The national liberal Action was a political party of the Quebec, founded in 1934 by dissenting members of the Liberal party of Quebec and directed by Paul Gouin. Its most known members were Philippe Hamel, Oscar Drouin and Ernest Gregoire, mayor of Quebec. Hamel was an eminent dentist of Quebec, convinced of the need for nationalizing the hydro-electric companies of the province, and Drouin a former disappointed liberal deputy of the preserving policy of Prime Minister Taschereau.

The ALN was combined with the Conservative party of Quebec of Maurice Duplessis the day before the elections of 1935, the two parties dividing the electoral constituencies not to create a confrontation between the candidates of the two parties.

The ALN made elect 25 deputies out of 52 candidates, obtaining 29% of the votes, and the conservatives 16 deputies out of 34 candidates. In spite of the fact that the ALN had more deputies, it is Duplessis which took the head of the new alliance.

Following conflicts with Duplessis, Gouin withdrew its support to him a few months before the elections of 1936. However, 20 of the deputies of the ALN united with the conservatives to found the National union that Duplessis led to the victory with the elections of 1936.

The ALN was reformed for the elections of 1939 under the direction of Gouin, but collected only 4,5% of the votes. The party disappeared a little later sifted debts.

Policies of the national liberal Action

The ALN was born in full heart from the economic crisis from the years 1930. The dissidents disapproved the manner of the Prime Minister Taschereau of managing the crisis. The solutions which they preached were the return to the ground, corporatism, the access to the rural credit, rural electrification, the fight with the trusts, the cooperatism, the nationalization of electricity and the development of small and average industry. The ALN was influenced by the nationalist and preserving thought of the abbot Lionel Groulx.

External bonds

Biography of Paul Gouin