Decline
The official visit of French President Charles de Gaulle in Canada in 1967 and Daniel Johnson, Sr.'s sudden death in 1968 left the party divided between its nationalist wing and members who clearly positioned themselves as federalists. The latter prevailed when Jean-Jacques Bertrand won the party leadership over Jean-Guy Cardinal, but the controversy over a language legislation known as Bill 63 prompted a number of nationalist supporters as well as legislators such as Antonio Flamand and Jérôme Proulx to join the Parti Québécois.
In addition, the Union Nationale lost a portion of its conservative base, including MNA Gaston Tremblay, to the Ralliement créditiste. Bertrand was unable to inspire voters and the party seemed to have lost touch with Quebec society. While the Union Nationale managed to obtain the status of Official Opposition, it finished third in the popular vote behind the Parti Québécois in the 1970 election.
Gabriel Loubier took over as leader and the party became known as Unité Québec from October 25, 1971 to January 14, 1973. Under his tenure, the party was wiped off the political map: none of its candidates were elected in the 1973 election.
In 1974, former UN Cabinet Member and interim leader Maurice Bellemare won a by-election, and the party once again was represented in the National Assembly. On May 31, 1975, the party merged with the tiny Parti présidentiel, a group of Créditiste dissidents led by Yvon Brochu, and kept the Union Nationale name.
In May 1976, business owner Rodrigue Biron, a former card-carrying Liberal supporter who had no experience in provincial politics, was chosen as party leader. His impulsive policy statements and poor relations with the old guard of the party had led to resignations of party officials, including Jacques Tétreault, who had been his most serious opponent for the party leadership. In September 1976, Biron abandoned a projet to unite his party with Jérôme Choquette's Parti National Populaire, despite prior efforts made by the two groups.
The Union Nationale made a modest recovery in the 1976 election, winning 11 seats and 18.2% of the popular vote, but in 1980 Biron quit the party to sit as an independent and joined the Parti Québécois. Michel Le Moignan, the MNA for the district of Gaspé, took over as interim leader. By then six Union Nationale MNAs had already crossed the floor, moved to federal politics or retired from public office, leaving the party with only five seats.
Read more about this topic: Union Nationale (Quebec)
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