Partenaires pour la souveraineté (English: Partners of Sovereignty) was a Quebec sovereigntist organization that existed in the mid-to-late 1990s. It was an umbrella group of several high-profile organizations, including Quebec labour unions and other pre-existing sovereigntist groups.

Partenaires pour la souveraineté was launched in January 1995 as a coalition of fifteen organizations, including the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, the Quebec Federation of Labour, the Mouvement national des Québécois, the Centrale de l'enseignement du Québec, Les Intellectuels pour la souveraineté, and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society.[1] One of the coalition's first activities was to facilitate the printing of several popular pamphlets, promoting what its leaders regarded as the benefits of Quebec sovereignty in relation to the economy, social policy, culture, education, international relations, citizenship issues, and person liberties.[2]

Partenaires pour la souveraineté's leader was Nicole Boudreau, a former leader of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in Montreal. During the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty, Boudreau undertook a tour to encourage women to support the sovereigntist option.[3] The coalition also launched a $150,000 radio advertisement campaign in the middle of the referendum campaign to support the sovereigntist "Oui" option.[4] Ultimately, the sovereigntist option was narrowly defeated.

Partenaires pour la souveraineté began publishing a journal, the Partenaires Express, in 1996.[5] The 1997, the coalition led a campaign to increase public support for Quebec's Charter of the French Language.[6]

The Centrale de l'enseignement du Québec, representing Quebec teachers, withdrew from the coalition in February 1998. While reiterating their support for Quebec independence, the union's leaders said they were withdrawing to protest spending cuts introduced by the sovereigntist Parti Québécois government, with which the coalition was closely aligned.[7] The Confédération des syndicats nationaux also withdrew from the coalition later in the same year to protest the PQ's "pro-business" bias.[8] Partenaires pour la souveraineté seems to have become dormant after this time.

References

  1. ↑ Robert McKenzie, "PQ planning propaganda blitz Coalition adding own information campaign," Montreal Gazette, 29 March 1995, A10; Irwin Block, "Key players An outline of Quebec groups organized to back Yes or No in sovereignty battle," Montreal Gazette, 6 October 1995, A8. The latter article indicates that the Partenaires pour la souveraineté coalition had previously existed under a different name.
  2. ↑ Philip Authier, "Quebec plans information blitz for vote," Calgary Herald, 29 March 1995, A1; Pierre-Paul Proulx, "Some comments on Earl Fry's discussion of the economic dimension of Quebec, Canada and United States relations," The American Review of Canadian Studies, Volume 36 Edition 4 (Winter 1996), p. 607.
  3. ↑ Hubert Bauch, "Separatist women hit road in push to gain Yes votes," Montreal Gazette, 6 September 1995, A12.
  4. ↑ Andre Picard, "Federalist ads stress sepa-ration if Yes side wins Millions of dollars earmarked in campaign to persuade Quebeckers which way to vote," Montreal Gazette, 20 September 1995, N6.
  5. ↑ Philippe Couton and Jeffrey Cormier, "Voluntary associations and state expansion in Quebec - 1955-1970," Journal of Political and Military Sociology, Volume 29 Edition 1 (Summer 2001), pp. 19-45.
  6. ↑ Michelle Lalonde, "Separatists to polish Bill 101's image," Ottawa Citizen, 25 August 1997, A3.
  7. ↑ Aaron Derfel, "Teachers pull out of separatist coalition," Montreal Gazette, 27 February 1998, A7.
  8. ↑ Lysiane Gagnon, "A dearth of new blood for the PQ," Montreal Gazette, 8 August 1993, D3.
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