The (, ), commonly referred to as the , was a right-wing populist and conservative provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defined itself as autonomist; it had support from nationalists and federalists. Its members were referred to as adéquistes, a name derived from the French pronunciation of the initials 'ADQ'.
The party was founded by dissidents of the Quebec Liberal Party who did not accept the Charlottetown Accord, and first contested the 1994 provincial election, electing Mario Dumont to the National Assembly. Under longtime leader Dumont, the ADQ had a strong showing in the 2007 provincial election, reducing the ruling Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) to a minority government and relegating the Parti Québécois (PQ) to third place. The ADQ won 41 seats with 31% of the popular vote to serve as the Official Opposition in the National Assembly. However, the ADQ's popularity declined significantly soon afterward and in the 2008 provincial elections, the party failed to secure at least twenty percent of the popular vote or twelve Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) in the last election, and consequently lost official party status, though in early 2009 it was recognised as an official party by the PLQ and the PQ.Standing Orders of the National Assembly
On 21 January 2012, the membership approved a merger with the Coalition Avenir Québec. The merger was recognised by the Directeur général des élections du Québec on 14 February 2012.
History Foundation and first decade: 1994–2002
The party was formed in 1994 by a group of nationalists, known as les allairistes, that supported the Allaire Report, a document that advocated a decentralized federal system in which the provincial Government of Quebec would have significantly increased powers.
After the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, which made many Québécois feel rejected by the rest of Canada, the Liberals adopted the Allaire Report as their constitutional policy. However, the party later chose the Charlottetown Accord over the Allaire Report in 1992. The Charlottetown Accord would have recognized Quebec as a "distinct society" within Canada, but consisted of a much milder reform of the Canadian federal system. While most Liberals supported the Charlottetown Accord, a number of them opposed it and quit the party.
Led by Jean Allaire, an attorney from Laval and author of the Allaire Report, and Mario Dumont, a rising political star who had been President of the Liberal Youth Commission, the dissidents founded the ADQ. Allaire became the first party leader, but resigned within a few months for health reasons. He was succeeded by Mario Dumont, who retained the leadership until early 2009.
Shortly before the 1994 provincial election, Yvon Lafrance, a one-term Liberal backbencher who served under Premier Robert Bourassa, switched parties to join the ADQ, becoming the party's first sitting member of the legislature. In the ensuing election campaign, Dumont took part in the televised leaders debate and was elected as an MNA, but could not expand his electoral support significantly enough to get other party members elected. For the next eight years, he was the ADQ's lone MNA.
In the 1995 Quebec referendum on the Parti Québécois government's proposals for sovereignty, 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, which earned him accusations of not having a clear and honest stand on the constitution question.
Although Dumont was a very popular leader, support for the ADQ always lagged well behind him. In fact, for many years, the ADQ tried to capitalize on Dumont's personal popularity by using the official name Action démocratique du Québec-Équipe Mario Dumont (Action démocratique du Québec-Team Mario Dumont).
Rise: 2002 In April and June 2002, voter dissatisfaction with both the Parti Québécois (PQ) 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.
After the by-election wins, the ADQ soared in popularity, leading the established parties in public opinion polling for the first time in its existence. For a brief period, a number of political analysts predicted that the ADQ could gather as much as 42% of the vote and more than 80 seats in the National Assembly, which would have been enough for a strong majority.
The increased popularity of the party provided the ADQ with larger grassroots support, more money and star candidates for the subsequent election. Dumont, who was able to recruit Beauce businessman Marcel Dutil, chairman of Groupe Canam Inc. as director of the ADQ's fund-raising activities, was considered as a serious candidate for the office of Premier of Quebec for the first time.
Retreat: 2002–2003 As a result of the ADQ attaining greater popular support, its political opponents conducted negative campaigning against the ADQ for the first time. Those efforts were successful in damaging the public perception of the party. Moreover, the party's repeated backtracking on its various policies, including a flat rate income tax of 20 per cent, may have appeared opportunist and harmed the party's image as a viable alternative. It was also revealed that a close advisor of Mario Dumont had a criminal record, which prompted the media to question Dumont's judgment.
The popularity of the ADQ declined. Dumont did not make any major mistake during the televised leaders' debate, but did not deliver the outstanding performance he needed to gain momentum. By contrast, Quebec Liberal leader Jean Charest was able to put Bernard Landry of the Parti Québécois on the defensive.
The ADQ received 18% of the vote at the 2003 provincial election. All ADQ incumbents and star candidates, except Dumont, were defeated. The losses were compensated by the election of three new ADQ MNAs, who were still unknown at the provincial level but were well established in their communities. The ADQ drew enough votes from previous PQ supporters to give the victory to Jean Charest's Liberals, but did not make a significant breakthrough in the National Assembly.
Resurgence: 2003–2007 In the months that followed the election, the ADQ benefited from anger over the decision of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) not to renew the license of Quebec City radio station CHOI-FM. Radio host Jeff Fillion urged listeners to vote for ADQ candidate Sylvain Légaré in a by-election for the local district of Vanier. Légaré defended the station's freedom of speech and was elected on September 20, 2004, which raised the number of ADQ seats back to five.
A few days later, the ADQ held a convention in Drummondville, where its members adopted the new constitutional position of the ADQ, which was labeled as autonomist without much precision on what it actually means. ADQ members also elected ex-Liberal minister Yvon Picotte as President of the ADQ, a job previously held by political analyst Guy Laforest.
In the January 2006 federal election, ten Conservative Members of Parliament were elected in Quebec, at the federal level. Four of those newly elected federal Members of Parliament – Maxime Bernier, Steven Blaney, Jacques Gourde and Josée Verner – came from districts represented by ADQ members at the provincial level. All except Bernier were at one point ADQ activists. Gourde prédit 25 députés pour l'ADQ, Martin Pelchat, Le Soleil, February 26, 2007 Blaney was ADQ candidate in Beauce-Nord in 1998. This breakthrough prepared the ground the subsequent growth of the ADQ, which could rely on a number of supporters from the modest Conservatives' organization in Quebec.
In May 2006, the ADQ held a general council () in Granby, where Dumont brought up the subject of having the current federal Conservative government broach the subject of a new round of constitutional talks in order to get Quebec to finally sign the Constitution.
Embarrassing comments were made by party president Yvon Picotte about PQ Leader André Boisclair. Boisclair had decided not to run in a by-election for the district of Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques in Montreal, the district where he lives and which includes Montreal's Gay Village. Accusing Boisclair of being a coward, Picotte jokingly said that the riding would fit Boisclair, who is openly gay, like a glove (comme un gant). Many journalists criticized Picotte, saying his comment sounded homophobic. Within days, Picotte apologized. Picotte présente ses excuses à Boisclair, Radio-Canada, May 8, 2006
In November 2006, the ADQ held its sixth party convention. The next month, it adopted its platform for the 2007 election, entitled "A Plan A for Quebec" ("Un plan A pour le Québec") Le programme de l'ADQ prévoit baliser l'accommodement raisonnable , Radioactif.com, December 18, 2006 and defined its stance on the controversial reasonable accommodation debate, which was well received by a substantial number of voters.
2007 provincial election
When the 2007 election campaign started, the ADQ was running only a few candidates with widespread name recognition and lacked the financial resources its rivals (especially the Liberals) had. Marcel Dutil announced that even though he likes Dumont, he would vote strategically in favour of the Liberals. Could this be Mario's breakthrough election?, Konrad Yakabuski, The Globe and Mail, March 10, 2007
However, polls showed that the ADQ had the potential to significantly increase its representation in the National Assembly. Dumont ran an effective campaign, PQ: la barre à gauche, toute!, Denis Lessard, La Presse, March 18, 2007 unveiling one plank from his electoral platform every day and therefore benefiting from sustained attention from his opponents and the media.
Dumont's performance had its own setbacks, however, as it led to more scrutiny of the ADQ.
The Liberals criticized the ADQ's financial plan as vague and unrealistic, accusing Dumont of underestimating its total cost. According to them, the ADQ's promises totaled $6.3 billion rather than the $1.7 billion announced by Dumont.
Besides, many journalists accused the ADQ of being a one-man show. L'équipe de l'ADQ - la liste , André Pratte, La Presse, March 21, 2007 Two candidates, who had made inappropriate comments, were dropped by the party from the election. 2nd ADQ candidate steps down for 'unacceptable' comments, CBC News, March 12, 2007
On election day, the ADQ made a surprisingly strong showing. It took 21 seats from the Quebec Liberal Party and 15 seats from the PQ. All five ADQ incumbents were re-elected, for a total of 41 seats. (The election of so many legislators without prior parliamentary experience led cartoonist Serge Chapleau to portray the ADQ MNAs as elementary school kids with Dumont as their teacher.) Caricatures du 14 avril , Serge Chapleau, La Presse, March and April 2007 The reigning Liberals were reduced to a minority government, with only 48 MNAs.
For the first time, the ADQ received a plurality of the popular vote among Francophones and formed the official opposition.
Nonetheless, it failed to take a single seat on the island of Montreal, but it did come second in many of the city's ridings.
Official Opposition