Parti crédit social uni

The Parti crédit social uni (PCSU; English: United Social Credit Party) was a provincial political party in the Canadian province of Quebec. It existed on two occasions, from 1969 to around 1971 and from 1979 to 1994. The party leader in both periods was Jean-Paul Poulin. The PCSU was not formally aligned with the Social Credit Party of Canada.

First period, 1969–71

The Parti crédit social uni emerged through a split in the Quebec social credit movement. In 1969, Réal Caouette's federal Ralliement des créditistes decided to field candidates at the provincial level for the first time. Poulin and his supporters disapproved of this decision, saying that they did not support Caouette's leadership of the federal party, and established the PSCU as a rival organization. In launching the party, Poulin also indicated his support for a "strong Quebec in a united Canada."[1] Poulin had been a candidate of the Ralliement national, a social credit and Quebec nationalist party that contested the 1966 provincial election without Caouette's approval.

The PSCU ran candidates in three 1969 by-elections, in the 1970 provincial elections, and in further by-elections in 1971. None were elected. The party was not registered with the provincial government, and its candidates appeared on the ballot without affiliation.

The party seems to have disappeared after 1971. Poulin later joined the re-united Social Credit Party of Canada under Caouette's leadership and was a candidate for the party in the 1974 federal election.[2]

Second period, 1979–1994

The provincial Ralliement créditiste du Québec, which was aligned with the federal party, dissolved itself in 1978. The Parti crédit social uni was subsequently re-established, again under Poulin's leadership, and was accredited as a provincial political party on September 13, 1979.[3] The PCSU nominated candidates in the 1981 election, 1985 election, and 1989 election, each time winning less than 0.1% of the popular vote. The last time it fielded a candidate was in a by-election in Anjou held on January 20, 1992. The party was deregistered on August 27, 1994 by the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec.[4]

During the 1981 provincial election, the Montreal Gazette described the PCSU as a "hard core" Créditiste group and identified Poulin as a follower of Major C.H. Douglas's economic theories. When interviewed by the Gazette, Poulin held up a copy of his party's manifesto and said, "This was written in 1966 and I haven't had to change a word."[5]

References
  1. Ronald Lebel, "Creditistes' entry into politics likely to be swamped by UN win," Globe and Mail, 25 September 1969, p. 10.
  2. History of Federal Ridings since 1867: SAINT-HENRI (1974/07/08), Parliament of Canada, accessed 31 December 2010.
  3. "Ralliement créditiste". QuébecPolitique.com (in French). Retrieved 2006-11-13. and Canadian Press (October 20, 1979). "Party leader seeks election in Quebec vote". The Globe and Mail. p. P-2.
  4. "Ralliement créditiste". QuébecPolitique.com (in French). Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  5. Poulin was presumably referring to the Raillement national's manifesto from that year's provincial election. See Hubert Bauch, "Chasing votes on the political fringe," Montreal Gazette, 28 March 1981, p. 25.
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