Nearly four out of five Quebec deputies who left their political party to join another or to become independent did so for questions of values, according to the work of researcher Mireille Lalancette covering the period from 1980 to 2018.
“We will often tend to think that these people are opportunists”, underlines the full professor in social communication at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR). Prejudices widespread even in popular culture, she underlines, referring to the lyrics of the song The opportunist from the Frenchman Jacques Dutronc: “Me, I only make one gesture / I turn my jacket around, I turn my jacket around / Always on the right side”.
However, 44 of the 56 Quebec politicians of the National Assembly and the House of Commons listed in the study have slammed the door of their party for questions of values. Research published in mid-April in the Canadian Journal of Political Science is based on past media interviews, but also on interviews with resigning elected officials and chiefs of staff or party of the time.
According to the study, 34 politicians left for reasons related more specifically to the national question and Quebec sovereignty.
Ms. Lalancette cites as an example the former elected PQ Jean-Martin Aussant who said when he left the party in 2011 that the leader of the time, Pauline Marois, was not the right person to lead Quebecers to sovereignty.
Without regret
Most deputies who turn their backs on a political party have no regrets, underlines the UQTR researcher. “They say if it had to be done over again, they would do it again. »
While some politicians take a break by temporarily sitting as an independent before joining another parliamentary group, others prefer to change sides on the spot, explains Mireille Lalancette. Members will however choose to remain on the independent benches throughout a mandate, without joining a new party.
This was also the case for the current mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, who had left the PQ ranks in 2019 to become an independent deputy, before then embarking on municipal politics.
Ms. Fournier believes that by sitting on the independent benches of the National Assembly, she was able to enjoy great freedom, because she had no party line to follow. “I have full freedom of my actions. I can therefore table bills,” she summarizes about this period, during an interview as part of the research.
Mireille Lalancette argues that a political formation advocating a less severe party line could make it possible to retain more deputies within it. “It could make people feel less trapped,” she says.
To feel listened to
Listening to the leader is also crucial to prevent the departure of members of a caucus, raises Ms. Lalancette. “What we realize, for example, is that there are parties where few people left. She cites as an example Jean Charest, who was leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and Quebec premier from 2003 to 2012.
The departure of a member is a “serious event”, according to Mr. Charest, who hastened when he was leader to meet the members of his caucus suspected of being unhappy. “As soon as there was a first rumour, we sat down with that person to talk, try to sound him out and verify the information and also check his state of mind,” he says in an interview. when searching.
Mireille Lalancette wonders if the members of a coalition, like the caquistes, can feel more listened to and freer to speak than those within a party with a clearer guideline. “We have a party that is a coalition that joins a whole series of people who have different values,” she notes.
The researcher also highlights the case of Québec solidaire, which designs policy differently, in particular by having two co-spokespersons, Manon Massé and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, rather than a single leader.
“It will be interesting to see the evolution of Québec solidaire and what place they will give to freedom of speech and listening on the part of the co-spokespersons and the party itself,” she said. It will be interesting to see if their mode of operation is in fact a solution to these problems of not feeling heard or not feeling able to speak up. »