The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative Party and Liberal Party during the collapse of the Meech Lake Accord. Founder Lucien Bouchard had been a cabinet minister in the federal Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney.
The Parti Québécois is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec,Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishing a sovereign state. The PQ has also promoted the possibility of maintaining a loose political and economic sovereignty-association between Quebec and Canada. The party traditionally has support from the labour movement;however,unlike most other social democratic parties,its ties with organized labour are informal. Members and supporters of the PQ are nicknamed péquistes,a French word derived from the pronunciation of the party's initials.
Gilles Duceppe is a retired Canadian politician,proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for 15 years in three stints:1996,1997-2011 and in 2015. He was Leader of the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada from March 17,1997,to June 1,1997. He resigned as party leader after the 2011 election,in which he lost his own seat to New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Hélène Laverdière and his party suffered a heavy defeat;however,he returned four years later to lead the party into the 2015 election. After being defeated in his own riding by Laverdière again,he resigned once more.
Lucien Bouchard,the first leader of the Bloc Québécois,was elected by acclamation by the MPs who formed the Bloc in 1990. When the party held its first convention in April 1995,his leadership was ratified by the delegates.
AndréBellavance is a Canadian politician,who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015 and was the mayor of Victoriaville,Quebec from 2016 to 2021.
AndréBoisclair is a former Canadian politician and convicted sex offender in Quebec,Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois,a social democratic and sovereigntist party in Quebec.
The Parti Québécois leadership election of 2005 was held from November 13 to November 15,2005 to elect the new leader of the Parti Québécois,the main sovereigntist and social democratic political party in Quebec,Canada.
Louis Plamondon is a Canadian politician who served as the interim speaker of the House of Commons from September 27 to October 3,2023. A member of the Bloc Québécois,he has represented Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel since 1984. As the longest-serving current member of the House of Commons,Plamondon is Dean of the House,and holds the record as Canada's longest-serving dean.
Vivian Barbot is a Canadian teacher,activist,and politician. She is a former president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec,a former member of Parliament and former vice-president of the Bloc Québécois. She was the party's interim leader and president following the resignation of Gilles Duceppe in May 2011. Barbot became the first person of a visible minority group to lead a Canadian federal political party with parliamentary representation.
Christian Ouellet was a Canadian politician from the province of Quebec. He represented Brome—Missisquoi in the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Bloc Québécois.
Nicolas Girard is a politician in Quebec,Canada,and former member of the National Assembly of Quebec. He was elected to the National Assembly in a by-election as a Parti Québécois member on September 20,2004 in riding of Gouin in the Montreal region.
The Parti Québécois leadership election of 2007 elected the seventh leader of the Parti Québécois,the main political party to promote Quebec independence in Quebec,Canada,and was won by Pauline Marois.
Daniel Paillé is a Canadian politician,who represented the riding of Prévost in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 1996 as a member of the Parti Québécois,and represented the district of Hochelaga in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Bloc Québécois. He was elected leader of the Bloc Québécois with 62 percent of the vote on December 11,2011. Pailléstepped down as leader on December 16,2013 for health reasons.
Martine Ouellet is a Canadian politician who served as leader of the Bloc Québécois from 2017 to 2018. She was the Minister of Natural Resources in the Quebec government from 2012 to 2014.
Jean-François Fortin is a Canadian politician. He was elected to represent the riding of Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia in the 2011 federal election as a member of the Bloc Québécois,and was chosen interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc on February 26,2014.
The 2011 Bloc Québécois leadership election was held on December 11,2011,to replace Gilles Duceppe,who resigned on May 2 after the party lost 43 of its 47 seats,including his own seat,in the 2011 federal election. It was won by Daniel Paillé.
The 2014 Bloc Québécois leadership election was held June 14,2014 to choose a successor for Daniel Pailléwho resigned on December 16,2013 for health reasons.
Mario A. Beaulieu is a Canadian politician. An advocate for nationalism in Quebec,he served as leader (2014–2015),interim leader (2018–2019) and president (2014–2018) of the Bloc Québécois (BQ);Beaulieu has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for La Pointe-de-l'Île since the 2015 election.
Rhéal Éloi Fortin is a Canadian lawyer and politician,who is the member of the House of Commons for Rivière-du-Nord.
The 2017 Bloc Québécois leadership election was held on March 14,2017 to choose a successor to Gilles Duceppe,who resigned on October 22,2015 after the 2015 Canadian federal election. Rhéal Fortin,MP for Rivière-du-Nord,had been serving as interim leader since Duceppe's resignation. The election was initially scheduled for April 22,2017 but ended on March 14,2017 at the end of the nomination period,because there was only one candidate. Ouellet's tenure was controversial due to her staunch separatist views,and,following a leadership vote,she was forced to resign in June 2018.
