Alliance Quebec

Alliance Quebec (AQ) was a group formed in 1982 to lobby on behalf of English-speaking Quebecers in the province of Quebec, Canada. It began as an umbrella group of most English-speaking organizations and institutions in the province, with approximately 15,000 members. At its height in the mid-1980s, the group had a network of affiliated anglophone groups throughout the province.

Early Years: 1982-1989

The Parti québécois, a party that supports the independence of Quebec from Canada and the exclusive use of French in most areas of public and business life, won a majority in the Quebec National Assembly in 1976. The vast majority of Quebec anglophones, which at that time made up approximately 13% of Quebec's population (see Language demographics of Quebec), did not support this party. Many anglophones left Quebec during this period; while estimates vary, the number is often estimated at over 100,000 people. Some anglophones that remained formed local lobby groups to promote federalism and argue against new laws such as the Charter of the French Language. After the Parti québécois was re-elected in 1981, several of these groups joined together in May 1982, as "The Alliance of Language Communities in Quebec" (or "Alliance Québec") in an effort to gain more influence and to start a province-level dialogue between linguistic groups.

With many of its founders being active in the Liberal Party of Quebec, AQ's ideology reflected that party's policies of compromise between linguistic groups combined with provincial government promotion of the French language in the province's public and economic spheres. Although few political scientists or historians credit AQ with a significant effect on public policy, the organization did receive significant media attention in both Quebec's anglophone and francophone media during the 1980s. The media often used AQ as a counterfoil to small Quebec nationalist groups such as the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. Several of AQ's early members went on to become Liberal cabinet ministers in later years, such as Thomas Mulcair.

The group had widespread grassroots volunteer activity in its early years. It formed over 20 regional chapters, including 8 in the anglophone neighbourhoods of Montreal. The federal government, in an effort to promote federalist groups in the province, subsidized the group, providing it with more than half of AQ's budget ($1.4 million in 1989). Pro-federalist businesses, many of which balked at being required to operate exclusively in French under the Parti Québecois' new legislation, also funded the group.

In addition to the regional chapters, six already-established anglophone groups outside of Montreal became affiliated with AQ and sent delegates to its annual convention. Quebec's traditional anglophone institutions, such as universities and hospitals, were also allowed to send delegates, but they rarely did so. In order to accommodate all of these groups, AQ had an exceptionally large board of directors, at 41 people. Rather than being chosen by the various groups, though, they were elected by a majority of votes at the annual convention, which encouraged slate formation and infighting.

By the end of the 1980s, AQ claimed to have 40,000 people on its membership list. Critics charged that people who did not renew their memberships were not removed from this list and that the actual number of dues-paying members hovered around 5,000.

In December 1988, AQ's offices were destroyed in a case of arson. Then-president Royal Orr sued Le Journal de Montreal and Tele-Metropole, for falsely reporting that he was the "prime suspect" in setting the blaze (the lawsuit was eventually settled out of court) [Garth Stevenson, [http://books.google.ca/books?id=8BtwoGqOAQoC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=%22Alliance+Quebec%22+arson&source=web&ots=R-Ui5LRwTS&sig=eHv98zMAPejzb_XY5fktlZBhFLs&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result "Community Beseiged"] , p.203. ] .

Middle Years: 1990-1998

The Liberal Party of Quebec won the provincial election of 1985, with one of their promises being to amend several parts of the Charter of the French Language to allow greater use of English in businesses, and particularly in advertising (which had a particular symbolic value because of the visual effect of black paint on store signs in Montreal, covering up the English text). This put AQ leaders in a dilemma when the Liberal government did not fulfill this promise, but instead passed special legislation in 1990 overriding a 1989 Supreme Court of Canada decision striking down parts of the Charter of the French Language. Most of AQ's leaders supported the government's decision, even though the majority of Quebec anglophones did not. Right-wing critics of the organization dubbed it "Compliance Quebec" and "the lamb lobby" for its perceived unwillingness to challenge the government.

Some of these critics joined the upstart Equality Party, a protest party that opposed the Liberals' legislation and had surprising electoral success in 1990, winning four seats in the National Assembly. It quickly shrank due to infighting, garnering only 0.3% of the vote in 1994. Having been rebuffed at the ballot box, most of its remaining members (numbering approximately 200) instead concentrated on winning elected positions in Alliance Quebec in order to have the group promote the Equality Party's platform (notably, favouring a complete repeal of all mandatory use of French in Quebec, and partitioning Quebec in the event of independence). Public infighting between so-called "moderates" (sympathetic to the Liberal Party) and "radicals" (the remaining members of the Equality Party) within AQ throughout the 1990s, along with a gradual decrease in interest among the general Quebec population in political issues involving language, led to the marginalization of AQ in the province's politics.

With infighting at the level of the board of directors, the grassroots elements of the group became increasingly inactive. Government funding allowed for a permanent staff for the group, which relied increasingly less on volunteers. Regional chapters, such as those in Quebec's Magdalen Islands, Lower North Shore and Baie-Comeau closed down for lack of members, while six chapters on the Island of Montreal merged in order to avoid closing.

Final Years: 1998-2005

In May 1998, a "radical" president was elected, Montreal Gazette columnist William Johnson. He won mainly with support of the tiny Equality Party, and he in turn supported its members for places on AQ's board of directors. Johnson initially made headlines by holding demonstrations against businesses that did not place English on their in-store advertising (which was once again legal after amendments to the Charter of the French Language in 1994). Johnson also had AQ's constitution amended to add his view that Canada's federal government should refuse to recognize a Quebec unilateral declaration of independence. The increased publicity soon gave way to a negative reaction from AQ's former supporters, which ultimately left the group without enough support to continue:

* half of the group's board of directors (those not associated with the Equality Party) quit the group en masse in April 1999;
* after a rise under Johnson [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2000/02/01/bill001201.html] , membership declined steadily (4,806 members in May 1998; 2,440 members in August 2001; 1,551 members in December 2003);
* all affiliated groups broke ties with AQ by 2001;
* several of AQ's regional chapters dissolved themselves and formed under new names to avoid being associated with AQ;
* private donations dropped over 90% from 1998 to 2003, with corporate donations stopping completely;
* the federal government, its main sponsor, decreased funding by 69% between 2000 and 2004. When the Department of Canadian Heritage discontinued its grant in 2005, which was at that point the source of more than 90% of AQ's funding, the group became insolvent and ceased activity.

Presidents

* Eric Maldoff (1982-1985) lawyer
* Michael Goldbloom (1985-1987), lawyer
* Royal Orr (1987-1989), writer, broadcaster
* Peter M. Blaikie, Q.C.(1989), lawyer
* Robert Keaton (1989-1993), former federal court judge
* Michael Hamelin (1993-1997), lawyer, Immigration and Refugee Board member
* Constance Middleton-Hope (1997-1998), journalist
* William Johnson (1998-2000) journalist, author
* Anthony Housefather (2000-2001), lawyer, municipal politician
* Brent Tyler (2001-2004), lawyer
* Darryl Gray (2004-2005), member of the clergy

Notes