Civic Party of Montreal
Parti civique de Montréal
Former municipal party
LeaderJean Drapeau
Founded1960 (1960)
Dissolved1994 (1994)
IdeologyQuebecer federalism
Conservatism
Populism
Political positionCentre-right
ColoursGreen

The Civic Party of Montreal (French: Parti Civique de Montréal) was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1960 to 1994. Throughout its history the Civic Party was dominated by the personality of its leader Jean Drapeau.

Origins

It was established in September 1960 when 17 out of the 33 Civic Action League (French: Ligue d'Action Civique or LAC) Councillors, led by Jean Drapeau, crossed the floor to create a new party.

Achievements

The Civic Party won two thirds of the City Council's seats as well as the office of Mayor in 1960 and remained in power until 1986. It is credited with:

It also helped bringing Major League Baseball to Montreal with the creation of the Montreal Expos.

During the 1970s, Montreal was a virtual one-party state, with the Civic Party facing only token opposition in City Hall.

Decline

In the 1980s the party steadily lost support to the Montreal Citizens' Movement (RCM). In 1982, RCM leader Jean Doré gave Drapeau his closest competition in decades.

Drapeau's retirement in 1986 proved ominous for the party. It was increasingly seen as tired and complacent, and Drapeau had no clear successor. The 1986 municipal elections saw the Civic Party swept from power in a massive RCM landslide. Drapeau's replacement as leader, Claude Dupras, was heavily defeated in the mayoral race by Doré, and only one of its candidates, Germain Prégent, was elected to council.

The Civic Party sank into near-paralysis in opposition. Having spent all but a few months of its existence prior to 1986 in the governing party, it was unable to get the better of the RCM. It was soon torn between a reformist faction led by Dupras and a traditionalist faction. Although Prégent had previously blamed Drapeau for the severe beating the party took in 1986, he identified with the traditionalist faction, and left the party to sit as an Independent by 1988 when Dupras tightened his hold on the party.

The party managed to win a by-election in 1989, which it held at the 1990 municipal election. However, its candidate for mayor, Nicole Gagnon-Larocque, only won 21 percent of the vote. It won another by-election in 1992. It regained the status of Official Opposition by merging with the Parti Municipal (Municipal Party) in July 1992. However, in 1993, it lost further ground when Jérôme Choquette left the party to form the Parti des Montréalais. Choquette had been defeated by Clément Bluteau for the party leadership.[1]

Shortly afterward, the once-mighty party collapsed with dramatic speed. Bluteau resigned as party leader after less than a year, and in August 1994, the rump of the party merged into Choquette's Parti des Montréalais.[2] Choquette ran for Mayor in 1994 and finished third with 13% of the vote. Only two of his candidates were elected to City Hall.

Mayoral candidates

  Election Mayoral candidate Popular vote Number of councillors
  1960Jean Drapeau53%44/66
  1962Jean Drapeau88%39/45
  1966Jean Drapeau94%45/48
  1970Jean Drapeau92%52/52
  1974Jean Drapeau55%37/55
  1978Jean Drapeau61%52/54
  1982Jean Drapeau48%39/57
  1986Claude Dupras[3]29%1/58
  1990Nicole Gagnon-Larocque[4]21%1/50

Victories are indicated with bold fonts.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Elizabeth Thompson, "Choquette bolts from troubled Civic Party; Former Outremont mayor follows Gagnier, Auf der Maur out door," Montreal Gazette, 13 October 1993, A3.
  2. ↑ Michelle Lalonde, "Civic Party planning to team up with Choquette," Montreal Gazette, 29 July 1994, A3; Graeme Hamilton, "Tattered remnant of party founded by Drapeau dies Monday," Montreal Gazette, 6 August 1994, A3.
  3. ↑ Claude Dupras ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the district of Saint-Henri—Westmount against Liberal incumbent Don Johnston in 1980. He finished second with 18% of the vote.
  4. ↑ Nicole Gagnon-Larocque was the Civic City Councillor for the district of Octave-Crémazie from 1978 to 1986.
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