Popular National Party
Parti national populaire |
|
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Founded | 1975 |
Dissolved | 1979 |
Ideology | liberalism, populism |
Colours | Gray and Red |
The Parti national populaire (PNP, in English: "Popular National Party" ) was a minor political party in Quebec, Canada that operated in the 1970s.
The PNP was created by a split in the Ralliement créditiste du Québec after Fabien Roy was expelled from the party. Roy was one of the two créditiste Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) that were elected in the 1973 Quebec general election. It is not clear whether Roy was expelled on January 15, 1974 or November 3, 1975.
On December 14, 1975, Roy teamed up with former Liberal minister Jérôme Choquette to form the Parti national populaire under Choquette's leadership. In August 1976, the PNP and the conservative Union Nationale party, led by Rodrigue Biron, announced the merger of their two parties, but the idea was abandoned by the Union Nationale one month later.
In the November 15, 1976 general elections, Fabien Roy was the only PNP candidate elected, while Choquette was defeated, placing third in his riding with 14.2% of the vote, behind the Liberal and Parti Québécois candidates. Choquette resigned as party leader on March 29, 1977, and was succeeded by Roy.
Roy was appointed leader of the federal Social Credit Party of Canada on March 30, 1979, and resigned his National Assembly seat on April 5, 1979.
The PNP ceased its activities in 1980, and its status as an authorized political party was revoked by the Director-General of Elections for Québec on 31 December 1983.
On August 3, 1976, the UN leader in the National Assembly, Maurice Bellemare, leaked to the media that the UN and the PNP had been holding secret negotiations for several weeks to create a single regrouping of conservative, federalist forces. The negotiations were aimed at developing a new name, policy, party structures and financing. Bellemare had suggested "Union Nationale Populaire". Bellemare told reporters that Jérôme Choquette would serve as parliamentary leader of the new party, and UN party leader Rodrigue Biron would serve as party leader.