Keywords Born in 1922 Premiers, Quebec

Increasingly critical of his party's stand on constitutional issues and of its relations with the federal government, Lévesque sat as an independent MNA in 1967 and quit the party for good in November 1967 to found the Mouvement souveraineté-association, which in October 1968 became the Parti Québécois. Having managed to unite the various groups promoting independence and a new political status for Québec, Lévesque's party won 23.2% of the vote in the 1970 elections. In 1973 the PQ became the official Opposition. Lévesque was twice defeated (1970 and 1973) in Laurier and Dorion, but on 15 November 1976 he won in Taillon. Campaigning successfully in this election against the unpopular Liberal government of Robert BOURASSA, the PQ promised a referendum on SOVEREIGNTY-ASSOCIATION. The PQ won a majority of 71 seats, a result that dismayed the rest of Canada.

During its first term the new government passed several progressive measures concerning automobile insurance, rezoning of agricultural lands and the abolition of secret electoral funding. One of the most important pieces of legislation was BILL 101, which formalized the status of French as the official language of Québec. On 20 May 1980 the long-awaited referendum took place after an emotional campaign led on the Non side by Liberal Opposition leader Claude RYAN and federal Cabinet minister Jean CHRÉTIEN (with key support from PM TRUDEAU) and on the Oui, by Lévesque and his ministers. Lévesque suffered a major personal defeat when the sovereignty-association proposal won only 40 percent of the vote. Against all expectations the PQ was re-elected in 1981 but it suffered another defeat during the 1981-82 constitutional negotiations (see CONSTITUTION, PATRIATION OF), when the other 9 provinces accepted terms rejected by all parties in the Québec National Assembly. In 1982 and 1983 Lévesque's government met with considerable opposition and public disapproval when it attempted to reduce public spending to solve its grave financial problems.

In November 1984 a serious crisis affected the PQ government when Lévesque announced his intention of not fighting the next election on the issue of independence while maintaining sovereignty-association as the party's official raison d'être. Several ministers resigned in protest but the party reaffirmed Lévesque's leadership at a special convention in Jan 1985. In June 1985 he resigned and resumed a broadcasting and journalism career. His Memoirs have sold more than 250 000 copies.

Lévesque, René, Video
After the defeat of the referendum (courtesy CBC).

Lévesque, René
Lévesque founded the Parti Québécois, whose main objective was Québec sovereignty (Canapress).

Lévesque, René, Video 2
On separatism (courtesy CBC).

Author DANIEL LATOUCHE

Suggested Reading
P. Desbarats, René: A Canadian in Search of a Country (1976); G. Fraser, P.Q.: René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois in Power (1984); R. Lévesque, Memoirs (1986).

Links to Other Sites
Premiers of Québec since 1867
This website offers brief profiles of the Premiers of Québec since 1867. From the Government of Québec.

René Lévesque's Separatist Fight
An extensive multimedia CBC archive of news stories about politicial issues and events involving René Lévesque and the Parti québécois.

Extraordinary Canadians
Click on the brief profiles of some "extraordinary Canadians" and the authors who write about them in this series from Penguin Group (Canada.) Also includes bios of artists who created the cover art for each book.