National Assembly of Quebec
Encyclopedia : N : NA : NAT : National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (French: Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the name for the legislative body of the province of Quebec, Canada which was defined in the Canadian constitution as the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (l'assemblée législative de Québec). It operates in a fashion similar to that of other British-style parliamentary systems. Since the abolition in 1968 of the Legislative Council (French: Conseil législatif), hitherto the upper house of the Quebec legislature, the lower house known as the Legislative Assembly of Quebec has had exclusive power to enact laws in the provincial jurisdictions defined in the Constitution of Canada. It was renamed the "National Assembly of Quebec" following the abolition of the upper house. The current President of the National Assembly of Quebec is Liberal Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Michel Bissonnet.
History
The Legislative Assembly was created in Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was abolished from 1841 to 1867 under the 1840 Act of Union which merged Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single colony named the Province of Canada.
The 1867 British North America Act, which created the Canadian confederation, split the Province of Canada into the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was thus restored as the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec.
The original Quebec legislature was bicameral, consisting of the Legislative Council and 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". Before 1968, there had been various unsuccessful attempts at abolishing the Legislative Council, which was analogous to the Senate of Canada.
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 salon vert (green hall) became the salon bleu (blue hall).
Parliament Building
- Main article: Parliament Building
Elections
General elections are held at least every five years. Any person holding Canadian citizenship and who has resided in Quebec for at least six months qualifies to have his or her name entered on the electoral list.
Quebec's territory is divided into 125 electoral districts (ridings). In each electoral division, the candidate who receives the most votes is elected and becomes a Member of the National Assembly (MNA). This is known as the first-past-the-post voting system.
Normally, the leader of the political party with the largest number of elected candidates is asked by the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec to form the government as Premier. (In French, it is rendered as Premier Ministre.).
Current members
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | X | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | X | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | X | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
| **** | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | **** | * | **** | * | **** | * | **** |
Official seating plan of the Quebec National Assembly.
At the present, the 125 seats of the National Assembly are distributed as follows:
| Members | Female Members | ||
| Parti libéral du Québec | 73 | 23 | |
| Parti Québécois | 44 | 14 | |
| Action démocratique du Québec | 5 | 1 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | |
| Vacant | 2 | - | |
| Total | 125 | 38 | |
| Government Majority | 10 | ||
- Libéral member Daniel Bouchard (Megantic-Compton) is sitting as an independent while being under an inquiry relating to a former job.
- Libéral member Russell Williams (Nelligan) resigned on March 9, 2004. Yolande James (PLQ) won the by-election with 52.6% of the vote.
- Libéral member Marc Bellemare (Vanier) resigned on April 28 2004. Sylvain Légaré (ADQ) won the by-election with 46.8% of the vote.
- Libéral member Christos Sirros (Laurier-Dorion) resigned on June 17 2004. Elsie Lefebvre (PQ) won the by-election with 46.1% of the vote.
- Parti Québécois member André Boisclair (Gouin) resigned on August 17 2004. Nicolas Girard (PQ) won the by-election with 57.8% of the vote.
- Libéral member Yves Séguin (Outremont) resigned on May 26, 2005. Raymond Bachand (PLQ) won the by-election with 48.8% of the vote.
- Leader of the Opposition and Former Premier Bernard Landry (Verchères) resigned on June 6, 2005. Stéphane Bergeron (PQ) won the by-election with 69.2% of the vote.
- Parti Québécois member André Boulerice (Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques) resigned on September 12, 2005. Martin Lemay (PQ) won the by-election with 41,2% of the vote.
- Parti Québécois member Pauline Marois (Taillon) resigned on 20 March, 2006.
Member list
Cabinet Ministers are in Bold, Leaders are in Italics and the President of the National Assembly has a Dagger next to his name.
| Maxime Arsenau | Parti Québécois | Îles-de-la-Madeleine |
| Vincent Auclair | Libéral | Vimont |
| Michel Audet | Libéral | Laporte |
| Claude Bachand | Libéral | Arthabaska |
| Raymond Bachand | Libéral | Outremont |
| Line Beauchamp | Libéral | Bourassa-Sauvé |
| Denise Beaudoin | Parti Québécois | Mirabel |
| Claude Béchard | Libéral | Kamouraska-Témiscouata |
| Stéphane Bédard | Parti Québécois | Chicoutimi |
| Lawrence S. Bergman | Libéral | D'Arcy-McGee |
| Stéphane Bergeron | Parti Québécois | Verchères |
| Daniel Bernard | Libéral | Rouyn-Noranda—Témiscamingue |
| Raymond Bernier | Libéral | Montmorency |
| Rosaire Bertrand | Parti Québécois | Charlevoix |
| Michel Bissonnet † | Libéral | Jeanne-Mance—Viger |
| Karl Blackburn | Libéral | Roberval |
| Yvan Bordeleau | Libéral | Acadie |
| Camil Bouchard | Parti Québécois | Vachon |
| Daniel Bouchard | Independent | Mégantic-Compton |
| Claude Boucher | Parti Québécois | Johnson |
| Julie Boulet | Libéral | Laviolette |
| Alexandre Bourdeau | Parti Québécois | Berthier |
| Bernard Brodeur | Libéral | Shefford |
| Jocelyne Caron | Parti Québécois | Terrebonne |
| Jacques Chagnon | Libéral | Westmount—Saint-Louis |
| Noëlla Champagne | Parti Québécois | Champlain |
| Jean-Pierre Charbonneau | Parti Québécois | Borduas |
| Jean Charest | Libéral | Sherbrooke |
| Nancy Charest | Libéral | Matane |
| Solange Charest | Parti Québécois | Rimouski |
| Lucie Charlebois | Libéral | Soulanges |
| André Chenail | Libéral | Huntingdon |
| Roch Cholette | Libéral | Hull |
| Maurice Clermont | Libéral | Mille-Îles |
| Russell Copeman | Libéral | Notre-Dame-de-Grâce |
| Pierre Corbeil | Libéral | Abitibi-Est |
| Jacques Côté | Parti Québécois | Dubuc |
| Philippe Couillard | Libéral | Mont-Royal |
| Michelle Courchesne | Libéral | Fabre |
| Claude Cousineau | Parti Québécois | Bertrand |
| William Cusano | Libéral | Viau |
| Margaret F. Delisle | Libéral | Jean-Talon |
| Pierre Descoteaux | Libéral | Groulx |
| Serge Deslières | Parti Québécois | Beauharnois |
| Michel Després | Libéral | Jean-Lesage |
| Léandre Dion | Parti Québécois | Saint-Hyacinthe |
| Rita Dionne-Marsoliar | Parti Québécois | Rosemont |
| Danielle Doyer | Parti Québécois | Matapédia |
| Jean Dubuc | Libéral | La Prairie |
| Marjolain Dufour | Parti Québécois | René-Lévesque |
| Mario Dumont | ADQ | Rivière-du-Loup |
| Jacques P. Dupuis | Libéral | Saint-Laurent |
| Jean-Marc Fournier | Libéral | Châteauguay |
| André Gabais | Libéral | Trois-Rivières |
| Monique Gagnon-Tremblay | Libéral | Saint-François |
| Francine Gaudet | Libéral | Maskinongé |
| Françoise Gauthier | Libéral | Jonquière |
| Henri-François Gautrin | Libéral | Verdun |
| François Gendron | Parti Québécois | Abitibi-Ouest |
| Nicolas Girard | Parti Québécois | Gouin |
| Janvier Grondin | ADQ | Beauce-Nord |
| Sam Hamad | Libéral | Louis-Hébert |
| France Hamel | Libéral | La Peltrie |
| Louise Harel | Parti Québécois | Hochelaga-Maisonneuve |
| Fatima Houda-Pepin | Libéral | La Pinière |
| Yolande James | Libéral | Nelligan |
| Monique Jérôme-Forget | Libéral | Marguerite-Bourgeoys |
| Normand Jutras | Parti Québécois | Drummond |
| Geoffrey Kelley | Libéral | Jacques-Cartier |
| Réjean Lafrenière | Libéral | Gatineau |
| Michèle Lamquin-Éthier | Libéral | Crémazie |
| Diane Leblanc | Libéral | Beauce-Sud |
| Charlotte L'Écuyer | Libéral | Pontiac |
| Elsie Lefebvre | Parti Québécois | Laurier-Dorion |
| Sylvain Légaré | ADQ | Vanier |
| Diane Legault | Libéral | Chambly |
| François Legault | Parti Québécois | Rousseau |
| Richard Legendre | Parti Québécois | Blainville |
| Guy Lelièvre | Parti Québécois | Gaspé |
| Martin Lemay | Parti Québécois | Sainte-Marie--Saint-Jacques |
| Diane Lemieux | Parti Québécois | Bourget |
| Laurent Lessard | Libéral | Frontenac |
| Michel Létourneau | Parti Québécois | Ungava |
| Nicole Loiselle | Libéral | Saint-Henri—Sainte-Anne |
| Norman MacMillan | Libéral | Papineau |
| Agnès Maltais | Parti Québécois | Taschereau |
| Yvon Marcoux | Libéral | Vaudreuil |
| Pierre Marsan | Libéral | Robert-Baldwin |
| Éric R. Mercier | Libéral | Charlesbourg |
| Pierre Moreau | Libéral | Marguerite-D'Youville |
| Michel Morin | Parti Québécois | Nicolet-Yamaska |
| Norbert Monrin | Libéral | Montmagny-L'Islet |
| Thomas J. Mulcair | Libéral | Chomedey |
| Nathalie Normandeau | Libéral | Bonaventure |
| François Ouimet | Libéral | Marquette |
| Sylvain Pagé | Parti Québécois | Labelle |
| Lucie Papineau | Parti Québécois | Prévost |
| Alain Paquet | Libéral | Laval-des-Rapides |
| Jean-Pierre Paquin | Libéral | Saint-Jean |
| Pierre Paradis | Libéral | Brome-Missisquoi |
| Benoît Pelletier | Libéral | Chapleau |
| Sarah Perreault | Libéral | Chauveau |
| Marc Picard | ADQ | Chutes-de-la-Chaudière |
| Claude Pinard | Parti Québécois | Saint-Maurice |
| Pierre Reid | Libéral | Orford |
| Lorraine Richard | Parti Québécois | Duplessis |
| Jean Rioux | Libéral | Iberville |
| Hélène Robert | Parti Québécois | Deux-Montagnes |
| Sylvie Roy | ADQ | Lotbinière |
| Sylvain Simard | Parti Québécois | Richelieu |
| Jean-Pierre Soucy | Libéral | Portneuf |
| Jean-Claude St-André | Parti Québécois | L'Assomption |
| Carole Théberge | Libéral | Lévis |
| Lise Thériault | Libéral | Anjou |
| Luc Thériault | Parti Québécois | Masson |
| Tony Tomassi | Libéral | LaFontaine |
| Stéphan Tremblay | Parti Québécois | Lac-Saint-Jean |
| Daniel Turp | Parti Québécois | Mercier |
| Yvon Vallières | Libéral | Richmond |
| Jonathan Valois | Parti Québécois | Joliette |
| Cécile Vermette | Parti Québécois | Marie-Victorin |
| Dominique Vien | Libéral | Bellechasse |
| David Whissell | Libéral | Argenteuil |
Proceedings
One of the Members of the National Assembly is chosen as the President of the Assembly (a post called Speaker in most other Westminster System assemblies) by the Premier with the support of the Leader of the Opposition. 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 a member of the other side, he or she has to speak through the President of the Assembly. The President is usually a member of the governing party, although there is no requirement for this.
See also
- Executive Council of Quebec
- List of Quebec general elections
- List of Quebec premiers
- List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
- Politics of Quebec
- Timeline of Quebec history
External links
- [National Assembly of Quebec website] (in French and English)
- [National Assembly historical data] (in French)
- [Diagram of the positions in the Assembly] (in French)
- [Data about the current president of the Assembly]
| Canadian Legislative Bodies |
|
| Parliament of Canada: | |
| House of Commons | Senate | |
| Legislative Assemblies of Canada's provinces and territories: | |
| British Columbia | Alberta | Saskatchewan | Manitoba | Ontario | Quebec | New Brunswick | Nova Scotia | Prince Edward Island | Newfoundland and Labrador | Yukon | Northwest Territories | Nunavut | |
| City Councils of major municipalities: | |
| Vancouver | Calgary | Edmonton | Winnipeg | Hamilton | Mississauga | Toronto | Ottawa | Montreal | Quebec City | |
| Victoria | Saanich | Richmond | Burnaby | Coquitlam | Surrey | Abbotsford | Saskatoon | Regina | Thunder Bay | Greater Sudbury | Barrie | Windsor | Chatham-Kent | London | Kitchener | Cambridge | Guelph | St. Catharines | Burlington | Oakville | Brampton | Vaughan | Richmond Hill | Markham | Oshawa | Kingston | Gatineau | Laval | Longueuil | Sherbrooke | Saguenay | Lévis | Halifax | Cape Breton | St. John's | |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.