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The Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) is a political party in Quebec, Canada. Its official registered name is Action démocratique du Québec / Équipe Mario Dumont. While some journalists have translated the name into English as Democratic Action of Quebec, it has no official English name, and is normally referred to by its French name in the English-language media.

The ADQ is the most conservative of the three major provincial parties in Quebec. Its members are referred to as adéquistes, a name derived from the French pronunciation of the initials 'ADQ'.

1 History

The party was formed in 1994 by former members of the Parti libéral du Québec following the defeat of the Charlottetown Accord. This package of proposed reforms to the Canadian constitution would have provided expanded powers for Quebec and other provincial governments, and would have recognized Quebec as a distinct society within Canada. Liberals who were disappointed that the party was reluctant to commit to Quebec sovereigntyQuebec sovereigntism is a political orientation calling for the attainment of sovereignty for Quebec, a province of the Canadian federation. The sovereigntists propose that Quebecers exercise their right to self-determination in order to democratically gi left to form the ADQ.

Initially, the party was led by former Liberal MNA Jean Allaire , but he resigned within a few months for health reasons. He was succeeded by former Liberal youth committee president Mario Dumont, who has retained the leadership to this day.

Dumont won a seat in the Quebec National AssemblyThe National Assembly is the legislative body of the Canadian province of Quebec. It operates in a fashion similar to that of other British-style parliamentary systems. Since the abolition of the Legislative Council (an "upper house") in 1968, the Nationa in the 1994 Quebec electionIn the Quebec general election on September 12, 1994, the Parti Quebecois under Jacques Parizeau defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party under Daniel Johnson, Jr. This election was very significant for Quebec history, because it set the stage for the, the only adéquiste candidate to do so in that election.

In the 1995 Quebec referendumThe 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum in Quebec (see 1980 Quebec referendum) that put to public vote the role of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward independent statehood ("sovereignty"). The referendum was t on the Parti QuébécoisParti Quebecois Current Leader Bernard Landry Founded October 11, 1968 Headquarters 1200 Papineau Avenue, bureau 150 Montreal, QuebecH2K 4R5(514) 526-0020 & 1-800-363-9531[mailto:info@pq. org info@pq. org] Colours Blue (also White & Red) Political ideolog government's proposals for soveriegnty, 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.

The 1998 Quebec election produced the same result for the party as the 1994 election: Dumont was the only candidate from his party to win a seat.

Although Dumont was a very popular leader, ADQ support always lagged behind his personal support. Dumont remained his party's only sitting Member of the National Assembly (MNA) until 2002, when voter dissatisfaction with both the Parti Québécois 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.

Suddenly the ADQ soared in popularity, leading the established parties in public opinion polling for the first time in its existence. However, the party's conservative platform was now subjected to increased scrutiny, and its support faltered once more.

In the 2003 Quebec election, the ADQ lost the four seats it had gained in the by-elections, but picked up three other seats previously held by the PQ. The ADQ drew enough votes from previous PQ supporters to give the victory to Charest's Liberals. The party obtained 18 per cent of the popular vote in that election, its best result to date.

On September 20th, 2004, the ADQ candidate for the by-election in Vanier riding won election, and raised the number of ADQ MNAs to 5. A few days after, the ADQ held its congress in Drummondville, where its members adopted the new constitutional position of the ADQ, which can be defined as autonomist. ADQ members also elected ex-Liberal minister Yvon Picotte as president of the ADQ to replace Guy Laforest.

Ex-PQ Treasury Board president, Joseph Facal, said that with these two events, the ADQ managed to remove itself from intensive care and become once again a major political force.