major political force that dominated provincial elections.

At the federal level, Quebec political parties also used the word "national" and "nationalist", although the meaning is not the same as in English.

[edit] Federal politics

Several candidates and Members of Parliament used the "nationalist" label at various times:

In the 1887 election, six candidates aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada ran in Quebec as "Nationalist" candidates, although only one was elected.

Guillaume Amyot, a former supporter of the Conservatives latterly became a Nationalist Conservative.

The "Nationalist" label was used occasionally by Liberal candidates until 1912.

Another prominent nationalist in Quebec was Henri Bourassa, although he never sat as a "Nationalist" Member of Parliament (MP), but as a "Liberal" or "Independent".

Other candidates have used the word "Nationalist" for the names of their political parties, but none were particularly well known or successful.

Adrien Arcand, a fascist, created the Christian National Socialist Party at the provincial level in Quebec by obvious analogy with the National Socialist (Nazi) Party of Hitler's Germany. Arcand also created the "National Unity Party of Canada" at the federal level. Neither party was ever elected to office.