Civic Party of Montreal
|
Civic Party of Montreal
Parti civique de Montréal |
|
|---|---|
| Former municipal party | |
| Leader | Jean Drapeau |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Dissolved | 1994 |
| Ideology |
Quebecer federalism, Conservatism, Populism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Colours | Green |
The Civic Party of Montreal (French: Parti Civique de Montréal) was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1960 to 1994. Throughout its history the Civic Party was dominated by the personality of its leader Jean Drapeau.
It was established in September 1960 when 17 out of the 33 Civic Action League (French: Ligue d'Action Civique or LAC) Councillors, led by Jean Drapeau, crossed the floor to create a new party.
The Civic Party won two thirds of the City Council's seats as well as the office of Mayor in 1960 and remained in power until 1986. It is credited with:
It also helped bringing Major League Baseball to Montreal with the creation of the Montreal Expos.
During the 1970s, Montreal was a virtual one-party state, with the Civic Party facing only token opposition in City Hall.
In the 1980s the party steadily lost support to the Montreal Citizens' Movement (RCM). In 1982, RCM leader Jean Doré gave Drapeau his closest competition in decades.
Drapeau's retirement in 1986 proved ominous for the party. Despite having been in government for all but a few months of its existence, Drapeau had no clear successor. The 1986 municipal elections saw the Civic Party swept from power in a massive RCM landslide. Drapeau's replacement as leader, Claude Dupras, was heavily defeated in the mayoral race by Doré, and only one of its candidates, Germain Prégent, was elected to council.
The Civic Party sank into near-paralysis in opposition. It was soon torn between a reformist faction led by Dupras and a traditionalist faction. Although Prégent had previously blamed Drapeau for the severe beating the party took in 1986, he identified with the traditionalist faction, and left the party to sit as an Independent by 1988 when Dupras tightened his hold on the party.
...
Wikipedia