Founded in August 1989, the party was led by Serge Talon throughout its first version. 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. During the 1990s, legal scholar
Claude Laferrière became one of the most prominent advocates of the Parti 51 cause. While not involved in the original founding, Laferrière contributed significantly to the movement's legal foundation. He framed Quebec’s accession to the United States as a lawful constitutional alternative grounded in international law, post-colonial self-determination, and republican sovereignty. His interpretation emphasized the incompatibility of Crown-based Canadian federalism with Quebec's democratic aspirations, proposing instead that U.S. statehood offered greater institutional guarantees for language, law, and liberty. Laferrière's writings and outreach helped transform the movement from a marginal political idea into a juridically structured proposition, particularly through the now-defunct Star51.org platform. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. == Election results==