The basic characteristics of Quebec parties and politics have always been somewhat of an unknown quantity in the rest of Canada. The average English-speaking Canadian finds it difficult to appreciate the significance of the issues on which electoral battles are won and lost, the underlying ideology of Quebec parties, and the relationships existing between these parties and those of the rest of Canada. This difficulty is particularly apparent when he focuses his attention on the political developments of the last fifteen years which have resulted in the emergence of the Union Nationale party of Mr. Maurice Duplessis as the dominant party in the province.
It is proposed in this paper to throw some light on this little-known area in the field of Canadian politics by presenting an analysis of the nature of the new party, the factors which have resulted in its rise to power, its relationships with federal parties, and finally the future role it may be expected to play in Quebec politics.
In order to understand the nature of the Union Nationale, and the reason for the dominant position it holds in the political life of the province today, we must analyse its growth against the background of the Nationalist movement which swept the province in the early thirties, and which still is the most important factor in the thinking of the French Canadian. This Nationalist movement had two phases, the first from around 1930 up to 1939, and the second from 1939 to 1948. Examination of the first phase will show the reasons for the birth of the Union Nationale and the nature of the policies for which it stood. Consideration of the second phase will reveal the further stages in the evolution of the party after its defeat in the provincial election of 1939, and the factors entering into its slow but steady progress towards the smashing victory of 1948.