Parti éléphant blanc de Montréal

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The Parti éléphant blanc de Montréal (PÉBM) (English: White Elephant Party of Montreal) was a fringe political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that existed for most of the period from 1989 to 2009.

Montreal City in Quebec, Canada

Montreal is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the second-most populous municipality in Canada. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. It has a distinct four-season continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold, snowy winters.

Quebec Province of Canada

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, with 70% of citizens residing within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Contents

Origins

The PÉBM was created by Michel Bédard in August 1989, with the stated purpose of giving Montrealers an alternative in the 1990 municipal election. A party spokesperson said that it would "half humorous, half serious" and "use humor to make a serious point." Although similar in some respects to the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the Parti citron, it was not formally aligned with those parties. [1]

Campaigns

The PÉBM ran Bédard as its mayoral candidate in the 1990 municipal election and fielded a number of candidates for the Montreal city council. The party's election literature was filled with puns and jokes, including a pledge to use its tusks to skewer "elected officials who never open their mouths except to yawn and never stand except to go to the bathroom." This notwithstanding, Bédard also focused on poverty and hunger issues, promising to start a line of government-owned restaurants to feed the poor with surplus foods from restaurants and bakeries. [2] During the election, the PÉBM also promised to turn parking lots into green spaces, ban neon signs and advertisements on bus terminals, and increase heritage protection. [3]

Tusk elongated, continuously growing front teeth

Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with warthogs, pigs, and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. In most tusked species both the males and the females have tusks although the males' are larger. Tusks are generally curved, though the narwhal's sole tusk is straight and has a helical structure. Continuous growth is enabled by formative tissues in the apical openings of the roots of the teeth. In earlier times elephant tusks weighing over 90 kg (200 lb) were not uncommon, though it is rare today to see any over 45 kg (100 lb).

The party again fielded Bédard as its mayoral candidate in the 1994 municipal election, in which capacity he presided over total party electoral budget of only one thousand dollars. During this campaign, Bédard described the party's name as follows: "The white elephant is the only animal that doesn't fear its rivals because it is thought to be the wisest and most serene animal of all. It's a symbol of prosperity, security and confidence, all of which are very important qualities in a political party. And the color of the animal we have chosen as our symbol is white, because we are still pure. We are not corrupt like many other political parties out there." [4] He again focused on food issues and promoted a by-law that would have required restaurants to give their surplus food to food banks. [5]

A by-law is a rule or law established by an organization or community to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some other government body, establishes the degree of control that the by-laws may exercise. By-laws may be established by entities such as a business corporation, a neighborhood association, or depending on the jurisdiction, a municipality.

Food bank Non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food

A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger. In North America, a food pantry or food closet is a small front line agency that hands out packages of food from food banks directly to people in need.

Bédard changed the PÉBM's name to the Parti Montréal 2000 the 1998 municipal election but returned to the original name for 2001. [6] In the latter campaign, he was forcibly ejected from at least two mayoral debates to which he had not been formally invited. He once again focused on food issues, and also pledged more support for community groups that assist prostitutes and drug addicts. [7]

The Parti Montréal 2000 was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It fielded a mayoral candidate and candidates for city council in the 1998 Montreal municipal election. The party's founder, leader, and mayoral candidate was Michel Bédard.

After using the PÉBM designation again in 2005, Bédard changed the party's name to Parti Fierté Montréal in 2009. [8]

Parti Fierté Montréal is a small municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It fronted its own candidate, Michel Bédard for the mayorship of Montreal in the municipal elections in 2009.

No PÉBM candidate ever came close to winning election.

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References

  1. ↑ "White elephants weigh in," Montreal Gazette, 15 August 1989, A3; James Mennie, "Elephant Party suffers from mistaken identity; `We're more ferocious than Rhinos'," Montreal Gazette, 23 October 1990, A4.
  2. ↑ James Mennie, "Hunger isn't funny; White Elephants are serious about election issues: leader," Montreal Gazette, 8 September 1990, A3.
  3. ↑ Marian Scott, "Party blueprints," Montreal Gazette, 27 October 1990, B1.
  4. ↑ Taskeen Hamidullah, "Trumpeting its virtues; White Elephant Party aims to shake up voters," Montreal Gazette, 7 August 1994, A3.
  5. ↑ Michelle Lalonde, "White Elephants join the fray; Traditional parties make city politics a circus: Bedard," Montreal Gazette, 22 October 1994, A7.
  6. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "Ex-Elephant gets serious: 3-time mayoral candidate Bedard has plan to attack poverty in city," Montreal Gazette, 21 October 1998, A6; Aaron Derfel, "Fringe candidates bring idealism, wit," Montreal Gazette, 28 September 2001, A6.
  7. ↑ Darren Becker, "Tossed out on his ear: The leader of the White Elephant Party insists he and his candidates have something to say, even if they don't get to say it at mayoralty debates," Montreal Gazette, 20 October 2001, A7.
  8. ↑ Linda Gyulai, "Mayoral rivals get loud," Montreal Gazette, 31 October 2005, A1; Linda Gyulai, "Harel fires salvo at mayor; Speaks at Summit; City needs an overhaul, ex-PQ minister argues," Montreal Gazette, 8 June 2009, A1.
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