Puneet Varma (Editor)

Parti Chevreuil

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The Parti Chevreuil (which means "Deer Party") was a very short-lived Quebec provincial political party.

It gained official status in Quebec on June 20, 1994 after 15 months of work by its founders, seed grocer Mathieu Trudelle and teacher Charles Tardif, to harvest the 1,000 signatures necessary by electoral law. Trudelle, who was 20 years old at the time, had the idea while studying sociology at the Cegep de Sherbrooke and wanted to know how to create a new political party.

The name of the party came from several plays with words in French language, Trudelle having said that the deer was an animal who has "panache" (which means "class" in French but also is another word to qualify a deer's antlers) and who can cause "ravages" (which means trouble in French but also qualifies a herd of deers).

Not intended as a joke party like the Parti Rhinocéros or the Parti Citron despite its funny name, the Parti Chevreuil proposed cutting the MP's salaries from $73000 to $50000 and to put an end to their pension plans. They also wanted to give people easier access to hospital, create an environmental court, have recycling facilities all around Quebec and a create a bike trail all around Quebec. They were also in favor of the sovereignty of Quebec and planned to finance the party by selling membership cards and organizing shows.

The party planned to run candidates in between 20 and 30 ridings during for the Quebec general election, 1994. However, Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec Pierre-F. Coté removed their official status on August 29, 1994 after failing to run more than 10 candidates for the upcoming election. Trudelle and Tardif didn't even run as independents.

References

Parti Chevreuil Wikipedia