.... ABSTRACT Title: Le Rassemblement pour l'Independance Nationale Author: Robert J. Keaton Degree: Master of Arts Date: April ,1969 This is a study of Quebec's major separatist political force during the 1960's, le Rassemblement pour l'Independance Nationale (RIN). It traces the origins of the RIN from its early formation as a pressure group designed to awaken the French­ Canadian population to the cause of independence through its brief but significant period as a political party actually competing for control of government within the legitimate political process. This' study 1S also an attempt to analyze the formation and content of the RIN's ideology as well as the strategies adopted to realize its goals. Within this context, attention is focused upon the various factions among the leadership and membership. A particularly close examination 1S made of the party organ­ ization in order to assess the degree to which the RIN succeeded in its efforts toward democratization. Finally, consideration is made of the RIN's impact upon Quebec politics, especially during the 1966 Election, and to the overall impact of separatism upon Federal politics. LE RASSEMBLEMENT POUR L'INDEPENDANCE NAT IONALE by Robert J. Keaton A thesis submitted to the faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Economics and Political Science McGill University Montreal April, 1969 @) Robert J. Keaton 1969 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to point out that to the best of my knowledge this thesis is the first in-depth study of the RIN as a political party. As such, the task of researching all the necessary information was made manifoldly difficult. In this respect, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Saul Frankel of the Department of Economics and Political Science who, as my advisor, displayed infinite patience and provided invaluable guidance to me in organizing my thoughts and material for this thesis. I am also grateful for the kindness and cooperation extended to me by the staff of the French Canada Studies Programme here at McGill during my long hours searching through their stacks and files. To Professor Maurice Pinard of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, I am indebted for access to some of his unpublished works and for discus~ sions with him out of which I derived useful ideas. I wish also to thank Andre d'Allemagne, founder and vice-president of the RIN for his "sympathie" and cooperation in sharing ii with me his insights into the organization and personalities of the party gained through long years of experience. Finally, to my wife, Michele, goes my deepest thank­ fulness for her love and understanding. More than anything else, she has made me aware of and appreciate the "French­ Canadian fact." iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................." i i INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I. FORMATION OF THE RIN AND ITS EARLY HISTORY.. 6 II. IDEOLOGY AND STRATEGY .......... .. 20 III. PARTY ORGANIZATION. ........... .. 43 IV. IMPACT OF THE RIN UPON QUEBEC POLITICS. .. 84 CONCLUSION-EPILOGUE ............... .. 105 LIST OF SEPARATIST GROUPS ............ .. 112 APPENDIX 113 ELECTORAL MAP OF GREATER MONTREAL ........ .. 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY. .................. .. 123 iv INTRODUCTION The Rassemblement pour l'Independance Nationale has been the subject of much attention and often severe criticism during its short but turbulent years on the political scene in Quebec. The separatist party was often castigated from left and right because of its ideological bent, or lack thereof, denounced by federalists for obvious reasons, and condemned by the public and politicians alike for its use of extreme and at times violent tactics in pursuing the cause of Quebec independence. So far, little in the way of a serious study of the RIN has been made attempting to explain the variables operating within and without the party and to show how they worked to shape the development of the RIN and, in related ways, of the separatist movement at large. This study is such an undertaking, albeit in a most modest way. It attempts to provide the historical setting of the recent separatist phenomenon in Quebec and to trace the growth of the RIN within that setting. It is, however, primarily concerned with the internal development of the party; that is to say, with the struggle within the organ- -2- ization to determine the leadership, the structure, the strategies and the ideology. Of course these developments were in many ways fashioned or influenced by events and conditions external to the party. When such was the case, the analysis extends beyond the party per se into the wider political arena. In a sense this is a case study of a political party which managed to dominate the separatist movement during one of Quebec's most intensive period of self-assertion. The origin of the RIN can be traced back to the very beginning of the "Quiet Revolution" and the ascendency of the reform­ minded Liberal Party. One of the most significant charac­ teristics of this particular separatist group was its opposi­ tion to the traditional French-Canadian way of life and its insistence upon a secularized and modernized society; a society not dominated by any "foreign" minority, as the separatists would argue. The first and second Chapters of this study provide a chronological exposition and analysis of the RIN from its period as "un mouvement d'education publique", when the early leaders first captured the imagination of the French-Canadian public, through its drive to establish itself as a legitimate -3- political party in the 1966 Provincial Election, and finally into the party's "darker" days of 1968 by which time the movement had managed to sink to its lowest level of popularity and, ultimately, to its actual demise. The main purpose of this analysis is basically to show that the RIN did not start out as a typical radical group bent upon disrupting the normal operations of the political system, at least within Quebec. Federalism to be sure was to be abolished, but the separatists of the RIN were content to achieve their goal by working within the established polit­ ical process; that is to say, by pressuring, through popular demand, the party in power to declare eventually Quebec's independence; and if this approach failed, to attempt capturing power themselves through the electoral process. Both endeavors, in the final analysis, proved frustrating to the separatists, and as it became more and more apparent to them that their efforts were having little effect, militancy and radicalism became the party's strategy. The third Chapter deals extensively with the party organization. The purpose here is to determine to what extent party leaders succeeded in building what they considered to be a truly democratic party. It was, in the first place, in -4- reaction to the autocratic and demagogic leadership of the older separatist groups that the RIN was founded. In this section, an attempt is made to explain how party policies were formulated, how leaders were chosen, and to what extent the rank and file actually influenced the direction and strategies of the party. A look is taken also at the RIN's attempts to expand its base of support which was predomi­ nantly middle-class, to include the sought-after working­ class population. The fourth Chapter is different in scope from the previous ones. Entitled, "Impact of the RIN Upon Quebec Politics," it is concerned mainly with assessing the signi­ ficance of the separatist's activities in relation to the political life of Quebec. In other words, in what ways and to what extent did the presence of the RIN affect the polit­ ical behaviour of the two major parties, the mood of the electorate, both French-Canadian and English-Canadian, as well as the political relations between the Provincial and Federal governments. This Chapter, in a sense, goes beyond the case-study approach evident in the first three Chapters, only because the study would otherwise have been incomplete. Although it -5- attempts to relate the RIN to the general political system, it does not endeavor to offer a thorough explanation of the total impact of separatism upon Quebec or Canadian politics which would be an undertaking in itself. Its purpose is merely to provide a perspective of the "total setting"; and even at that the analysis is bound to be somewhat distorted due to its proximity to the events. Finally, I would hope that the purpose of this thesis will have been served if it indeed provides the reader with an insight into the activities and behavior of a radical political group which first attemp-ts to work within the established political norms in order to win its way, and the circumstances that would motivate the group to use more militant strategies and tactics in order to succeed. A look inside and outside the party is necessary. CHAPTER I FORMATION OF THE RIN AND ITS EARLY HISTORY One clear, sunny afternoon in the summer of 1961, a long motorcade of some one hundred cars rolled to a momentary stop directly in front of the English-language McGill Univer­ sity in Montreal. Among the several curious by-standers observing the colorful signs and placards attached to the cars, which read: "Quebec libre" and "L'independance du Que- bee", one surprised person leaned over and innocently asked the rider in the front convertible: "Are you really serious?". "Mais non~" said the respondant with a percipient smile on his face. The answer came from Andre d'Allemagne, one of the founders of the Rassemblement pour l'Independance Natio­ nale (RIN) , who was well aware that such would be the general reaction from English as well as French Canadians in Quebec towards his separatist movement, established one year earlier in September, 1960.