After leaving the Liberal Party, he founded the Mouvement Souveraineté-Association (MSA). In contrast to more militant nationalist movements, such as Pierre Bourgault's Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale (RIN), the party eschewed direct action and protest and attempted instead to appeal to the broader electorate, whom Lévesque would call "normal people". The main contention in the first party conference was the proposed policy toward Quebec's Anglophone minority; Lévesque faced down heavy opposition to his insistence that English schools and language rights be protected.