The Parti Québécois (PQ) is a centre-left provincial political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal. Members and supporters of the PQ are called "péquistes" ([peˈkist] ( listen)), a French word derived from the pronunciation of the party's initials.

Since June 2007, the party is headed by Pauline Marois.

The PQ is the result of the 1968 merger between René Lévesque's Mouvement Souveraineté-Association and the Ralliement national. Following the creation of the PQ, the Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale held a general assembly that voted to dissolve the RIN. Its former members were invited to join the new Parti Québécois.

The PQ's primary goals were to obtain political, economic and social autonomy for the province of Quebec. Lévesque introduced the strategy of referenda early in the 1970s.[1]

Pauline Marois (French pronunciation: [pɔlin maʁwa]; born March 29, 1949) is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix. In a political career spanning some 30 years, she has held a total of 15 ministerial titles.

She is married to Claude Blanchet, former head of Quebec's Société générale de financement, and is the mother of four children (Catherine, Félix, François-Christophe and Jean-Sébastien).

Marois was born in Quebec City, the daughter of Marie-Paule (née Gingras) and Grégoire Marois. She holds a bachelor's degree in social work from Université Laval, as well as a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from HEC Montréal. During the 1970s she gained experience with several community organizations, before working as press attachée for then-finance minister Jacques Parizeau. She also served as chief of staff for Lise Payette, minister responsible for the condition of women, and taught for some time at Université du Québec en Outaouais.

Denise Filiatrault, OC OQ (born May 16, 1931) is a Canadian actress and director.

In 1982, she won a "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role" Genie Award for her performance in Les Plouffe. In 2004, she was nominated for a "Achievement in Direction" and "Original Screenplay" Genie Award for Ma vie en cinémascope.

In 1994, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2000, she was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.

Filiatrault attained star status on TV in the 1960s, co-starring with Dominique Michel in the Radio-Canada television series Moi et l'autre (1967–71) and in many editions of Radio-Canada's annual New Year's special, Bye Bye. She had further success in Chez Denise (1978–1982), Le 101, avenue des Pins (1984–85) and Denise... aujourd'hui (1990–91).

In addition to her television career, Filiatrault also performed in films and on stage, notably in works by Michel Tremblay. She was known to perform both comic and dramatic roles, such as André Brassard's film version of Tremblay's Il était une fois dans l'Est (1974), in Denys Arcand's Gina (1975), in several Franco-Canadian co-productions, specifically Gilles Carle's La Mort d'un bûcheron (1973), Fantastica (1980) and, in 1981, Carle's Les Plouffe, playing the tormented Cécile.

Michel Brault, OQ (born 25 June 1928, Montreal) is a Quebec cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s. Brault was a pioneer of the hand-held camera aesthetic.

In the 1960s, Brault collaborated with the French Nouvelle Vague, notably with Jean Rouch, and introduced the cinéma vérité techniques in Europe. He directed his first documentary short film for the National Film Board, the influential Les Raquetteurs in 1958. He was also the cinematographer for a number of key Canadian films of the 1970s such as Claude Jutra's Kamouraska and Mon Oncle Antoine and Francis Mankiewicz's Les Bons débarras.

In 1974, Brault directed Les Ordres, about the 1970 October crisis and won the 1975 Cannes Film Festival award for best director and the 1975 Canadian Film Award for best direction. His 1989 film The Paper Wedding was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.

Véronique Hivon is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec, who was elected to represent the riding of Joliette in the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2008 provincial election. She is a member of the Parti Québécois.

Hivon was first graduate of McGill University with a degree in common law after brief studies at the University of Ottawa in political sciences. She also had a master's degree in planning and analysis of social politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

She worked as a researcher and law intern in 1994 but started to work as a lawyer starting in 2002 though she was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1996. She also worked as a press secretary and Assistant Director to the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice and was also an assistant director at McGill's Law Faculty.

Hivon was first candidate for the PQ in 2007 but lost to then-Health Minister Philippe Couillard in the riding of Jean-Talon. Hivon defeated the ADQ's Pascal Beaupré in Joliette in 2008.