Construction, maintenance and expansion of the parliamentary building complex in Québec from 1764 to the present day
Christian Blais is an historian with the National Assembly Library.
Tag: Christian Blais
The Foundations of Parliamentarism in Quebec, 1764–1791
The Foundations of Parliamentarism in Quebec, 1764–1791
Employing research from his doctoral dissertation, the author breaks with the consensus position that the first meeting of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada on December 17, 1792, marks the beginning of parliamentarism in Quebec. Instead, he traces a rudimentary form of parliamentarism back to 1764 and shows how it developed over nearly 30 years.
On December 17, 1792, the first members of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada met in the chapel of the episcopal palace in Quebec City. This historic event is considered the beginning of parliamentarism in Quebec. But I must break with this consensus interpretation. In my doctoral dissertation on the origins of parliamentarism in Quebec, entitled Aux sources du parlementarisme dans la Province de Québec, 1764–1791, I show that the foundations of parliamentarism in the province precede the Constitutional Act of 1791.1
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The 225th Anniversary of Quebec’s Parliamentary Institutions
The 225th Anniversary of Quebec’s Parliamentary Institutions
To celebrate and commemorate the 225th anniversary of Quebec’s parliamentary institutions, the National Assembly launched an exhibit entitled “1792. La naissance d’un Parlement.” In this article, the author presents some highlights from the exhibit and explains why cartoons were such a central part of it.
On April 4, 2017, in Quebec’s Parliament Building, National Assembly President Jacques Chagnon officially launched the celebrations marking the 225th anniversary of Quebec’s parliamentary institutions. In his speech, he noted, “It’s not every day that we take the time to recall the extent to which the National Assembly, its authority, its areas of jurisdiction and all the powers it now holds are the result of events that played out here 225 years ago and helped shape democracy in Quebec.” [translation]
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Sketches of Parliament and Parliamentarians Past Vol 39 No 2
Sketches of Parliament and Parliamentarians Past
In keeping with the motto Je me souviens, the Parliament Building of Québec is like an open book, presenting us with a gallery of illustrious historical figures.
The Parliament Building is a fitting tribute to the women and men who shaped the history of Québec. Engraved on the wainscotting inside the building are the names of 84 historical figures.
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The Oldest Parliamentary Rules in Quebec and Canada
The Oldest Parliamentary Rules in Quebec and Canada
This article presents a brief history of the oldest written rules of the first “Canadian provinces” and introduces two unpublished manuscripts on the Rules of Quebec and Lower Canada.
From the fourteenth century until the early nineteenth century, parliamentary procedure in the House of Commons was more a matter of custom and practice rather than explicit written rules.2 It was not until 1810 that the Commons officially codified some of its procedures as Standing Orders.3
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