The 'Action démocratique du Québec' (ADQ) is a
conservative,
nationalist and
populist provincial political party in
Quebec,
Canada. Its official registered name is ''Action démocratique du Québec/Équipe Mario Dumont'' (ADQ/ÉMD). While some journalists have translated the name into English as ''Democratic Action of Quebec/Mario Dumont Team'', it has no official English name, and is normally referred to by its French name in the English-language media, or simply as "the ADQ". Its members are referred to as ''adéquistes'', a name derived from the French pronunciation of the initials 'ADQ'.
It is the
official opposition in the
National Assembly of Quebec as a result of the
2007 provincial election. The ADQ gained
official party status in the provincial parliament for the first time in the
realigning election of
2007, with 41
Members of the
National Assembly (MNAs) and 31% of the popular vote. The rules of the legislature require either at least 12 members or 20% of the vote to be granted such a right.
[1] Prior to that, the ADQ had never had more than five MNAs at once. Consequently it had less visibility and fewer resources to operate at the National Assembly.
Ideology
The ADQ is further to the
right on the
political spectrum than the
Liberals and the
Parti Québécois (PQ) are. It advocates autonomy of individuals, autonomy of
municipal governments, and
autonomy of Quebec within Canada.
According to
Jean-Herman Guay, Professor at
Université de Sherbrooke's Department of History and Political Sciences, the ADQ's message is based on three key ingredients:
[2]
#'
Populism': connecting with people's perception that the government is ineffective and disconnected from reality;
#'
Neoliberalism':
downsizing the government and make more room for the
private sector;
#'
Moderate Quebec
nationalism': rejecting blind loyalty towards Canada and the necessity to achieve a certain amount of
autonomy within Canada, without making the
constitutional debate a priority.
The party's current proposals include:
[3]
★ '
Fiscal Responsibility': scaling back Quebec's
civil service, putting welfare recipients back to work and reducing government spending by one per cent, in order to balance the budget;
★ '
Education': lifting freezes on college tuition and abolishing school boards;
★ '
Electoral reform': implementing an election reform in which the premier would be elected by
popular vote (i.e., a
presidential government) and 50 of Quebec's 125
legislature seats would be determined by
proportional representation;
★ '
Health care': encouraging private health care delivery, in order to take the burden off
Quebec's overcrowded public health care system;
★ '
Immigration': "
reasonable accommodation" granted to immigrants, preventing cultural communities from interfering with a number of mainstream values of the Quebec society, such as
women’s rights;
★ '
Labour': erasing mandatory dues and membership for unions and subcontracting duties currently handled by full-time employees;
★ '
Quebec Constitution': drafting a new
Constitution declaring the existence of the
Autonomous State of Quebec which would have the power to grant
Citizenship, and supersede
Federal Law;
[4]
★ '
Relations with the Federal Government': re-opening constitutional talks and increasing Quebec's autonomy within Canada, without holding another
Quebec referendum;
[5]
★ '
Tax Reform': extensively restructuring the Quebec tax system, and lowering taxes overall.
[6]
In recent years the ADQ has abandoned a number of radical proposals, including issuing
education vouchers to give parents the ability to pay for the education of their children at a school of their choice.
Unlike the
Republicans in the
United States, the ADQ's conservative proposals are limited to
secular issues. Quebec is not a fertile ground for
conservatism based on
moral values.
[7] [8]
Electoral support
Socially and geographically, the core support of the ADQ is similar to that of the
provincial wing of the
Social Credit Party in the
1962, and
1963 federal elections and the
1970 provincial election, the
Union Nationale in the
1976 provincial election and the
Conservative Party of Canada in
2006 federal election.
Its strongest base is provided by
Chaudière-Appalaches and
Québec, the most conservative regions of Quebec. The party’s popularity also reaches other predominantly
French-speaking areas of the province, including
Mauricie,
Bas-Saint-Laurent,
Centre-du-Québec and even
Montérégie.
However, the ADQ has more difficulty breaking through in the more cosmopolitan urban districts of the
Montreal area on one hand and in the other hand the most remote regions, such as
Abitibi,
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and
Côte-Nord, whose economy is largely based on forestry.
Because of the polarization of the debate over the
constitutional debate from
1970 to 1995, conservative voters have often limited their choice between the Quebec Liberal Party or the Parti Québécois. However, a number of commentators claim that resentment of the rest of Quebec against Montreal’s perceived
hegemony, general mistrust towards current office holders and constitutional fatigue have let a cultural gap in Quebec society become more apparent and have resulted in an increased support for the ADQ.
[9]
[10]
History
Foundation and first decade: 1994-2002
Action démocratique du Québec logo (1994-1998)
Action démocratique du Québec logo (1998-2007)
The party was formed in 1994 by a group of
nationalists that supported the
Allaire Report, a document that advocated a decentralized
federal system in which the provincial
Government of Quebec would have significantly increased powers.
After the failure of the
Meech Lake Accord, which made many
French-speaking Québécois feel rejected by the rest of Canada, the Liberals adopted the Allaire Report as their official constitutional policy. However, the party eventually chose the
Charlottetown Accord over the Allaire Report in 1992. The Charlottetown Accord would have recognized Quebec as a ''
distinct society'' within Canada, but consisted of a much milder reform of the Canadian federal system. While most Liberals supported the Charlottetown Accord, a number of them opposed it and eventually quit the party.
Led by
Jean Allaire, a Liberal insider and attorney from
Laval, and
Mario Dumont, a rising political star who had been President of the
Liberal Youth Commission, the dissidents founded the ADQ. Allaire became the first party leader, but resigned within a few months for health reasons. He was succeeded by Mario Dumont, who has retained the leadership to this day.
With limited financial resources and excluded from the televised Leaders Debate, Dumont won a seat in the Quebec National Assembly in the
1994 provincial election, the only adéquiste candidate to do so in that election.
In the
1995 Quebec referendum on the Parti Québécois government's proposals for sovereignty, Dumont campaigned for the "Yes" side, in favour of the sovereignty option. However, in subsequent election campaigns, he has promised a moratorium on the sovereignty question, which earned him accusations of not having a clear and honest stand on the constitution question.
Shortly before the
1998 provincial election,
Yvon Lafrance, a one-term Liberal
backbencher who served under
Premier Robert Bourassa, switched parties to join the ADQ, becoming the party's first sitting member of the
legislature. In the ensuing election campaign, Dumont took part in the televised Leaders Debate and was re-elected as an MNA, but could not expand his electoral support significantly enough to get other party members elected and remained his party's only sitting MNA. Although Dumont was a very popular leader, support for the ADQ always lagged behind support for its leader.
Rise: 2002
In
April and
June 2002, voter dissatisfaction with both the Parti Québécois (PQ) government of
Bernard Landry and the Liberal alternative presented by
Jean Charest led the ADQ to an unexpected victory in a series of
by-elections, bringing the party caucus to five members.
After the by-election wins, the ADQ soared in popularity, leading the established parties in public opinion polling for the first time in its existence. For a brief period, a number of political analysts predicted that the ADQ could gather as much as 42% of the vote and more than 80 seats in the National Assembly.
The increased popularity of the party provided the ADQ with larger
grassroots support, more money and
star candidates for the
subsequent election. For the first time,
Mario Dumont, who was able to recruit
Beauce businessman
Marcel Dutil, chairman of
Groupe Canam Inc. as Director of the ADQ's fund-raising activities, was considered as a serious candidate for the office of
Premier of Quebec.
Backlash: 2002-2003
As a result of the ADQ attaining greater popular support, its political opponents conducted
negative campaigning against the ADQ for the first time. Those efforts were successful in damaging the public perception of the party. While a number of attacks were somewhat unfair (
David Payne, the PQ MNA from
Vachon, compared the ADQ to
Jean-Marie Le Pen’s
Front National), others brought to light the existence of flaws in the ADQ platform and a potential incompatibility between the party’s conservative philosophy and the voters.
Moreover, the party's repeated backtracking on its various policies, including a
flat rate income tax of 20 per cent, may have appeared opportunist and harmed the party’s image as a viable alternative. It was also revealed that a close advisor of Mario Dumont had a criminal record, which prompted the media to question Dumont’s judgment.
The popularity of the ADQ declined. Dumont did not make any major mistake during the televised Leaders Debate, but did not deliver the outstanding performance he needed to gain momentum. By contrast, Liberal leader
Jean Charest was able to put
Bernard Landry of the Parti Québécois on the defensive.
The ADQ received 18% of the vote at the
2003 provincial election. All ADQ incumbents and
star candidates, except Dumont, were defeated. The losses were compensated by the election of three new ADQ MNAs, who were still unknown at the provincial level but were well established in their communities. The ADQ drew enough votes from previous PQ supporters to give the victory to Jean Charest's Liberals, but did not make a significant breakthrough in the National Assembly.
Resurgence: 2003-2007
In the months that followed the election, the ADQ benefited from anger over the decision of the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) not to renew the license of Quebec City radio station
CHOI-FM. Radio host
Jeff Fillion urged listeners to vote for ADQ candidate
Sylvain Légaré in a by-election for the local district of
Vanier. Légaré defended the station’s
freedom of speech and was elected on
September 20,
2004, which raised the number of ADQ seats back to five.
A few days later, the ADQ held a convention in
Drummondville, where its members adopted the new constitutional position of the ADQ, which is labeled as
''autonomist'' without much precision on what it actually means. ADQ members also elected ex-
Liberal minister
Yvon Picotte as President of the ADQ, a job previously held by political analyst
Guy Laforest.
In the January
2006 federal election, ten
Conservative Members of Parliament were elected in Quebec, at the federal level. Four of those newly elected federal Members of Parliament -
Maxime Bernier,
Steven Blaney,
Jacques Gourde and
Josée Verner - came from districts represented by ADQ members at the provincial level. All except Bernier were at one point ADQ activists.
[11] Blaney was ADQ candidate in
Beauce-Nord in
1998. This breakthrough prepared the ground the subsequent growth of the ADQ, which could rely on a number of supporters from the modest Conservatives' organization in Quebec.
In May 2006, the ADQ held a convention in
Granby, where Dumont has brought up the subject of having the current federal Conservative government broach the subject of a new round of constitutional talks in order to get Quebec to finally sign the Constitution.
Embarrassing comments were made by Party President
Yvon Picotte about PQ Leader
André Boisclair. Boisclair had decided not to run in a by-election for the district of
Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques (in Montreal), the district where he lives and that is well known for its large gay population. Accusing Boisclair of being a coward, Picotte jokingly said that the
riding would fit Boisclair, who is openly
gay, like a glove (''comme un gant''). Many journalists criticized Picotte, saying his comment sounded
homophobic. Within days, Picotte apologized.
[12]
In November 2006, the ADQ held its 6th Member's Convention ("Congrès des Membres"). The next month, it adopted its platform for the
2007 election, entitled "A Plan A for Quebec" ("Un plan A pour le Québec")
[13] and defined its stance on the controversial
reasonable accommodation debate, which was well received by a substantial number of voters.
Quebec general election, 2007
When the
2007 election campaign started, the ADQ was running only a couple candidates with widespread
name recognition and lacked the financial resources its rivals (especially the Liberals) had.
Marcel Dutil announced that even though he likes Dumont he would vote strategically in favour of the Liberals.
[14]
However, polls showed that the ADQ had the potential to significantly increase its representation at the National Assembly. Dumont ran an effective campaign,
[15] unveiling one plank from his electoral platform every day and therefore benefiting from sustained attention from his opponents and the media.
Dumont's good performance though had its own setbacks: it led to more scrutiny of the ADQ.
The Liberals criticized the ADQ's financial plan as vague and unrealistic, accusing Dumont of underestimating its total cost. According to them, the ADQ's promises totaled $6.3 billion rather than the $1.7 billion announced by Dumont.
Besides, many journalists accused the ADQ of being a one-man show.
[16] Two candidates, who had made inappropriate comments, were dropped by the party from the election.
[17]
On election day, the ADQ made a surprisingly strong showing. It took 21 seats from the Liberal Party and 15 seats from the PQ. All five ADQ
incumbents were re-elected, for a total of 41 seats. (The election of so many legislators without prior parliamentary experience delights cartoonist
Serge Chapleau who likes to portray the ADQ MNAs as elementary school kids and Dumont as their teacher.
[18]) The reigning Liberals were reduced to a
minority government, with only 48 MNAs.
For the first time, the ADQ received a
plurality of the
popular vote among French-speakers and it is now the
official opposition.
Nonetheless, it failed to take a single seat on the island of Montreal, but it did came second in some of the city's ridings. Further developments are therefore necessary to determine whether or not the ADQ will permanently replace the PQ as the alternative to the Liberals.
Leaders of the Action démocratique du Québec
ADQ Presidents
ADQ Members of the National Assembly
★
★ Elected as a Liberal candidate, Yvon Lafrance sat as an Independent MNA by February 1994 and switched affiliation to ADQ less than a month later.
Defeated ADQ star candidates
Prominent ADQ members
Election results
| 'General election' | '# of candidates' | '# of seats before election' | '# of seats won' | '% of popular vote' |
| 1994 | 80 | 1 | 1 | 6.46% |
| 1998 | 125 | 1 | 1 | 11.81% |
| 2003 | 125 | 5 | 4 | 18.18% |
| 2007 | 125 | 5 | 41 | 30.80% |
Sources
★ Julien Béliveau, ''Mario Dumont - Le pouvoir de l'image''
See also
★
Politics of Quebec
★
List of Quebec general elections
★
List of Quebec premiers
★
List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
★
National Assembly of Quebec
★
Timeline of Quebec history
★
Political parties in Quebec
★
Jean-François Plante
Footnotes
1. Standing Orders of the National Assembly
2. Interview with Jean-Herman Guay, Ouvert le Samedi, ''Radio-Canada'', March 31, 2007
3. ADQ becomes Quebec's Official Opposition, ''CBC News'', March 26, 2007
4. [1] ADQ Program, Action democratique du Quebec website, 2007
5. Autonomy thrust into spotlight, Graeme Hamilton, ''National Post'', March 28, 2007.
6. [2] ADQ Program, Action democratique du Quebec website, 2007
7. Mario Dumont veut limiter la notion d’accommodement raisonnable, Dominique Poirier, Dominique Poirier en Direct, ''Radio-Canada'', November 17, 2006
8. Les défis de Mario Dumont, Dominique Poirier, Dominique Poirier en Direct, ''Radio-Canada'', April 3, 2007
9. Montreal Versus the ROQ, Lysiane Gagnon, ''The Globe and Mail'', February 26, 2007
10. Charest is not a slam-dunk, Chantal Hébert, ''The Toronto Star'', February 23, 2007
11. Gourde prédit 25 députés pour l'ADQ, Martin Pelchat, ''Le Soleil'', February 26, 2007
12. Picotte présente ses excuses à Boisclair, ''Radio-Canada'', May 8, 2006
13. Le programme de l'ADQ prévoit baliser l'accommodement raisonnable, ''Radioactif.com'', December 18, 2006
14. Could this be Mario's breakthrough election?, Konrad Yakabuski, ''The Globe and Mail'', March 10, 2007
15. PQ: la barre à gauche, toute!, Denis Lessard, ''La Presse'', March 18, 2007
16. L’équipe de l’ADQ - la liste, André Pratte, ''La Presse'', March 21, 2007
17. 2nd ADQ candidate steps down for 'unacceptable' comments, ''CBC News'', March 12, 2007
18. 215 Caricatures du 14 avril, Serge Chapleau, ''La Presse'', March and April 2007
External links
★
Action démocratique du Québec website
★
Directeur Général des Élections du Québec entry
★
National Assembly historical information
★
La Politique québécoise sur le Web
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