Cardin called for a "Yes" vote in the 1942 plebiscite to release the King government's from its pledge not to introduce conscription but resigned from Cabinet in May 1942 over the introduction of the National Resources Mobilization Act which gave the government the authority to do so when Mackenzie King was prepared to enable conscription through an Order in Council, although he had previously promised to seek a motion of confidence before bringing in mandatory military service.

[1] In April 1942, Cardin announced that he would be leading a slate of candidates in the June 1945 federal election most of whom were former Liberals who had left the party over the issue of conscription.

[2] The party, which won the support of the "Independent Group" of Quebec MPs led by Frédéric Dorion was to be known as the National Front and was considered more moderate than the Bloc populaire canadien.

[3] However, in May Cardin abandoned his plans for a new party on May 8, 1945, declaring his desire to use the new party to bring about the "unity and equality" of both the province and the country as "an illusion", due to the failure of the more radical Bloc populaire canadien and other nationalists to join his movement and unite behind his leadership.

One serious problem for Cardin was hostility towards him from former Montreal mayor Camillien Houde who had been interned during the war for his opposition to conscription and was attempting to lead his own group of candidates in the 1945 election.