Parti Québécois leadership election, 2005

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

Parti Québécois

The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

, the main sovereigntist

Quebec sovereignty movement

The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...

and social democratic

Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

political party in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

It was the second race of its kind in the history of the party, following the leadership election of 1985

Parti Québécois leadership election, 1985

The Parti Québécois leadership election of 1985 was held to elect a new leader of the Parti Québécois, the main sovereigntist and social democratic political party in Quebec, Canada. It elected Pierre-Marc Johnson at the helm of the party...

. It was conducted in two rounds, under a preferential voting

Preferential voting

Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...

system. Former Minister André Boisclair

André Boisclair

André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....

was elected at the first round ballot with 53.7% of votes from party members, making him the first openly gay

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

leader of a major political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, and one of the first in the world.

Background

On June 4, 2005, party leader Bernard Landry

Bernard Landry

Bernard Landry, is a Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician, who served as the 28th Premier of Quebec , leader of the Opposition and leader of the Parti Québécois .-Personal:...

announced his intention to resign as leader of the PQ after getting 76.2% in a vote of confidence in his leadership from delegates to the party National Council. The party appointed Louise Harel

Louise Harel

Louise Harel is a Québec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Quebec. She represented the riding of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in the Montreal region...

as its interim leader. Gilles Duceppe

Gilles Duceppe

Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...

, leader of the federal-level

Politics of Canada

The politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state...

sovereigntist political party, the Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

, was expected to be a strong candidate if he had decided to run. On June 11, he however announced that he would remain leader of the Bloc despite pressure to make a bid for the leadership of the PQ.

Campaign

After months of pre-campaign, the race officially began on September 15, 2005, the official deadline

Time limit

A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished.In project management, deadlines are most often associated with milestone goals....

for entering the race. Soon, Boisclair emerged as a favorite in the polls, with Pauline Marois

Pauline Marois

Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...

second, Richard Legendre

Richard Legendre

Richard Legendre is a former professional tennis player and a Quebec politician.- Tennis :Legendre once represented Canada at the Davis Cup and had a career-high tennis ranking of World No. 232 in singles...

a close third and Louis Bernard

Louis Bernard

Louis Bernard, OQ is a Québécois politician and former public servant.- Biography :Louis Bernard is a former Chief of Staff to Parti Québécois Premier René Lévesque and former Secretary general of the Government to Parti Québécois Premiers Réne Lévesque and Jacques Parizeau...

fourth. The validity of these polls, much touted by the media, was however challenged by some candidate organizations since they were conducted on the whole population of Quebec, rather than the actual voter pool, the legal members of the Parti Québécois. Also criticized was the intense media focus on the four candidates leading in these said polls, leaving the ideas of the other candidates in the dark. The later were much less discussed and their opening monologues were even cut for pundit

Pundit (politics)

A pundit is someone who offers to mass media his or her opinion or commentary on a particular subject area on which they are knowledgeable. The term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities...

commentary in LCN

LCN

LCN can refer to:* Lincoln Central railway station, whose station code is LCN* Library of Congress Number. Accession number for the United States library.* The London Centre for Nanotechnology, a nanotechnology research institute in London, England...

live broadcastings of the official candidates' debates.

A controversy made some impression, albeit briefly, on the campaign: the said Affaire Boisclair. On September 10, 2005, Le Devoir
Le Devoir
Le Devoir is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. It was founded by journalist, politician, and nationalist Henri Bourassa in 1910....

columnist Michel David

Michel David

Michel David has been a Québécois journalist since 1978, and is currently a columnist for the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir....

referred in his column to a relatively unnoticed past article of Le Droit
Le Droit
Le Droit is a Canadian daily newspaper, published in Ottawa, Canada. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was has been published by Gesca since 2000.-History:...

alluding to rumours of André Boisclair having lived a wild younger life and taken cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

. Boisclair initially recognized a youth of partying and mistakes. Days later, after much media pressure, he admitted having "consumed". Ironically, this only made his popularity stronger in polling, something credited by pundits to popular sympathy in the face of the weight of the media scrutiny. The fact that Boisclair came out

Coming out

Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

in 2000 on the subject of his homosexuality

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

did not hampered his campaign either. Polls showed that more than 90% of Quebecers were not opposed to a gay Premier of Quebec

Premier of Quebec

The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....

. On public perceptions, Pauline Marois also raised the theory that her campaign was hurt by the fact that she is female.

Boisclair being the frontrunner, he became the target of many other candidates and their supporters. Adding to the wild past problematic, some progressive militants put into question Boisclair's left-wing values. A group of most progressive candidates, Pierre Dubuc

Pierre Dubuc

Pierre Dubuc is the director and editor of L'aut'journal, a progressive monthly paper. He is one of the founders of SPQ Libre, a left-wing political club within the Parti Québécois.- Biography :...

, Jean Ouimet

Jean Ouimet

Jean Ouimet is a Québécois politician and the president of Naviga-Cité, a multimedia company...

, Gilbert Paquette

Gilbert Paquette

Gilbert Paquette is a researcher at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le téléapprentissage , which he founded in 1992, and a Quebec politician...

and Jean-Claude St-André

Jean-Claude St-André

Jean-Claude St-André is a Quebec provincial politician and the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec representing L'Assomption for the Parti Québécois....

, soon grew closer to Marois, not only because of her experience and her safer known past, but also because of perceived stronger progressive values. Shortly before the vote, Paquette withdrew, announcing his support for Marois. The SPQ-Libre asked the Dubuc supporters to vote Marois as second choice, as did Ouimet. Ghislain Lebel

Ghislain Lebel

Ghislain Lebel is a Quebec politician and notary.-Background:Ghislain Lebel has been an activist in the Quebec independence movement since his teenage years, having been part of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale, the Mouvement souveraineté-association and the Parti Québécois since...

asked his supporters to vote for Boisclair on the second ballot.

Ideas

A number of ideas were put forward by the candidates, especially during the official candidates' debates held across Quebec. Amongst others, André Boisclair expounded a debt

Debt

A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

reduction plan and spoke of free higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

provided by the state. Richard Legendre talked much of more autonomy for Quebec regions. Pauline Marois spoke of water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

nationalization

Nationalization

Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...

in an eventual Eau-Québec, like what was created with Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....

for electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

during the Quiet Revolution

Quiet Revolution

The Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions...

. Speaking much about the struggle against poverty

Social justice

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...

, Dubuc, Ouimet and Paquette showed themselves favourable to a guaranteed minimum income

Guaranteed minimum income

Guaranteed minimum income is a system of social welfare provision that guarantees that all citizens or families have an income sufficient to live on, provided they meet certain conditions. Eligibility is typically determined by citizenship, a means test and either availability for the labour...

system, something that Marois agreed to.

Many candidates declared their intention to put an accent on public transportation and wind power

Wind power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

. Lebel was noted for the humour he brought to the debates. However, he was a black sheep

Black sheep

In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...

of this progressive

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

panel with more conservative ideas. St-André defended the ideas of the pur et dur
Pur et dur
Pur et dur is a term used in Quebec politics to refer to hardliners of the Parti Québécois and the Quebec independence movement. It is most commonly used in the media, where it was popularized. It is also used to criticize some members of the Parti Québécois...

party stream, notably that of making gestures of rupture with the rest of Canada, sovereign state actions before sovereignty

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...

and contrary to the Canadian constitution. The strongest consensus between all candidates was that most of these projects were possible through and only through national independence

Independence

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

Vote

The voting was conducted by phone from November 13 to November 15, 2005 through a system used for popular votes for the Star Académie

Star Académie

Star Académie is a Canadian reality TV series started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of competing young women and men for the title of the best singer...

television show. The winner of the party leadership election

Leadership convention

In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...

will be declared on November 15, 2005. The date was chosen in honour of the anniversary of the first electoral victory of the Parti Québécois (November 15, 1976). The election worked under a system of preferential voting

Preferential voting

in two rounds.

Public debates

The seven public debates were orchestrated by election president Lyne Marcoux. They were broadcast live via the Parti Québécois official website, pq.org, and the LCN

Le Canal Nouvelles

Le Canal Nouvelles is a Canadian French language Category C 24 hour headline news specialty channel owned by Groupe TVA, a division of Quebecor Media...

television news channel. In order to allow substantial and orderly exchanges with such a number of people, every occasion was divided into a series of three discussions, amongst three candidates each. Candidate groupings were set at random. Additionally, for every debate, opening and closing speeches were addressed, and selected questions from the audience and the internet were debated. This selection was executed by an impartial panel led by Monique Richard

Monique Richard

Monique Richard is a Quebec politician. She is a member of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the district of Marguerite-D'Youville. She was elected in the 2008 provincial election. She is a member of the Parti Québécois and served as president of that party from 2005 to 2008.She is a...

, the party president.

Solidarity and public finances

The debate on solidarity and public finances took place on September 21, 2005 in Sherbrooke. On solidarity, the project of a guaranteed minimum income

Guaranteed minimum income

gathered Dubuc, Marois, Paquette and Ouimet. Boisclair said himself open to a debate on free higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

covered by the state and declared education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

his priority. He presented a public debt

Government debt

Government debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...

reduction plan. A fierce confrontation occurred between St-André and Boisclair when the former repeatedly challenged the latter to engage himself in fighting corporate tax evasion

Tax evasion

Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...

, which he finally did. Boisclair also defended the Zero Deficit policy of the previous Parti Québécois government of Lucien Bouchard

Lucien Bouchard

Lucien Bouchard, is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001...

, of which Boisclair was part.

Sustainable development and economy

The debate on sustainable development

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

and economy

Economy

An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

took place on September 28, 2005 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. Most candidates communicated their intent on putting an accent on public transportation and wind power

Wind power

. Marois again spoke of water nationalization in an eventual Eau-Québec. Richard Legendre sparked a feud with Boisclair about the latter's alleged slowness to trigger a referendum (Boisclair speaks of a referendum launched as soon as possible during the next mandate, as stipulates the new party platform, adopted at the Party National Council of 2005, while Legendre advocates one within the first year in power). Legendre also criticized the way Boisclair adopted his moratorium on pigsties while being Minister of the Environment.

Culture

The debate on culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

took place on October 12, 2005 in Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...

. Ouimet underlined that making sure artists never fall into the poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

gap is the way to have a healthy culture in Quebec. A discussion on the Charter of the French Language

Charter of the French Language

The Charter of the French Language , also known as Bill 101 and Loi 101, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the only official language of Quebec, and framing fundamental language rights for everyone in the province...

took place.

Sovereignty and leadership

The debate on sovereignty and leadership took place on October 19, 2005 in Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

. Since the method and haste to attain independence is often a burning subject in the party, the media projected it as the most tumultuous of the seven. According to them, it ended up being the calmest.

Education

The debate on education took place on November 2, 2005 in Saguenay

Saguenay, Quebec

Saguenay is a city in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City....

Official

Candidates listed have collected at least 1000 signatures from 40 different ridings, with a minimum of 10 signatures per riding. By order of official candidacy.

Richard Legendre
Richard Legendre
Richard Legendre is a former professional tennis player and a Quebec politician.- Tennis :Legendre once represented Canada at the Davis Cup and had a career-high tennis ranking of World No. 232 in singles...

- Former professional tennis player and former Minister of Sports. He is considered close to François Legault
François Legault
François Legault is a politician in Quebec, Canada, and former member of the National Assembly of Quebec. A member of the Parti Québécois , he was first elected in the 1998 Quebec election in the riding of Rousseau in the Lanaudière region.-Life and career:Legault was born in...

. Puts forward plans of more autonomy for Quebec regions.
Louis Bernard
Louis Bernard
Louis Bernard, OQ is a Québécois politician and former public servant.- Biography :Louis Bernard is a former Chief of Staff to Parti Québécois Premier René Lévesque and former Secretary general of the Government to Parti Québécois Premiers Réne Lévesque and Jacques Parizeau...

- Former Chief of Staff to Parti Québécois Premier
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....

René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...

and former Secretary general of the Government to Parti Québécois Premiers René Lévesque and Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau, is an economist and noted Quebec sovereignist who was the 26th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996.-Early life and career:...

.
André Boisclair
André Boisclair
André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....

- Former Minster of the Environment and House Leader. Polls show him to be the frontrunner. Notably centers his plans on education (with plans of free, state-provided higher education) and debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

reduction.
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...

- Former Minister of Finance, former Minister of Education and former Deputy Premier of Quebec.
Ghislain Lebel
Ghislain Lebel
Ghislain Lebel is a Quebec politician and notary.-Background:Ghislain Lebel has been an activist in the Quebec independence movement since his teenage years, having been part of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale, the Mouvement souveraineté-association and the Parti Québécois since...

- Former Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament who quit his seat in 2002. He is more conservative than the other candidates and the party center and advocates a more traditional form of nationalism. Wishes that the party would do more to appeal to voters of the right-wing Action démocratique du Québec
Action démocratique du Québec
The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ is a centre-right political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defines itself as autonomist, and has support from both soft nationalists and federalists....

.
Jean-Claude St-André
Jean-Claude St-André
Jean-Claude St-André is a Quebec provincial politician and the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec representing L'Assomption for the Parti Québécois....

- Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly, considered a pur et dur close to Robert Laplante's strategy of gestures of rupture with Canada between an eventual PQ victory and the attainment of independence. Is a harsh critic of corporate tax evasion.
Pierre Dubuc
Pierre Dubuc
Pierre Dubuc is the director and editor of L'aut'journal, a progressive monthly paper. He is one of the founders of SPQ Libre, a left-wing political club within the Parti Québécois.- Biography :...

- Official candidate of the SPQ Libre left-wing and pro-union political club and editor of the left-wing paper L'aut'journal
L'aut'journal
L’aut’journal is a French language newspaper distributed in Quebec freely and through subscription. It was founded in 1984 by political scientist and journalist Pierre Dubuc, and as of 2004 has a circulation of 35,000 copies....

.
Gilbert Paquette
Gilbert Paquette
Gilbert Paquette is a researcher at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le téléapprentissage , which he founded in 1992, and a Quebec politician...

- Progressive former minister under René Lévesque.
Jean Ouimet
Jean Ouimet
Jean Ouimet is a Québécois politician and the president of Naviga-Cité, a multimedia company...

- Former head of the Green Party of Quebec and former adviser to Parti Québécois leader Jacques Parizeau. Has plans for sustainable development, wealth distribution (national and international), participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...

, the elaboration of a social contract
Social contract
The social contract is an intellectual device intended to explain the appropriate relationship between individuals and their governments. Social contract arguments assert that individuals unite into political societies by a process of mutual consent, agreeing to abide by common rules and accept...

and a party direction through collegiality
Collegiality
Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues.Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and respecting each other's abilities to work toward that purpose...

.

Withdrawals

Hugues Cormier - Physician and candidate in the riding of Crémazie in the 2003 election
Quebec general election, 2003
The Quebec general election of 2003 was held on April 14, 2003, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec . The Parti libéral du Québec , led by Jean Charest, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Bernard Landry.-Unfolding:...

. Controversy brought him to pull out three days after officially entering the race.
Gilles Hébert
Gilles Hebert
Gilles Hébert is a Canadian artist and director of numerous art institutions.-Early life and education:Born in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Hebert received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba.-Career:...

- Former public service union representative.
Gilles Paquette - Former Parti Québécois candidate. Did not gather enough signatures in time for the deadline. Had a project of a sovereign Quebec state combining republicanism and monarchy, opposite to most of the final official candidates plans for a Quebec republic.

Declined

Maxime Barakat - Militant of the Parti Québécois. Subsequently supported Pauline Marois.
Camil Bouchard
Camil Bouchard
Camil Bouchard is a Quebec politician, teacher and psychology researcher. He was a Member of National Assembly of Quebec from 2003 to 2010, representing the riding of Vachon in Longueuil. He is a member of the Parti Québécois.He went to Université Laval and obtained a bachelor's and master's...

- Member of the National Assembly. Threw his support behind Louis Bernard.
Jean-Pierre Charbonneau
Jean-Pierre Charbonneau
Jean-Pierre Charbonneau is a journalist and a former Quebec politician. He was the Quebec MNA member under the Parti Québécois for the provincial ridings of Borduas and Verchères in the Montérégie region....

- Former cabinet minister and former President of the National Assembly
President of the National Assembly of Quebec
The President of the National Assembly of Quebec is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, which is modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system...

.
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...

- Bloc Québécois leader. He declined, notably to honor his promise of contesting the next federal election at the BQ helm.
Joseph Facal
Joseph Facal
Joseph Facal is a politician, academic, and journalist in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2003 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry.-Early life and career:Facal was born...

- Former cabinet minister considered more centrist than other PQ members. He cited the professional and family commitments that led him to quit the cabinet in 2003. He has since sided with candidate Pauline Marois.
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry, is a Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician, who served as the 28th Premier of Quebec , leader of the Opposition and leader of the Parti Québécois .-Personal:...

- Former leader. A number of people requested that he become a candidate at the race for his own succession. After a summer reflection, the former Premier declined.
Laurent M. Leclerc - Singer and actor.
François Legault
François Legault
François Legault is a politician in Quebec, Canada, and former member of the National Assembly of Quebec. A member of the Parti Québécois , he was first elected in the 1998 Quebec election in the riding of Rousseau in the Lanaudière region.-Life and career:Legault was born in...

- Former cabinet minister and past well-known aspirant to the leadership. He cited family commitments.
Daniel Turp
Daniel Turp
Daniel Turp is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He has served as a Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament and as a Parti Québécois member of the Quebec National Assembly .- Biography :...

- PQ Member of the National Assembly and past Member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois. He declared his support for André Boisclair.

Timeline

June 4, 2005 - Party leader Bernard Landry states his intention to resign as leader of the PQ after getting 76.2% in a vote of confidence at the Party National Council.
June 5, 2005 - Former Parti Québécois minister Pauline Marois is first to announce her intention to enter the leadership race. The statement is criticized by some militants because of its haste, coming one day after the resignation speech of Bernard Landry.
June 13, 2005 - Gilles Duceppe announces that he will not enter the race and will remain at the helm of the Bloc Québécois for the next federal election.
June 13, 2005 - The party presents the official rules of the upcoming race.
June 15, 2005 - An open letter to Bernard Landry is published in newspapers, including Le Devoir. It implores the former leader to become candidate in the race for his own succession for the sake of the cause of sovereignty. It is signed by over forty people (mostly from minorities), like Bloc Québécois MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

Maka Kotto
Maka Kotto
Maka Kotto , is a provincial level politician from Quebec, Canada and a former member of the Canadian House of Commons. He is the husband of Longueuil mayor Caroline St-Hilaire. He is also a published author and has appeared in film...

, Bloc Québécois past candidate and president of the PQ Montréal-Ville-Marie organisation Maria Mourani
Maria Mourani
Maria Mourani , of Lebanese origin, is the Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament in the federal riding of Ahuntsic in Canada. She was elected in the 2006 Canadian federal election and reelected in 2008 and 2011...

and past Bloc Québécois MP Osvaldo Nunez
Osvaldo Nunez
Osvaldo Nunez was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1997. His career has been in law, arbitration and labour....

, notably. This follows the launch of "retourbernardlandry.org", an online petition sharing the same goal.
July 11, 2005 - The candidacy of Richard Legendre is officially accepted by the party.
July 30, 2005 - The candidacy of Louis Bernard is officially accepted by the party.
August 5, 2005 - The candidacy of André Boisclair is officially accepted by the party.
August 16, 2005 - Former leader Bernard Landry, after reflexion, ends the uncertainty around a possible candidacy of his to succeed himself. He officially renounces to become candidate and professes in faith in the capacity of the party to find a new leader and renew itself.
August 18, 2005 - The candidacy of Pauline Marois is officially accepted by the party.
August 19, 2005 - The candidacy of Ghislain Lebel is officially accepted by the party.
August 25, 2005 - The candidacy of Jean-Claude St-André is officially accepted by the party.
September 1, 2005 - Bloc Québécois MP and former Parti Québécois minister Serge Ménard
Serge Ménard
Lt. Serge Ménard is a Quebec politician from Canada. He was a Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly of Quebec) from 1993 to 2003 in the riding of Laval-des-Rapides, and in that time served under a number of Cabinet portfolios: Minister of Public Safety , Minister of State for the Greater...

announces his support for candidate Louis Bernard.
September 2, 2005 - Days after official candidacy, psychiatrist Hugues Cormier resigns after being suspended by his employer, the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Hospital for asking patients to sign his candidacy slip.
September 6, 2005 - Bloc Québécois MP Maka Kotto announces his support for Pauline Marois. He had previously favoured a return of Bernard Landry, until the latter's definite refusal of August 16.
September 7, 2005 - Louise Harel
Louise Harel
Louise Harel is a Québec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Quebec. She represented the riding of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in the Montreal region...

, the Parti Québécois interim leader, speaks at a Bloc Québécois gathering and states that the PQ leadership candidates should debate, not battle.
September 9, 2005 - Former Parti Québécois vice president Marie Malavoy
Marie Malavoy
Marie Malavoy is a Quebec politician and teacher. She is the current Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Taillon in the Montérégie region and represents the Parti Québécois....

announces her support for Pauline Marois. http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/nouvelles/200509/09/003-marois-mlavoy-rb.shtml
September 9, 2005 - The candidacy of SPQ Libre representative Pierre Dubuc is officially accepted by the party.
September 10, 2005 - Le Devoir columnist Michel David refers in his column to a relatively unnoticed past article of Le Droit
Le Droit
Le Droit is a Canadian daily newspaper, published in Ottawa, Canada. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was has been published by Gesca since 2000.-History:...

alluding to rumors of André Boisclair having lived a wild younger life, taken cocaine and having been strongly reprimanded by then Parti Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard for it.
September 12, 2005 - The candidacy of Gilbert Paquette is officially accepted by the party.
September 13, 2005 - After having been brought to court because of alleged drunk driving, candidate Gilbert Paquette announces to a press conference that he intends to remain in the race.
September 15, 2005 - Jean Ouimet becomes the ninth and last official candidate.
September 15, 2005 - The deadline for entering the race, with the required 1,000 signatures, is reached, launching officially the race for the party leadership.
September 16, 2005 - The party presents the nine official candidates.
September 16, 2005 - At the party headquarters, André Boisclair is asked about the rumors surrounding his past. Boisclair denies a reprimand meeting with leader Lucien Bouchard, but admits that he had made "mistakes" in his youth.
September 16, 2005 - At a brunch commemorating the 2004 Parti Québécois victory of Elsie Lefebvre
Elsie Lefebvre
Elsie Lefebvre is a Quebec politician. She was the Member of the National Assembly for the Laurier-Dorion riding from 2004 to 2007, and currently serves on Montreal City Council. She is trilingual, speaking French, Spanish and English.-Background:Lefebvre has been involved in politics, with the...

in the Parti Libéral du Québec
Parti libéral du Québec
The Quebec Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955....

stronghold of Laurier-Dorion, former leader Bernard Landry states his hopes that the accusation excesses will cease, seemingly referring to the scrutiny around Boisclair's past personal life. He also enjoins militants in his speech, his first public speech since his resignation, to rally around the future elected leader, whoever he or she may be.
September 18, 2005 - André Boisclair is a guest of the Tout le monde en parle
Tout le monde en parle (Quebec)
Tout le monde en parle is a Quebec talk show hosted and co-produced by Guy A. Lepage, broadcast on Radio-Canada since 2004. It has been adapted from the French show of the same name, created and hosted by Thierry Ardisson.- Concept :...

television show.
September 19, 2005 - At a Lévis
Lévis, Quebec
Lévis is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre Laporte Bridge, connect western Lévis with Quebec City. The Société de transport de...

press conference, when asked directly if he had ever taken cocaine, André Boiclair responds "What I want to tell you is I made mistakes, things I regret. Yes, I consumed. I can't be clearer than that."
September 19, 2005 - The first official public debate is held at Sherbrooke on the subject of "solidarity & public finances".
September 20, 2005 - Richard Legendre receives the support of Elsie Lefebvre
Elsie Lefebvre
Elsie Lefebvre is a Quebec politician. She was the Member of the National Assembly for the Laurier-Dorion riding from 2004 to 2007, and currently serves on Montreal City Council. She is trilingual, speaking French, Spanish and English.-Background:Lefebvre has been involved in politics, with the...

and François Gendron
François Gendron
François Gendron is a politician and teacher in Quebec, Canada. He is the current Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Abitibi-Ouest. He represents the Parti Québécois since 1976....

, respectively the youngest and oldest Members of the National Assembly.
September 28, 2005 - The second official public debate is held at Montreal on the subject of "sustainable development & economy".
September 30, 2005 - Ghislain Lebel declares in an interview with Le Devoir that André Boisclair's victory seems unavoidable.
October 4, 2005 - Jean Ouimet and Gilbert Paquette hold a common press conference during which they deplore the lack of media attention for the candidates and the importance put by them on population-wide polls that, they say, give wrong impressions, since the actual leadership vote is held only amongst party members. The two also speak of projects like the elaboration of a social contract, wealth redistribution in Quebec and the world and a provisional constitution before independence.
October 6, 2005 - The Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste organizes a public debate on "language" at its home office of Montreal, the Maison Ludger-Duvernay. Seven out of nine candidates attend.
October 10, 2005 - Corinne Côté-Lévesque, the widow of Parti Québécois founder René Lévesque, announces her support for Louis Bernard. She would succumb to cancer only nine days later.
October 12, 2005 - Gilbert Paquette speaks, in a Le Devoir interview, of the possibility of a common candidacy for the four candidates most to the left, Pierre Dubuc, Jean Ouimet, Jean-Claude St-André and himself, saying that four candidates is too much for the most progressive.
October 12, 2005 - The third official public debate is held at Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...

on the subject of "culture".
October 14, 2005 - The recruiting period is over, midnight of October 14 being the deadline for new members to become party members and have voting rights for the election. The party organization reports a 60% membership rise, from 71,000 to 112,000.
October 14, 2005 - Former Parti Québécois leader and former Premier of Quebec Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry, is a Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician, who served as the 28th Premier of Quebec , leader of the Opposition and leader of the Parti Québécois .-Personal:...

states that, if he had heard of André Boisclair taking cocaine while under his government, he would have considered the issue serious and launched an inquiry to decide what to do with the situation.
October 19, 2005 - A number of public figures publish the manifesto For a clear-eyed vision of Quebec (better known in French as Pour un Québec lucide). It proposes a number of measures like making electricity fees higher to reduce the debt and unfreezing university fees to invest in education. Reactions are mixed. Amongst the Parti Québécois leadership hopeful, André Boisclair agrees on the necessity of debt reduction but not on the university fees issue. Pauline Marois shows herself to be lukewarm. Gilbert Paquette criticizes it harshly at the Quebec City debate.
October 19, 2005 - The fourth official public debate is held at Quebec City on the subject of "sovereignty and leadership".
October 21, 2005 - In an interview with La Presse, Jean Ouimet speaks of a probable rally of the most progressive candidates, Pierre Dubuc, Gilbert Paquette, Jean-Claude St-André and himself, behind Pauline Marois to defeat André Boisclair, seen as not enough to the political left. Ouimet states that, out of the frontrunners (usually identified as Louis Bernard, André Boisclair, Richard Legendre and Pauline Marois), Marois embodies to him their values the best.
October 21, 2005 - At the recording of Larocque-Auger, a political show of the TVA
TVA (TV network)
TVA is a privately owned French language television network in Canada. The network is currently owned by Groupe TVA Inc. , a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media...

network, Lucien Bouchard reveals that he did not know that André Boisclair had taken cocaine while being a minister under his government.
October 25, 2005 - In Campaign Rule 1: Be No More Virtuous Than the Voters, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

examines the case of André Boisclair, the Boiclair Affair and the apparent tolerance of the Quebec people, notably with the flaws of their political figures.
October 25, 2005 - On SRC radio, party heavyweight Louise Beaudoin
Louise Beaudoin
Louise Beaudoin is a Canadian politician, who represents the electoral district of Rosemont in the National Assembly of Quebec, initially as a member of the Parti Québécois , and since June 6, 2011, as an independent...

announces her support for Pauline Marois, citing as a reason for her decision Marois' emphasis on an eventual international offensive, a diplomatic plan to prepare the recognition of an independent Quebec
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...

. Beaudoin is a former Parti Québécois Minister of International Relations.
October 26, 2005 - The fifth official public debate is held at Rimouski on the subject of "territory".
November 2, 2005 - The sixth official public debate is held at Saguenay on the subject of "education".
November 2, 2005 - Ghislain Lebel declares that André Boisclair will be his second choice on the ballot.
November 5, 2005 - Lisette Lapointe
Lisette Lapointe
Lisette Lapointe is a Quebec politician, journalist and teacher, currently sitting as an independent. She is the wife of Jacques Parizeau, former Premier of Quebec, Canada...

, the spouse of former party leader and premier Jacques Parizeau, declares her support for André Boisclair.
November 8, 2005 - Pierre Dubuc and the SPQ Libre ask their supporters to vote for Pauline Marois as second choice.
November 9, 2005 - The seventh official public debate is held at Gatineau on the subject of "health".
November 10, 2005 - Gilbert Paquette withdraws his nomination and asks his supporters to vote for Pauline Marois because of her values that he judges more to the left than those of Boisclair.
November 12, 2005 - Both André Boisclair and Pauline Marois state their intention to support the final victor of the race.
November 13, 2005 - Voting by telephone begins at 8 a.m..
November 15, 2005 - Voting ends at 5 p.m..
November 15, 2005 - At first round, André Boisclair is declared victor of the election and the new leader of the Parti Québécois with 53.7% of party member votes. At the Quebec City gathering, he delivers a speech calling for party unity and a future referendum on sovereignty.

Slogans

Louis Bernard
Louis Bernard
Louis Bernard, OQ is a Québécois politician and former public servant.- Biography :Louis Bernard is a former Chief of Staff to Parti Québécois Premier René Lévesque and former Secretary general of the Government to Parti Québécois Premiers Réne Lévesque and Jacques Parizeau...

- Un homme solide, un Québec solidaire - A solid man, a Quebec of solidarity
André Boisclair
André Boisclair
André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....

- Ensemble - Together
Pierre Dubuc
Pierre Dubuc
Pierre Dubuc is the director and editor of L'aut'journal, a progressive monthly paper. He is one of the founders of SPQ Libre, a left-wing political club within the Parti Québécois.- Biography :...

- Indépendant, tout est possible - Independent, everything is possible
Ghislain Lebel
Ghislain Lebel
Ghislain Lebel is a Quebec politician and notary.-Background:Ghislain Lebel has been an activist in the Quebec independence movement since his teenage years, having been part of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale, the Mouvement souveraineté-association and the Parti Québécois since...

- Debout avec vous - Standing with you
Richard Legendre
Richard Legendre
Richard Legendre is a former professional tennis player and a Quebec politician.- Tennis :Legendre once represented Canada at the Davis Cup and had a career-high tennis ranking of World No. 232 in singles...

- En équipe pour le pays! - Teamed-up for the country!
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...

- Pour réussir notre indépendance - To succeed with our independence
Jean Ouimet
Jean Ouimet
Jean Ouimet is a Québécois politician and the president of Naviga-Cité, a multimedia company...

- Souverains... avec un véritable contrat social - Sovereign... with a true social contract
Gilbert Paquette
Gilbert Paquette
Gilbert Paquette is a researcher at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le téléapprentissage , which he founded in 1992, and a Quebec politician...

- Venez, faisons ensemble du Québec un pays - Come, let us together make of Quebec a country
Jean-Claude St-André
Jean-Claude St-André
Jean-Claude St-André is a Quebec provincial politician and the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec representing L'Assomption for the Parti Québécois....

- L'autre façon de faire! - The other way of doing things!

Results

Former Minister André Boisclair was elected leader of the Parti Québécois at the first round ballot. The turnout was around 76% of party members.

	First round
Candidate	Votes	Perc.
André Boisclair André Boisclair André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....	56 503	53.7%
Pauline Marois Pauline Marois Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...	32 166	30.6%
Richard Legendre Richard Legendre Richard Legendre is a former professional tennis player and a Quebec politician.- Tennis :Legendre once represented Canada at the Davis Cup and had a career-high tennis ranking of World No. 232 in singles...	7 877	7.5%
Louis Bernard Louis Bernard Louis Bernard, OQ is a Québécois politician and former public servant.- Biography :Louis Bernard is a former Chief of Staff to Parti Québécois Premier René Lévesque and former Secretary general of the Government to Parti Québécois Premiers Réne Lévesque and Jacques Parizeau...	5 775	5.5%
Pierre Dubuc Pierre Dubuc Pierre Dubuc is the director and editor of L'aut'journal, a progressive monthly paper. He is one of the founders of SPQ Libre, a left-wing political club within the Parti Québécois.- Biography :...	1 282	1.2%
Jean-Claude St-André Jean-Claude St-André Jean-Claude St-André is a Quebec provincial politician and the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec representing L'Assomption for the Parti Québécois....	951	0.9%
Ghislain Lebel Ghislain Lebel Ghislain Lebel is a Quebec politician and notary.-Background:Ghislain Lebel has been an activist in the Quebec independence movement since his teenage years, having been part of the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale, the Mouvement souveraineté-association and the Parti Québécois since...	458	0.4%
Jean Ouimet Jean Ouimet Jean Ouimet is a Québécois politician and the president of Naviga-Cité, a multimedia company...	247	0.2%
Gilbert Paquette Gilbert Paquette Gilbert Paquette is a researcher at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le téléapprentissage , which he founded in 1992, and a Quebec politician...	n/a *	n/a *
Totals	105 259

*: Gilbert Paquette

Gilbert Paquette

Gilbert Paquette is a researcher at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le téléapprentissage , which he founded in 1992, and a Quebec politician...

withdrew and asked his supporters to vote for Pauline Marois

Pauline Marois

on November 10, 2005.

The results are shown as announced by election officials on PQ website.

Background

Campaign

Ideas

Vote

Public debates

Solidarity and public finances

Sustainable development and economy

Culture

Sovereignty and leadership

Education

Official

Withdrawals

Declined

Timeline

Slogans

Results

See also

Election