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Parti de la Liberté de Choix

political party in the Canadian province of Quebec

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ7140322 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Parti de la Liberté de Choix (French pronunciation: [paʁti də la libɛʁte də ʃwa]; English: Freedom of Choice Party) was a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec. Focused on anglophone rights issues, it ran candidates in provincial elections from 1979 to 1982.

The party should not be confused with the Freedom of Choice Movement, a separate group that also promoted anglophone rights issues in Quebec.

History

Quebec journalist William Johnson wrote in May 1979 that the party had unclear origins and was difficult to research, but that it seemed to have been founded by Armour Forse in either 1978 or 1979. Forse, a dentist originally from Nova Scotia, was a vocal opponent of Quebec's Charter of the French Language (aka Bill 101), which he described as a racist law. Forse supported linguistic freedom in education, work, and other spheres of life; as such, he opposed the Quebec government's efforts to promote the status the French language.

Johnson wrote that the party seemed to be an extension of Forse's political ambitions and was unlikely to achieve a breakthrough; while it claimed to represent both anglophones and francophones, it was in reality an anglophone party that could not put out proper French translations of its literature. It is not clear if Forse remained involved with the party after its formative period.

A 1985 article in the Ottawa Citizen described Freedom of Choice as an "ultra-right anglophone party," noting that its candidate in Pontiac during the 1981 provincial election had proposed shifting the region from Quebec to Ontario.

William Shaw, a former member of the National Assembly of Quebec who was focused on anglophone rights issues, led the Freedom of Choice Party in 1985.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Parti de la Liberté de Choix” as political party in the Canadian province of Quebec. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1979, 1982, 1978, 1985—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Parti, Liberté and Choix can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as political party in the Canadian province of Quebec. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7140322. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1979, 1982, 1978 and 1985.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Parti de la Liberté de Choix”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Parti de la Liberté de Choix primary sources, Parti de la Liberté de Choix archive and Parti research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Parti de la Liberté de Choix”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Parti de la Liberté de Choix” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.