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This dissertation examined the lives and motives of militants in the Parti Quebecois in 1987 and 1988, at the end of a phase of demobilization for this organization in the Quebec independence movement. / This study found that most PQ militants were francophone males under 40 years of age, with college degrees. They worked at jobs which would make them part of the intelligentsia, and along with some students, worked in francophone contexts. They often came from political homes, especially "nationalist" ones, and some militants felt hostility towards "les anglais". Most were actively involved in previous voluntary associations, especially activist organizations. They were recruited young and had prior attitudinal affinity. Most were self-recruited, while the others were recruited through family and friend networks. Their principal motive for joining was a set of ideological beliefs about Quebec independence, and they experienced no pressure to become a member. Most future militants, began by giving some casual labour to the PQ and then were invited to participate in more responsible positions. While a few militants stayed as "casual labour", the rest became "cadre" who worked part-time benevolently or "careerists" who received full-time jobs and salaries. The casual labour and cadre militants worked irregular hours, and had distinct preferences for and against certain types of political tasks. Most militants joined to further Quebec independence but intraparty conflict pitted youthful Johnsonists against older orthodox militants in 1987 and 1988. Among those militants who quit, most led busy, well-adjusted lives after the PQ, which were directed towards personal goals such as jobs or further education. / The data pointed out that the PQ militants were motivated to join by grievances such as the minorization of French-Canadians within Canada, fears about the French language and culture in Quebec, discontent with federalism, and to a lesser extent, status inequality and economic domination by anglophones. These grievances and aspirations for greater political autonomy for Quebec were the principal internal motives. The collective incentive of independence and the supporting beliefs that it would bring political autonomy, international prestige and cultural protection were the most important determinants of whether or not a militant would join the PQ. Many militants spoke of the selective incentives gained through militancy, especially the social, educational and political benefits. Altruism existed in small doses, but by-and-large, people volunteered their time to the PQ because it benefitted them. Finally, expectancy of success was a necessary factor for militant motivations. The 1980 referendum defeat appeared to be the cause of the factionalism which dominated the phase of demobilization in the Parti Quebecois from 1980 to the Fall of 1988. / The motives for staying or leaving after years of commitment were similar to and different from the motives for joining. The most important factor affecting a militant's decision to leave was the collective incentive. If the party's overall goal changed, many militants quit. Some militants of the losing faction stayed attached to the party due to social ties, paid positions, and the lack of viable alternative parties. Those militants who had some weaker ethnic group grievances, who believed less in the benefits of independence for Quebec, who enjoyed less certain organizational incentives, and were more pessimistic about the chances of success for their political party and social movement were more likely to be demobilized. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Depuis la défaite du Oui au référendum de 1995, nous observons une perte de vitesse du mouvement souverainiste québécois. Cette dernière est d’abord perceptible d’un point de vue électoral où nous observons une baisse constante des appuis aux partis souverainistes, et ensuite relativement au fractionnement social et idéologique du mouvement souverainiste. Dans un tel contexte, nous nous attardons, dans le cadre de ce mémoire, à l’engagement des jeunes âgé-e-s de 20 à 26 ans au sein du Parti québécois (PQ). Ces personnes ont commencé à s’impliquer dans ce parti alors que le mouvement souverainiste était déjà caractérisé par une perte de vitesse et n’ont jamais connu les moments effervescents de celui-ci. Suite à seize entrevues semi-directives réalisées avec des militant-e-s du PQ, ce mémoire a pour but de comprendre les processus d’engagement de ces personnes. À l’aide d’une analyse sociologique des parcours d’engagement, nous démontrons d’abord que plusieurs types de parcours ont pu mener ces jeunes à s’engager au PQ. Ensuite, nous soulignons le fait que des éléments du passé, notamment par l’entremise des cours d’histoire et de la socialisation familiale, ont eu une plus grande importance que ceux d’actualité pour leur prise de conscience souverainiste. Nous montrons aussi que ces jeunes appartiennent à une génération politique pour laquelle les grands évènements de l’histoire du mouvement souverainiste ne peuvent plus être considérés comme étant des moments critiques des parcours d’engagement. Nous démontrons finalement que l’analyse des orientations politiques des personnes permet de mieux comprendre les différences entre les différents processus d’engagement. / Since the defeat of the Yes campaign in the 1995 referendum, the Quebec sovereignty movement has been in decline. We can demonstrate this by analyzing the electoral results of the different sovereignist parties as well as the social and ideological division of the sovereignty movement over the past 20 years. This thesis seeks to analyse the involvement of Parti québécois (PQ) members between the ages of 20 and 26. These members began their involvement while the movement was already in decline and therefore have not lived through the most significant events of the Quebec sovereignty movement. With 16 semi-structured interviews, this study seeks to understand the political commitment processes of these individuals. Through a sociological analysis of their experiences of involvement in politics, we demonstrate that different types of processes can lead a person to join the PQ. We then argue that elements from the past, such as history classes and family socialization, have greater influence on a person’s awareness of the sovereignty issue than do current events. We proceed to establish that these individuals belong to a political generation for which the major events of the sovereignty movement cannot be considered as critical junctures in their political involvement. Finally, we demonstrate that the analysis of the individuals’ political orientations can help us better understand the differences between the different political commitment processes.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

L’histoire des partis politiques canadiens et québécois semble avoir peu intéressé les historiens. En conséquence, la vie de ces organisations politiques complexes échappe encore à ce jour aux connaissances de la science historique. L’évolution de l’histoire politique, autrefois généralement axée presqu’exclusivement sur les grands hommes d’État, ouvre toutefois de nouvelles perspectives pour aborder ces organisations et c’est à travers la perspective de la culture politique que nous avons abordé le Parti Québécois, en nous intéressant plus particulièrement aux différentes luttes internes pour le contrôle de son orientation. Pour cibler cette culture politique, nous nous sommes attardés principalement au déroulement des neufs congrès nationaux prenant place sous le mandat de René Lévesque à la tête du parti, soit de 1968 à 1985. Nous abordons à travers cette étude l’évolution du rôle des militants, du programme, des structures, ainsi que la dynamique entre les principaux organes qui dirigent le parti (conseil exécutif, conseil national, aile parlementaire). Nous suggérons que malgré les apparences que lui confèrent ses statuts novateurs et démocratiques lors de sa fondation en 1968, le Parti Québécois n’a jamais réellement été ce qu’une partie de ses fondateurs et adhérents auraient souhaité. Nos conclusions tendent à démontrer que le parti n’a jamais été le regroupement démocratique et dirigé largement par ses membres que plusieurs ont essayé de créer initialement, mais que ses dirigeants, au contraire, ont tenté constamment à travers le temps de contrôler l’enthousiasme de ses membres, de contenir leurs « déviations » idéologiques en plus d’aller parfois contre leurs convictions, pourtant ratifiées par des congrès démocratiques. Il va sans dire également que René Lévesque a joué un rôle important dans cette opposition constante et parfois paradoxale, entre la base et le sommet du parti.

No description available.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

How well founded are accusations of racism against Quebec nationalist? No research has been done on this question regarding contemporary Quebec. Authors who have examined the link between nationalism and racism in other contexts have disagreed about its relevance. To provide an answer, a broad and flexible definition of the concept of racism is required. This thesis analyses the content of the Parti Quebecois' political discourse concerning minority communities as reported in newspapers between 1981 to 1990. An original aspect of this research is the fact is submits its results to representatives of the Parti Quebecois and minority communities to shed different lights on the author's interpretation of his results. The research supports the conclusion that the Parti Quebecois' discourse from 1981 to 1990 was not racist. As a result, a direct link between nationalism and racism cannot be established.