United Farmers of Quebec

The United Farmers of Quebec (Fermiers unis de Québec) were founded in 1918 as part of the broader United Farmers movement in of Canada.

United Farmers of Quebec
Former provincial party
Founded1918
Dissolved1924
IdeologyAgrarianism
progressivism
social democracy
ColoursGreen

The genesis of the organization was in protests resulting from the Conscription Crisis of 1917 against the attempt of Robert Borden's federal government to conscript farm youths into the Canadian military during World War I. Quebec farmers organized a large demonstration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 15, 1918 bringing them into contact with the United Farmers national movement.[1]

The Quebec farmers organized 20 associations in western Quebec and in July 1918 organized the Interprovincial Union of Farmers as an umbrella group.[1] By this time renamed to United Farmers of Québec, a conference held in Montreal in January 1920 finalized the organizational structure and elected A. H. Clement as president.[2] As for 1921, UFQ had 5,000 members in 20 counties.[1]

From the beginning, UFQ was involved in politics, supporting Nérée Morin in 1920 provincial by-election in Kamouraska, and later nominating Joseph Lambert in 1921 federal by-election in Yamaska.[2]

At the Montreal convention in October 1921, the United Farmers and the Union des cultivateurs du Québec formed the Parti fermier-progressiste du Québec (Progressive Farmers of Québec) with the support of Joseph-Noé Ponton and the Bulletin des agriculteurs. The party was inspired by both the program of the Progressive Party of Canada and the nationalism of Henri Bourassa,[1] and included, in particular, the development of natural resources, respect for human rights, reduction of military spending and opposition to conscription.[3]

The party supported 21 candidates, most of whom ran in conjunction with the Progressive Party of Canada in the 1921 federal election, but none were elected. The farmers' candidates won 42,000 votes, or 11% of the total in Quebec.

By 1924, the group had been overshadowed by the more conservative Catholic Union of Farmers, which later became Union des producteurs agricoles.[1]

Electoral results
1921 Canadian federal election
RidingCandidate[4]Votes %Position
BagotLouis-Homer Marcotte3,03442.82/3
BellechasseJoseph Cléophas Cote1,10917.62/2
ChamplainAuguste Trudel2,09012.33/3
Drummond—ArthabaskaWilfrid Blanchard2,15413.62/4
HullSylvio Lafortune2,51017.32/2
Châteauguay—HuntingdonPeter Daniel McArthur4,06138.62/3
JoliettePaplinuce Bonin2652.63/3
KamouraskaJoseph Langlais2,48334.02/2
LabelleJean Lachance2,89327.82/3
Laval—Two MountainsAglibert Théoret3,47934.62/3
NicoletFortunat Proulx2,27121.52/3
PontiacGeorge Arthur Landon1,76010.63/3
Richmond—WolfeAzarie Lemire2,98622.42/2
RimouskiAlfred Lavoie1,24716.42/2
Vaudreuil—SoulangesJulien Charlebois2933.52/3
WrightHerbert Miller Ellard1,59020.82/3

References
  1. "United Farmers of Quebec" The Canadian Encyclopedia
  2. Wood, Louis Aubrey (1975-01-01). A history of farmers' movements in Canada. University of Toronto Press. pp. 305.
  3. Wood, Louis Aubrey (1975-01-01). A history of farmers' movements in Canada. University of Toronto Press. pp. 306.
  4. "Candidats Fermiers-Progressistes sur les rangs dans Québec" Le bulletin des agriculteurs, December 3, 1921 (pg. 4) via Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (numerique.banq.qc.ca). Retrieved October 20, 2022.
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