The Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste (French pronunciation:[ʁasɑ̃bləmɑ̃puʁlaltɛʁnativpʁɔɡʁɛsist], RAP; English: Rally for a Progressive Alternative) began as the Rassemblement pour l'alternative politique, a social movement founded in 1997 as an attempt to unite the progressive and leftist forces in Quebec, Canada. It presented seven independent candidates (including former trade union leader Michel Chartrand) in the 1998 Quebec provincial election, and became a political party in 2000.