| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
The party originated as the parti bleu which was formed around 1850 by the followers of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine. The parti bleu opposed the anti-clericalism and radicalism of its rival, the parti rouge of Louis-Joseph Papineau.
The parti bleu supported the role of the clergy in Quebec society. Members of the parti bleu, led by George-Etienne Cartier from Lower Canada, joined with the followers of John A. Macdonald in Upper Canada to form a coalition government with Cartier as co-Premier from 1857 to 1862. It was out of this coalition that the Conservative Party was formed (then known as Liberal-Conservative), laying the basis for ConfederationA confederation is an association of sovereign states. Confederations are usually created by treaty but tend to later adopt a constitution. Confederations tend to be established to deal with critical issues, such as defense, foreign affairs, foreign trade in 1867.
With Confederation and Quebec's entry as a province, what had been the parti bleu became the Quebec wing of Macdonald's Conservative Party. It formed the government in the province, with Pierre-Joseph-Olivier ChauveauPierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau ( May 30, 1820 April 4, 1890), born in Quebec City, was the first prime minister of the Canadian province of Quebec when it was created as a result of Canadian Confederation in 1867. He led a Conservative Party government. as Quebec's first PremierA premier is an executive official of government. In many nations the term "premier" is used interchangeably with the title of " prime minister. For example, the "Italian Premier" or the "Japanese Premier. In the People's Republic of China it is used some. Cartier acted as Macdonald's Quebec lieutenant in the federal House of CommonsThe House of Commons (in French, la Chambre des communes is the directly elected lower house of the Parliament of Canada which sits in the nation's capital of Ottawa, Ontario. Leadership Prime Minister and Cabinet Under the Westminster system, the prime m. The Conservatives dominated Quebec politics at both the federal and provincal level for the next thirty years. The Conservatives held power in Quebec City for twenty five out of thirty years providing eight of the province's ten premiers in that period.
However, the party became increasingly divided between a moderate wing and an ultramontane wing of CatholicGeneral meaning Catholic means universal or whole''. With respect to the Christian Church, the early Christians used the term to refer to the whole undivided church. It is in that sense that all Christians today claim ownership of the term, including Prot fundamentalists. As well, the party's links with the federal Conservatives harmed the party as the Tories in English Canada became increasingly identified as hostile to French Canadians and Quebec. The execution of Louis RielLouis David Riel ( October 22, 1844 November 16, 1885), sometimes called the "Father of Manitoba", was a Canadian politician and leader of the Metis, an ethnic group of mixed Cree, Ojibway, Saulteaux, French Canadian, and British descent. He led a Resista in 1885 outraged Quebecers and hurt the Macdonald Conservatives at the polls.
After Macdonald's death in 1891, the coalition that formed the national Conservatives unravelled, particularly around the Manitoba Schools Question that pitted English Canadian Protestants against French Canadian Catholics. This issue essentially ended the possibility of a significant French Canadian presence in western Canada.
The federal Conservatives lost the 1896 federal election, largely due to the collapse of their support in Quebec. The provincial Conservative government of Edmund James Flynn lost the 1897 Quebec election.
With the defeats of 1896 and 1897, the Conservatives became a minority party in Quebec at both levels of government. The Conservative Party of Quebec never formed another provincial government. The Quebec Liberals held power without interruption for the next thirty-eight years.
Conservative fortunes were further hurt by the Conscription Crisis of 1917 when the federal Conservative government of Robert Borden invoked conscription against the opposition of Quebec. This led to riots in the province.
In 1933, Maurice Duplessis became leader of the Quebec Conservatives. The next year, the ruling Liberal party split when a group of nationalist Liberals dissatisfied with the government of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau bolted from the party to form the Action libérale nationale or ALN. Duplessis wooed the dissident party and, two weeks before the 1935 election, the Conservatives and ALN formed a "Union Nationale" alliance to contest the election. The alliance was later formalized as a merger into a single political party, the Union Nationale. The UN took power in the 1936 election, and went on to dominate Quebec politics until Duplessis died in 1959.