Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had varying degrees of affiliation with the Social Credit Party of Canada at the federal level.

The greatest success achieved by a provincial social credit party in Quebec was the Ralliement créditiste du Québec, which won 12 seats in the 1970 Quebec provincial election.

Union des électeurs

The créditiste movement first appeared in Quebec under the name Union des électeurs, founded in 1939 by Louis Even and Gilberte Côté-Mercier. It ran two candidates, Even and Armand Turpin in the 1940 federal election as part of the Canada-wide New Democracy movement. Even won 17% of the vote and placed third in the riding of Lac St. John-Roberval. Turpin placed second with over 31.8% of the vote in Hull.

The Union des électeurs ran more candidates in the 1944 Quebec election, but won no seats. In the 1948 Quebec election, the party managed to get 9.25% of the popular vote, but again won no seats.

Réal Caouette won a 1946 by-election for the party and sat as an Member of Parliament (MP) in the Canadian House of Commons. He failed to win re-election in the 1949 federal election, when the party ran a total of 56 candidates. None were successful. The party subsequently faded away.

Even and Mercier also founded a lay Catholic group called the "Pilgrims of Saint Michael", based in Rougemont, Quebec, that continues to promote social credit monetary policy coupled with conservative Catholicism. The Pilgrims publish The Michael Journal in English and Vers Demain in French. The group was founded in 1939 and is nicknamed "the White Berets" for the headgear worn by members.

General election results - Union des électeurs

Candidats des électeurs

Réal Caouette led a group of candidates running under this name in the 1957 and 1958 federal elections, but failed to win any seats.

Candidats libéral des électeurs

In the 1962 and 1963 federal elections, a small breakaway from Social Credit ran a single candidate under the name Candidat libéral des électeurs without success. The 1962 candidate, J-Edouard Pharon, received 1,800 votes - 500 more than the Social Credit candidate.

Ralliement des créditistes du Canada

Réal Caouette had been a social credit stalwart since the joining the movement in 1939, running as a candidate for the Union des électeurs. He won a seat in the House of Commons in a by-election, but lost it in the next general election. He was a true believer in social credit theory and a charismatic, almost evangelical speaker.

In 1958, he broke with Union des électeurs founders Louis Even and Gilberte Côté-Mercier, and formed the Ralliement des créditistes du Canada as the Quebec wing of the Social Credit Party of Canada on May 4, 1958. Caouette was named leader of the new organization. His party political broadcasts on Quebec television developed a great following. Caouette ran for the leadership of the Social Credit Party of Canada in 1961, but was defeated by Robert N. Thompson.

Driven by Caouette's fiery oratory, the Social Credit party achieved a breakthrough in the 1962 federal election, winning 26 seats in Quebec. Only 4 Social Credit MPs were elected in the rest of Canada.

Thompson insisted on remaining national party leader after 1962, even though the Social Credit caucus was overwhelmingly from Quebec and regarded Caouette as its leader. Thompson accepted Caouette as his deputy leader.

This tension led to a split: in 1963, the Quebec wing became independent from the party in the rest of country as the Ralliement des créditistes, or Social Credit Rally in English. Of the 20 Social Credit MPs elected in Quebec in the 1963 federal election, 13 followed Caouette into the Ralliement, 5 ran in the next election as independents and 2 joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

The Ralliement ran as a separate party in the 1965 federal election. In 1967, Thompson defected to the Progressive Conservatives.

General election results - Ralliement des créditistes

Ralliement créditiste

In October 1967, the Ralliement des créditistes changed its name to Ralliement créditiste.

In the 1968 federal election, the Social Credit Party won no seats in the House of Commons, while Caouette's Ralliement créditiste returned several MPs.

On January 25, 1970, the federal Ralliement créditiste established a provincial wing in Quebec, the [[Ralliement créditiste du Québec]], to compete in provincial elections.

In 1971, Caouette and the Ralliement créditiste rejoined the Social Credit Party of Canada, and Caouette was elected national leader.

General election results - Ralliement créditiste

See also

• List of political parties in Canada
• Politics of Quebec
• List of Quebec general elections
• Timeline of Quebec history

Categories: Canadian federal political parties | Quebec political parties