Parti acadien
Encyclopedia
The Parti Acadien was a political party
in New Brunswick
, Canada
, in the 1970s and 1980s. The party was founded in 1972 by Acadian
s who were upset over poorer living conditions in predominantly francophone
areas of the province versus those areas dominated by anglophones
. The economy of New Brunswick was concentrated in the cities of Fredericton
, Saint John
and Moncton, while the eastern and northern parts of New Brunswick, predominantly Francophone, was relatively poorer as a result of an economy based primarily on entrenched and seasonal commercial fishing
and lumber
industries.
Despite efforts by Louis Robichaud
, an Acadian who served as the province's premier
between the 1960
and 1970 elections
, to modernize through investment in education and business promotion by instituting what was called an equal opportunity
program, some Acadians felt they would be better served by their own administration. As a result, the Parti Acadien advocated the formation of a separate Acadian province within Canada, a proposition that would require an amendment to the Canadian Constitution following a provincial referendum.
The Parti Acadien tried to distance itself from its more radical elements, even hesitating to use the word "nationalist". Their platform had several socialist policies, though officially their goal was to work for reforms using the already-existing framework of New Brunswick law. They also explained that they were not anti-anglophone
per se, but felt that the capitalist
system in place in the province favoured the predominantly English south. Many of the radicals joined a new cultural organization, the Société Acadienne du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB).
Euclide Chiasson was the party's first president and leader. The party nominated 13 candidates in the province's 58 ridings in the 1974 provincial election
, 23 candidates in the 1978 provincial election
, and 10 candidates in the 1982 provincial election
, which was the party's last.
The party considered an alliance or merger with the New Brunswick New Democratic Party
(NDP), encouraging voters in ridings with no Parti Acadien candidate to vote for the NDP instead. No formal agreement was ever reached.
In 1975, Jean-Pierre Lanteigne was elected leader. He sought to abandon demands for a new Acadian province, instead maintaining a social democratic agenda for New Brunswick as a whole. This caused a rift in the party, with some members hoping that the success of the separatist Parti Québécois
in the Province of Quebec
would spark hopes for Acadian nationalism as well. Lanteigne insisted, however, that his party was not a New Brunswick branch of the Parti Québécois.
with a platform of independence. However, Richard Hatfield
and the governing Progressive Conservatives
also promoted a platform that promised to increase the role of the Acadian people and culture within the province.
The party's platform was seen as vague during the election, so it subsequently clarified its positions. The party stood for in decentralization of provincial powers and French-language administrative units across the province. A convention of Parti Acadien supporters, SANB members and other Acadians in 1979 produced a split on the issue of whether to vote to secede from New Brunswick or work for reform from within. The SANB (still a cultural association at the core) risked having its funding from the Government of Canada
cut off before it explained that the convention produced no consensus and was not binding.
The 1978 election was the Parti Acadien's most successful. Their candidates averaged 12% of the vote, and Restigouche West
candidate Armand Plourde finished second, only 170 votes short of first place. This was the party's only second-place finish, and the closest it came to winning a seat. In the election the Liberal Party
led by Acadian Joseph Daigle
garnered 44.36% of the popular vote, just .03% less than the winning Progressive Conservatives and captured twenty-eight seats to the Conservative Party's thirty. The votes that went to the Parti Acadien traditionally had gone to the Liberals and it was widely believed that the Parti acadien cost the Liberals the election.
In 1980, the majority of the SANB membership votes in favour of promoting secession. As a result, it lost funding from both the federal and provincial governments, who feared that radicals had taken over the group (and by extension, the Parti Acadien). The more centrist factions of the party jumped ship, mostly to the Conservatives.
By the 1982 election
, the Conservatives' policies on francophone rights resonated with Acadian voters, and Hatfield's party won an unprecedented number of Acadian seats. Hatfield's overtures to the Acadians did not sit well with many anglophone New Brunswickers, who later founded the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party
whose platform called for English as the only official language in New Brunswick. The Parti Acadien lost 75% of its support from 1978, and officially disbanded in 1986.
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 New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, 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...
, in the 1970s and 1980s. The party was founded in 1972 by Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
s who were upset over poorer living conditions in predominantly francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
areas of the province versus those areas dominated by anglophones
English Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
. The economy of New Brunswick was concentrated in the cities of Fredericton
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
, Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
and Moncton, while the eastern and northern parts of New Brunswick, predominantly Francophone, was relatively poorer as a result of an economy based primarily on entrenched and seasonal commercial fishing
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...
and lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
industries.
Despite efforts by Louis Robichaud
Louis Robichaud
Louis Joseph Robichaud, PC, CC, QC , popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis" , was a Canadian lawyer and politician...
, an Acadian who served as the province's premier
Premier (Canada)
In Canada, a premier is the head of government of a province or territory. There are currently ten provincial premiers and three territorial premiers in Canada....
between the 1960
New Brunswick general election, 1960
The 24th New Brunswick general election was held on June 27, 1960, to elect 52 members to the 44th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1960 Name Seats...
and 1970 elections
New Brunswick general election, 1970
The 27th New Brunswick general election was held on November 18, 1974, to elect 58 members to the 47th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada...
, to modernize through investment in education and business promotion by instituting what was called an equal opportunity
Equal opportunity
Equal opportunity, or equality of opportunity, is a controversial political concept; and an important informal decision-making standard without a precise definition involving fair choices within the public sphere...
program, some Acadians felt they would be better served by their own administration. As a result, the Parti Acadien advocated the formation of a separate Acadian province within Canada, a proposition that would require an amendment to the Canadian Constitution following a provincial referendum.
The Parti Acadien tried to distance itself from its more radical elements, even hesitating to use the word "nationalist". Their platform had several socialist policies, though officially their goal was to work for reforms using the already-existing framework of New Brunswick law. They also explained that they were not anti-anglophone
English Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
per se, but felt that the capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
system in place in the province favoured the predominantly English south. Many of the radicals joined a new cultural organization, the Société Acadienne du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB).
Euclide Chiasson was the party's first president and leader. The party nominated 13 candidates in the province's 58 ridings in the 1974 provincial election
New Brunswick general election, 1974
The 28th New Brunswick general election was held on November 18, 1974, to elect 58 members to the 48th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada...
, 23 candidates in the 1978 provincial election
New Brunswick general election, 1978
The 29th New Brunswick general election was held on October 23, 1978, to elect 58 members to the 49th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party narrowly won its third term.In the lead up to...
, and 10 candidates in the 1982 provincial election
New Brunswick general election, 1982
The 30th New Brunswick general election was held on October 12, 1982, to elect 58 members to the 50th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It saw Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party win its largest majority ever to that time...
, which was the party's last.
The party considered an alliance or merger with the New Brunswick New Democratic Party
New Brunswick New Democratic Party
The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party .-Origins and early history:...
(NDP), encouraging voters in ridings with no Parti Acadien candidate to vote for the NDP instead. No formal agreement was ever reached.
In 1975, Jean-Pierre Lanteigne was elected leader. He sought to abandon demands for a new Acadian province, instead maintaining a social democratic agenda for New Brunswick as a whole. This caused a rift in the party, with some members hoping that the success of the separatist 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...
in the Province of 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....
would spark hopes for Acadian nationalism as well. Lanteigne insisted, however, that his party was not a New Brunswick branch of the Parti Québécois.
1978 provincial election
The Parti Acadien decided once again to support the creation of a separate province, in tandem with most (but not all) SANB members. The party went into the 1978 electionNew Brunswick general election, 1978
The 29th New Brunswick general election was held on October 23, 1978, to elect 58 members to the 49th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party narrowly won its third term.In the lead up to...
with a platform of independence. However, Richard Hatfield
Richard Hatfield
Richard Bennett Hatfield, PC, ONB was a New Brunswick politician and long time Premier of the province .- Early life :...
and the governing Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...
also promoted a platform that promised to increase the role of the Acadian people and culture within the province.
The party's platform was seen as vague during the election, so it subsequently clarified its positions. The party stood for in decentralization of provincial powers and French-language administrative units across the province. A convention of Parti Acadien supporters, SANB members and other Acadians in 1979 produced a split on the issue of whether to vote to secede from New Brunswick or work for reform from within. The SANB (still a cultural association at the core) risked having its funding from the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
cut off before it explained that the convention produced no consensus and was not binding.
The 1978 election was the Parti Acadien's most successful. Their candidates averaged 12% of the vote, and Restigouche West
Restigouche West
Restigouche West was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. This riding was created in the 1973 redistribution when New Brunswick moved to single member districts from Bloc voting. It was merged with Madawaska-la-Vallée to form the new district of...
candidate Armand Plourde finished second, only 170 votes short of first place. This was the party's only second-place finish, and the closest it came to winning a seat. In the election the Liberal Party
New Brunswick Liberal Association
The New Brunswick Liberal Association , more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major political parties in the Canadian province of New Brunswick...
led by Acadian Joseph Daigle
Joseph Z. Daigle
Joseph Zenon Daigle, BA, BCL, QC born June 23, 1934 in Saint-Charles, New Brunswick, is a Canadian lawyer and a former politician and Chief Justice of New Brunswick....
garnered 44.36% of the popular vote, just .03% less than the winning Progressive Conservatives and captured twenty-eight seats to the Conservative Party's thirty. The votes that went to the Parti Acadien traditionally had gone to the Liberals and it was widely believed that the Parti acadien cost the Liberals the election.
In 1980, the majority of the SANB membership votes in favour of promoting secession. As a result, it lost funding from both the federal and provincial governments, who feared that radicals had taken over the group (and by extension, the Parti Acadien). The more centrist factions of the party jumped ship, mostly to the Conservatives.
By the 1982 election
New Brunswick general election, 1982
The 30th New Brunswick general election was held on October 12, 1982, to elect 58 members to the 50th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It saw Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party win its largest majority ever to that time...
, the Conservatives' policies on francophone rights resonated with Acadian voters, and Hatfield's party won an unprecedented number of Acadian seats. Hatfield's overtures to the Acadians did not sit well with many anglophone New Brunswickers, who later founded the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party
New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party
The New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party was a political party in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada.It was the only branch of the Confederation of Regions Party to win any seats...
whose platform called for English as the only official language in New Brunswick. The Parti Acadien lost 75% of its support from 1978, and officially disbanded in 1986.
See also
- List of New Brunswick political parties
- Secessionist movements of CanadaSecessionist movements of CanadaThroughout the history of Canada, there have been movements seeking secession from Canada.-Newfoundland:There is a secessionist movement in Newfoundland based on its unique culture and its history, prior to 1949, of being a self-governing Dominion...
Sources
- The Rise and Fall of the Parti Acadien by Monique Gauvin and Lizette Jalbert. Canadian Parliamentary Review, vol. 10 no. 3, 1987.