This is part 2 in a series detailing the histories of the political parties in Quebec as we enter this election. People don't usually consider this, but we are living through history right now. This forthcoming election is strange and uninspiring, with four right-wing parties and 1 centre-left party. How did we get here? Only through examining history can we contextualize our realities now. READ THE HISTORY OF THE PQ HERE.
The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) is a shell of what they once were; the hollowed out remnants of a political party that managed to change the shape of a nation. Once their influence was so great that they affected Canada's history, not just Quebec. They were a party that was always competitive to take power in Quebec. Today, they can’t even manage that much, despite the competition being so weak.
How did this happen? When did the PLQ become exclusively the party that caters to the grievances of Anglo Quebeckers rather than a party of ideas and substance?
The PLQ has one of the greatest histories of any major political party in the country. They began the Quiet Revolution, which we have written about at length, transforming Quebec from a state controlled by religious authoritarianism to becoming a modern social democracy. Quebec has a lot to thank the PLQ for. In fact, most of modern Quebec’s political parties are simply branches that grew off of the Liberals.
From the Liberal Party of the 1960s was born the Parti Québecois. From the left of the PQ was born Québec Solidaire, and the Coalition Avenir Québec came from its right alongside those who had become dissatisfied with the idea of a sovereign Quebec. Yet from this weird family tree remain the great-grandparents of Quebec, the Liberal Party with endless baggage, forever unable to return to their glorious past.
It is easy to understand why Quebec has been called “Canada’s most corrupt province” when looking at the Liberal Party (and the other ruling parties... honestly, every party in Quebec becomes corrupt. It's our thing). They've had a ridiculous number of scandals over their history; from nepotism to connections with the mob. Today, the exoskeleton of this ancient party is the habitat of disgruntled Montreal anglophones who have grievances with the rest of the province. It is the party that the Montreal Gazette almost brazenly allies themselves with. They are the party of the elite, but also historically one of the only parties that will have the backs of immigrants and LGBTQ.
Except... even that might not be true.
Pablo Rodriguez, who left leadership of the PLQ because of a series of scandals (which turned out not to be true), said that Quebec’s secularism laws brought social peace to Quebec. That doesn’t sound like the party which is about to remove laws that are discriminatory against Muslims, and specifically Muslim women.
And now, outside of Quebec, the PLQ has been essentially replaced. Around Quebec City, the few people who remained have moved on to the Conservatives. In the regions in rural Quebec and the smaller cities, the CAQ has replaced the Liberal vote. The Liberals are no longer the only federalist party, and when you watch Christine Fréchette, it’s easy to see why many former Liberals might choose the CAQ under her leadership over Milliard’s Liberals, despite the CAQ having one of the most disastrous reigns in Quebec’s history. My jank-ass political compass has them at about the same level of economic conservatism, so why vote for a party that has so consistently failed?
In the end, we don’t know what will happen this fall, but current polling indicates that this is a race between PQ and CAQ. How did the Liberals lose themselves? What happened to them that brought about this sad, slow disintegration of a once immense political force?
Here is the story of the PLQ, from Confederation to the Grande Noirceur. Originally I was going to write their history from confederation until 2026, but it became so long and detailed that the article wound up 1800 words before I even got to the Grande Noirceur. And I skimmed over almost twenty years of Liberal rule. So this is a two-part article. Sorry. Honestly, I should just write a book.
Hey, book agents, my email is isaacapeltz@onthetrail.info! (I don't think any publishers read On the Trail.) I have MANY ideas for books that I’m fairly certain would sell gangbusters!
