Parti 51

{{Infobox political party

| name = Parti 51

| logo = Parti51 logo.png

| logo_size =

| leader = Hans Mercier{{cite web|title=Le Directeur général des élections du Québec|url=https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/english/provincial/rapeq/political-parties-details.php?p=37|website=Le Directeur général des élections du Québec|language=en}}

| president =

| spokesperson = Sonia Vachon

| foundation = {{Start date|1989|08|11}} (first incarnation){{cite web|title=Parti 51|url=http://www.quebecpolitique.com/partis-politiques/les-partis/parti-51/|website=QuébecPolitique.com|access-date=28 October 2017|language=fr-CA|date=1 August 2008}}
{{Start date|2016|10|13}} (second incarnation)

| dissolution = {{End date|1990|12|13}} (first incarnation)
{{End date|2024|01|14}} (second incarnation){{cite web|title=C’est la fin pour la deuxième génération du Parti 51|url=https://mabeauce.com/cest-la-fin-pour-la-deuxieme-generation-du-parti-51/|website=mabeauce.com|access-date=3 December 2024|language=fr-CA|date=15 January 2024}}

| merger =

| merged =

| split =

| headquarters = 11505, 1re avenue
Bureau 200
Saint-Georges, Quebec
G5Y 7X3

| ideology = Single issue: Accession of Quebec to the United States

| position =

| predecessor =

| successor =

| international =

| membership = 1,100

| membership_year = 2018

| colours =

| colorcode = #003399

| blank1_title = Policies

| blank1 =

| seats1_title = Seats in the National Assembly

| seats1 =

| website =

| country = Canada

| state = Quebec

| footnotes =

}}

The Parti 51 ({{langx|fr|Parti cinquante et un}}, {{IPA|fr|paʁti sɛ̃kɑ̃t e œ̃|pron}}) was a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec that was founded in the late 1980s under the leadership of Serge Talon. The party proposed the separation of Quebec from Canada in order to seek admission to the United States as the 51st state of the American union. The party had no success in winning any seat in 1989 election to the National Assembly of Quebec, and in the spring of 1990, asked the Direction of Elections of Quebec to dissolve the party because it no longer had enough members to form an executive committee.{{cite web |url=http://www.pum.umontreal.ca/apqc/89_90/crete/crete.htm |title=L'année politique au Québec 1989-1990: La vie des partis |last=Crête |first=Jean |publisher=Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal |language=fr |access-date=2018-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183459/http://www.pum.umontreal.ca/apqc/89_90/crete/crete.htm |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}

In 2016, the party was relaunched by a Saint-Georges-based lawyer, Hans Mercier.{{cite web|title=L'avocat beauceron Hans Mercier relance le Parti 51|url=http://www.leclaireurprogres.ca/actualites/politique/2017/1/12/l_avocat-beauceron-hans-mercier-relance-le-parti-51-.html|website=L'Éclaireur Progrès|access-date=28 October 2017|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029064909/http://www.leclaireurprogres.ca/actualites/politique/2017/1/12/l_avocat-beauceron-hans-mercier-relance-le-parti-51-.html|archive-date=2017-10-29|url-status=dead}}

Becoming a state of the United States of America had been the primary purpose and goal of Parti 51 since its inception.{{Cite web|url=https://parti51.com/en/faqs/|title=Frequently Asked Questions | Party 51}}

History

Founded in August 1989, the party was led by Serge Talon throughout its first version.{{cite web|url=https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/politique/relance-du-parti-51-qui-prone-lannexion-du-quebec-aux-etats-unis-262b07ca9147c9b68dcaa6db487b865e|title=Relance du Parti 51, qui prône l'annexion du Québec aux États-Unis|website=Le Soleil|date=January 12, 2017}}[http://www.quebecpolitique.com/partis-politiques/les-partis/parti-51/ « Parti 51 » sur Québec Politique]

The movement presented 11 candidates in the general election of 1989 but obtained only 3846 votes, or 0.11% of the province's vote and no deputy in the National Assembly of Quebec. The average percentage of votes obtained by their candidates compared to the eleven constituencies represents only 1.27%. The scores range from 0.66% (Vachon) to 1.98% (Orford). The party mainly targeted English-speaking constituencies, competing with the Unity Party in six constituencies.

In the spring of 1990, the organization requested its dissolution from the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ), explaining that it no longer had enough members to form an executive council, it was enacted in 1991.[http://www.pum.umontreal.ca/apqc/89_90/crete/crete.htm « La Vie des partis »] sur le site L'année politique au Québec, de l'Université de Montréal

In 2016, Saint-Georges lawyer Hans Mercier re-launched Parti 51, again calling and campaigning for the annexation of Quebec for it to become an American state.{{cite web|url=https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/01/13/une-nouveau-parti-politique-le-parti-51-veut-annexer-le-quebec-aux-etats-unis|title=Un nouveau parti politique, le Parti 51, veut annexer le Québec aux États-Unis|website=Le Journal de Montréal|date=January 13, 2017}} By the time of the 2018 election, the party had an estimated 1,100 members.{{cite news |last1=Guidara |first1=Amin |title=Voter pour un Québec américain - La Presse+ |url=http://mi.lapresse.ca/screens/db879cf9-2ca5-4cae-ac73-a7812b8e3028__7C___0.html |access-date=16 September 2018 |work=La Presse+ |publisher=La Presse |date=27 August 2018 |language=fr-CA}} Mercier told La Presse that the times have changed since the party's previous era, as Quebec sovereigntism has waned in popularity. Mercier argued that Americans would be welcoming of a new Quebec state, and pointed to a survey taken during the administration of George W. Bush that suggested nearly 34% of Quebecers would support joining the United States.

Of the various reasons and advantages argued by the party in favor of joining the United States of America, one prominent aspect has focused on economic grounds, as for instance by the early 2000s the mutual trade volume between Quebec and the US had surpassed that of Quebec and the remaining provinces of Canada combined,{{Cite web|url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/university-tenure/is-quebec-a-north-american-region-state/|title=Is Quebec a North American Region-State?|website=Policy Options}} greater autonomy and sovereignty over its own affairs as a US state, access to the US common market, as well as national security and defence, as Quebec as a US state would have its own state National Guard and fall under the umbrella and protection afforded by the federal US Armed Forces.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-2Y7qF5KyM|title=LIVE 20 septembre 2022: Notre programme, pas de programme.|via=www.youtube.com|date=20 September 2022|access-date=21 September 2022|language=French}}

Similar to the example of Quebec's Parti 51, additional secessionist movements and formal political parties have formed across other Canadian provinces likewise seeking statehood via admission into the United States, such as with Alberta separatism with the formation of Alberta 51.{{cite web |url=https://www.alberta51.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606003856/https://www.alberta51.com/ |archive-date=2020-06-06 |title=Alberta 51}}{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2659271776| title = Alberta as the 51st state? {{!}} CBC.ca}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.westernstandardonline.com/2020/02/littlejohn-alberta-as-the-51st-state-isnt-a-crazy-as-you-might-think/|title = LITTLEJOHN: Alberta as the 51st State isn't a crazy as you might think|date = 12 February 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://appalachianmagazine.com/2019/04/10/51st-state-may-come-from-a-place-you-might-not-expect/|title=51st State May Come from a Place You Might Not Expect | Appalachian Magazine}} In order to appeal to as wide a base of support as possible, Parti 51 asserts it does not hold positions on any other issues aside from the immediate goal of seceding from Canada and acceding as a state to the US.

As of 2024, the party is no longer active, though there have been efforts to revive it.{{Cite web | title=The 51st State. - YouTube | url=https://www.youtube.com/live/3MomdlpxUdo | access-date=2025-06-16 | website=www.youtube.com}}{{Cite web | title=Alberta, USA Statehood Movement {{!}} Canadian lawyer Hans Mercier does an EXCELLENT job of explaining statehood to Albertans | url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/albertastatehoodmovement/posts/1658792321684283/ | access-date=2025-06-16 | website=www.facebook.com}}{{Cite web | title=Le Canada, 51e État américain? - YouTube | url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YBf6k-r2ZtY?feature=share | access-date=2025-06-16 | website=www.youtube.com}}{{Cite web | title=«Un état américain, [...] c’est essentiellement ce que René Lévesque proposait», dit Hans Mercier - YouTube | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNl2P4umZqc&ab_channel=QUBRadio | access-date=2025-06-16 | website=www.youtube.com}}

Election results

class="wikitable"

----

| align="center" | General election

| align="center" | # of candidates

| align="center" | # of elected candidates

| align="center" | % of popular vote

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| align="center" | 1989

align="center" | 11

| align="center" | 0

align="center" | 0.11%

----

| align="center" | 2018

align="center" | 5

| align="center" | 0

align="center" | 0.03%

----

| align="center" | 2022

align="center" | 5

| align="center" | 0

align="center" | 0.02%

= 1989 election results =

In the 1989 Quebec general election, the most successful year for Parti 51, the party nominated 11 candidates, who won 3,846 votes, or 0.11% of the popular vote in the province. The party ran mostly in anglophone areas of the province.

class="wikitable centre" summary="Results of Party 51 candidates in 1989 National Assembly of Quebec elections" style="text-align:center"

|+ Results of Party 51 candidates in 1989 National Assembly of Quebec elections

! District

! Candidate

! Votes

! Percentage

Vachon

| Paul Ducharme

| 223

| 0.66%

Richmond

| Michel Dostie