National Assembly of Quebec

The National Assembly of Quebec (Template:Langx, Template:IPA)<ref>Template:Cite web </ref> is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; Template:Langx). The lieutenant governor of Quebec (representing the King of Canada)<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Québec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other Westminster-style parliamentary systems. The assembly has 125 members elected via first past the post from single-member districts.

The National Assembly was formerly the lower house of Quebec's legislature and was then called the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (Template:Langx). In 1968, the upper house, the Legislative Council, was abolished and the remaining house was renamed. The office of President of the National Assembly is equivalent to speaker in other legislatures. As of the 2022 Quebec general election, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has the most seats in the Assembly.

History

Quebec Legislative Assembly in 1933

The Constitutional Act 1791 created the Parliament of Lower Canada. It consisted of two chambers, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly. That parliament and both chambers were abolished in 1841 when the Act of Union 1840 merged Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single province named the Province of Canada. The Act of Union created a new Parliament of the Province of Canada, also composed of a Legislative Council and a Legislative Assembly. That Parliament had jurisdiction over the entire province, with members from Lower Canada and Upper Canada in both houses.

The Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly known as the British North America Act), created the Dominion of Canada, and also created the provinces of Ontario and Quebec by splitting the old Province of Canada into two, based on the old boundaries of Lower Canada and Upper Canada. The act created a new bicameral Legislature for the province of Quebec, composed of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Quebec.

In December 1955, the assembly passed a bill according the title "Member of Provincial Parliament" (Template:Lang) and the initialism "MPP" (Template:Lang) to members of the legislature.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Previously, there had been no fixed designation, but they had often been referred to as "Members of the Legislative Assembly" (MLAs) (Template:Lang), which Premier Maurice Duplessis noted in his speech on the bill, "can sometimes be pronounced as 'Template:Lang', which means 'evil' in French."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1961, Marie-Claire Kirkland became the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly.

In 1968, Bill 90 was passed by the government of Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand, abolishing the Legislative Council and renaming the Legislative Assembly the "National Assembly", in line with the more strident nationalism of the Quiet Revolution. Before 1968, there had been various unsuccessful attempts at abolishing the Legislative Council, which was analogous to the Senate of Canada. With the adoption of the new name, members of the assembly were now designated Members of the National Assembly (MNA) in English. In French, they are referred to as either Template:Lang with the initialism M.A.N.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or as Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1978, television cameras were brought in for the first time to televise parliamentary debates. The colour of the walls was changed to suit the needs of television, and the Template:Lang (green hall) became the Template:Lang (blue hall).

In 1984, Canadian Forces corporal Denis Lortie stormed into the Parliament Building and opened fire, killing three government employees and wounding thirteen others. His intended target was Premier René Lévesque and his Parti Québécois government. However, he was around 15 minutes early and the Assembly floor was still mostly empty; no politicians were shot. He surrendered to police hours later.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Parliament Building

The Template:Lang east of the Parliament Building

Constructed between 1877 and 1886, the Parliament Building features the Second Empire architectural style<ref>Useful Information – National Assembly of Quebec. Assnat.qc.ca (October 29, 2012). Retrieved July 12, 2013.</ref> that was popular for prestigious buildings both in Europe (especially France where the style originated) and the United States during the latter 19th century.

Although somewhat more sober in appearance and lacking a towering central belfry, Quebec City's Parliament Building bears a definite likeness to the Philadelphia City Hall, another Second Empire edifice in North America which was built during the same period. Even though the building's symmetrical layout with a frontal clock tower in the middle is typical of legislative institutions of British heritage, the architectural style is believed to be unique among parliament buildings found in other Canadian provincial capitals.Template:Citation needed Its façade presents a pantheon representing significant events and people of the history of Quebec.

In 1936, Maurice Duplessis hung a crucifix in the Legislative Assembly chamber. It hung there for 83 years, until it was removed on 10 July 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Additional buildings were added, adjacent to the Parliament Buildings:

• Édifice André-Laurendeau was added from 1935 to 1937 to house the Ministry of Transport.
• Template:Lang was added from 1922 to 1925 to house the Ministries of the Treasury (Finance), the Attorney General and the Secretary General of the National Assembly.
• Édifice Jean-Antoine-Panet was added from 1931 to 1932 for the Ministry of Agriculture.
• Template:Lang added from 1910 to 1915 for the Library of the National Assembly, various other government offices and for the Executive Council.

Elections

General elections are held every four years or less. Since 2014, the legislature has had a fixed four-year term, with elections taking place no later than "the first Monday of October of the fourth calendar year following the year that includes the last day of the previous Legislature."<ref name="Election Act">Template:Cite canlaw</ref> However, the lieutenant governor, acting on the advice of the premier, can dissolve the legislature and call an election earlier. Any Canadian citizen at least 18 years old who has been residing in Quebec for at least six months qualifies to be on the electoral list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Normally, the lieutenant governor invites the leader of the political party with the largest number of elected candidates to form the government as premier (Template:Lang in French; French does not make a distinction between premier and prime minister).

Quebec's territory is divided into 125 electoral districts (ridings). In each riding, the candidate who receives the most votes is elected and becomes a member of the National Assembly (MNA). This is the first-past-the-post voting system. It tends to produce strong disparities in the number of seats won compared to the popular vote, perhaps best exemplified by the 1966 (wrong-winner result), 1970 (false-majority result), 1973, and 1998 election (wrong-winner and false-majority result).

Quebec elections have also tended to be volatile since the 1970s, producing a large turnover in seats. Consequently, existing political parties often lose more than half their seats with the rise of new or opposition political parties. For instance, the 1970 and 1973 elections saw the demise of the Union Nationale and rise of the Parti Québécois, which took power in 1976. The 1985 and 1994 elections saw the Liberals gain and lose power in landslide elections. The 2018 elections saw the rise of the Coalition Avenir Québec, which took power for the first time.

Members

Current standings

Cabinet ministers are in bold, party leaders are in italic and the president of the National Assembly is marked with a †.

	Name	Party	Riding	First elected / previously elected	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Abitibi-Est	2018	Independent	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Abitibi-Ouest	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Acadie	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Anjou–Louis-Riel	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Argenteuil	2018	Template:Sortname	PQ	Arthabaska	2025	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Beauce-Nord	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Beauce-Sud	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Beauharnois	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Bellechasse	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Berthier	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Bertrand	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Blainville	2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Bonaventure	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Borduas	2014	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Bourassa-Sauvé	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Brome-Missisquoi	2018	Template:Sortname	PQ	Camille-Laurin	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Chambly	2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Champlain	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Chapleau	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Charlesbourg	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Châteauguay	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Chauveau	2012,Template:Efn 2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Chicoutimi	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Chomedey	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Chutes-de-la-Chaudière	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Côte-du-Sud	2022	Template:Sortname	Liberal	D'Arcy-McGee	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Deux-Montagnes	2008,Template:Efn 2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Drummond–Bois-Francs	2007, 2012	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Dubuc	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Duplessis	2022	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Fabre	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Gaspé	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Gatineau	2018	Template:Sortname	QS	Gouin	2017	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Granby	2007	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Groulx	2018	Template:Sortname	QS	Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Hull	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Huntingdon	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Iberville	2022	Template:Sortname	PQ	Îles-de-la-Madeleine	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Jacques-Cartier	2018	Template:Sortname	QS	Jean-Lesage	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Jeanne-Mance–Viger	2008	Template:Sortname	PQ	Jean-Talon	2023	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Johnson	2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Joliette	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Jonquière	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Labelle	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Lac-Saint-Jean	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	LaFontaine	2012	Template:Sortname	CAQ	La Peltrie	2007	Template:Sortname	Liberal	La Pinière	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Laporte	2022	Independent	Template:Sortname	CAQ	La Prairie	2012,Template:Efn 2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	L'Assomption	1998,Template:Efn 2012	Template:Sortname	QS	Laurier-Dorion	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Laval-des-Rapides	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Laviolette–Saint-Maurice	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Les Plaines	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Lévis	2007,Template:Efn 2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Lotbinière-Frontenac	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Louis-Hébert	2017	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Marguerite-Bourgeoys	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Marie-Victorin	2022	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Marquette	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Maskinongé	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Masson	2014	Template:Sortname	PQ	Matane-Matapédia	2007	Template:Sortname	QS	Maurice-Richard	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Mégantic	2018	Template:Sortname	QS	Mercier	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Mille-Îles	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Mirabel	2014	Template:Sortname †	CAQ	Montarville	2012	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Montmorency	1998,Template:Efn 2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Mont-Royal–Outremont	2022	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Nelligan	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Nicolet-Bécancour	2012	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Orford	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Papineau	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Pointe-aux-Trembles	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Pontiac	2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Portneuf	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Prévost	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	René-Lévesque	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Repentigny	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Richelieu	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Richmond	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Rimouski	2022	Independent	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Rivière-du-Loup–Témiscouata	2022	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Robert-Baldwin	2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Roberval	2018	Template:Sortname	QS	Rosemont	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Rousseau	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue	2003,Template:Efn 2008,Template:Efn 2022	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Saint-François	2018	Template:Sortname	QS	Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne	2023	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Saint-Hyacinthe	2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Saint-Jean	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Saint-Jérôme	2018	Independent	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Saint-Laurent	2018	Template:Sortname	QS	Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques	2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Sainte-Rose	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Sanguinet	2022	Template:Sortname	QS	Sherbrooke	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Soulanges	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Taillon	2018	Independent	Template:Sortname	QS	Taschereau	2022	Template:Sortname	PQ	Terrebonne	2025	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Trois-Rivières	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Ungava	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Vachon	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Vanier-Les Rivières	2018	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Vaudreuil	2014	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Verchères	2022	Template:Sortname	QS	Verdun	2022	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Viau	2018	Template:Sortname	CAQ	Vimont	2022	Template:Sortname	Liberal	Westmount–Saint-Louis	2018

Changes during the 43rd Quebec Legislature

{{#section:43rd Quebec Legislature|standings}}

Proceedings

One of the members of the National Assembly is elected as President of the Assembly (a post called speaker in most other Westminster System assemblies). Any member of the assembly is eligible to stand for election, other than party leaders and Cabinet ministers. The election is the first order of business for a newly elected assembly. It is conducted by secret ballot of all members, with successive rounds of voting if needed before one candidate gains a majority of the votes.<ref>La procédure parliamentaire du Québec, 3^e édition (Québec: Assemblée nationale du Québec, 2012), pp. 140-147.</ref>

The president of the assembly is the arbiter of the parliamentary debates between the members of the government and the members of the Opposition. In order for a member to address the assembly, the member speak through the president. The president is usually a member of the governing party.

The proceedings of the National Assembly are broadcast across Quebec on the cable television network Canal de l'Assemblée nationale.

See also

• Executive Council of Quebec
• List of Quebec general elections
• List of Québec Legislatures
• List of Quebec premiers
• List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
• Politics of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history

References

Bibliography

• Assemblé nationale du Québec (2000). What is the National Assembly?, Québec: Assemblée nationale, 58 p. (Template:ISBN)
• Deschênes, Gaston (1983). The Assemblée nationale: Its Organization and Parliamentary Procedure, Québec: Assemblée nationale, 53 p. (Template:ISBN) [1st ed. in 1977]

External links

• National Assembly of Quebec website
• National Assembly historical data Template:In lang
• Diagram of the positions in the Assembly Template:In lang
• Data about the current president of the Assembly