INDEPTH: PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS
Timeline
CBC News Online | November 16, 2005
Sept. 4, 1967:
René Lévesque quits the Quebec Liberal party along with a few hundred others after his proposal for a sovereign Quebec associated with Canada is rejected at the party convention.
Nov. 19, 1967:
Lévesque and a small group of nationalists form the Mouvement souveraineté-association (MSA).
Dec. 28, 1967:
The MSA and two other sovereigntist parties, the Ralliement national (RN) and Rassemblement pour l'indépendence nationale (RIN), meet to negotiate an amalgamation.
January 1968:
Lévesque publishes a political manifesto, Option Québec, which forms the basis for sovereignty-association in Quebec.
 René Lévesque (CP Photo)
René Lévesque's MSA merges with the RN to form the Parti Québécois. Lévesque is elected president.
Oct. 26, 1968:
RIN dissolves and its members join the PQ. Party membership now stands at 16,000.
Sept. 19, 1969:
Jacques Parizeau joins the PQ.
April 29, 1970:
The PQ runs in its first provincial election, under the slogan "Oui." The party wins seven seats, but Lévesque loses in his Montreal-area riding to the Liberal party.
Oct. 16, 1970:
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act after members of the Front de libération du Québec abduct a British diplomat and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. The act allows for search without warrant, and separatists are especially targeted. Membership in the PQ drops from 80,000 to 30,000.
Oct. 29, 1973:
In the provincial election, a collapse of support for two other Quebec parties, the Parti créditiste and the Union Nationale, allows the PQ to become the opposition with just six seats. Lévesque again loses his Montreal-area riding to the Liberals.
Nov. 15, 1976:
The PQ forms the government in Quebec, taking 71 seats in the general election. Lévesque becomes premier and promises a referendum on sovereignty-association.
Aug. 26, 1977:
The Charter of the French Language, Bill 101, becomes the law in Quebec. It requires all commercial signs to be in French and restricts attendance at English-language schools.
May 20, 1980:
In the referendum on sovereignty-association in Quebec, the federalist side wins 60 per cent of the vote.
April 13, 1981:
Lévesque is re-elected premier, and the PQ wins 80 seats.
April 17, 1982:
The Constitution Act is proclaimed in Ottawa, without Quebec's ratification.
Jan. 20, 1985:
Delegates at a PQ policy convention in Montreal vote not to fight the next provincial election on the issue of sovereignty. A group of PQ hardliners walks out of the meeting in protest.
June 20, 1985:
Lévesque announces that he will resign as premier of Quebec and PQ leader.
Sept. 29, 1985:
Pierre-Marc Johnson is elected leader of the PQ and would later succeed Lévesque as Quebec premier.
Dec. 2, 1985:
The Quebec Liberal party, led by Robert Bourassa, wins the provincial election.
 Jacques Parizeau (CP Photo)
Jacques Parizeau replaces Johnson as Parti Québécois leader.
Dec. 15, 1988:
The Supreme Court of Canada rules against Bill 101, saying English could not be prohibited altogether.
Dec. 18, 1988:
Quebec invokes the notwithstanding clause to override the Supreme Court and passes Bill 178, which reaffirms French as the only language for outdoor signs, but allows other languages indoors.
Sept. 25, 1989:
The Liberal party is re-elected in the Quebec provincial election.
May 21, 1990:
Lucien Bouchard resigns from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's cabinet and leaves the Progressive Conservative party. He would later form the Bloc Québécois.
Oct. 25, 1993:
Jean Chrétien's Liberal party wins the national election, with the Bloc Québécois forming the official Opposition.
Sept. 18, 1994:
The PQ, led by Jacques Parizeau, wins the Quebec provincial election. He promises a referendum on Quebec sovereignty.
Oct. 30, 1995:
 Lucien Bouchard (CP Photo/Ryan Remiorz)
January 1996:
Lucien Bouchard leaves the Bloc Québécois to join the PQ as leader. He is sworn in as premier of Quebec Jan. 29.
Nov. 30, 1998:
The PQ is re-elected as the Quebec provincial government.
Jan. 11, 2001:
Bouchard resigns as leader of the PQ and premier of Quebec.
Feb. 26, 2001:
Bernard Landry is the only candidate for the leadership of the PQ.
March 8, 2001:
Landry is sworn in as Quebec premier.
 Bernard Landry (CP Photo/Jacques Boissinot)
Landry presents a 1,000-day plan toward Quebec sovereignty. He admits the PQ will have to win the next election for it to happen.
Oct. 29, 2002:
PQ cabinet minister Paul Begin quits, claiming Landry's plan for sovereignty is inadequate.
Nov. 5, 2002:
The PQ reveals a three-year action plan, with no mention of independence.
April 14, 2003:
The Liberal Party of Quebec, led by Jean Charest, wins the provincial election.
Aug. 29, 2004:
A PQ motion to force a leadership race is defeated by a vote of 455-8. PQ founding member Marc Briere brought forth the motion, saying, "The people are tired of seeing [Landry]."
June 4, 2005:
Landry announces his intention to resign as leader of the PQ after getting 76.2 per cent in a vote of confidence in his leadership. The party would later appoint Louise Harel as its interim leader.
June 11, 2005:
PQ president Monique Richard announces that the winner of the party leadership race will be declared on Nov. 15.
June 13, 2005:
Gilles Duceppe announces he will stay on as leader of the Bloc Québécois despite pressure to make a bid for the leadership of the PQ. Duceppe is widely considered the most popular sovereigntist leader.
Sept. 15, 2005:
The race to replace Landry as PQ leader officially begins. Early poll results show former cabinet minister André Boisclair emerging as the front-runner, with former PQ leadership candidate Pauline Marois in second and former cabinet minister Richard Legendre a close third.
Sept. 20, 2005:
During the PQ leadership campaign, candidate André Boisclair admits to having used cocaine when he was a cabinet minister in the 1990s.
Nov. 15, 2005:
André Boisclair is named the new leader of the PQ after a telephone vote by the party's members. Boisclair pledges to seek a mandate for a sovereignty referendum in the next provincial election.
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