Jean Lesage

Jean Lesage
Statue in Quebec City.
19th Premier of Quebec
In office 22 June 1960 – 16 August 1966
Preceded by	Antonio Barrette
Succeeded by	Daniel Johnson Sr.
Personal details
Born	10 June 1912(1912-06-10) Montreal, Quebec
Died	12 December 1980( 1980-12-12) (aged 68) Sillery, Quebec
Political party	Quebec Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Corinne Lagarde
Profession	Lawyer, Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jean Lesage, PC, CC, CD (10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 19th Premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960, to 16 August 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and other French-Canadians, he is often viewed as the father of the Quiet Revolution.

Biography

Background

Jean Lesage

Born in Montreal to Xavéri Lesage, teacher and public servant, and Cécile Côté. Jean Lesage's education included the kindergarten Saint-Enfant-Jésus de Montréal, the boarding school Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague in Quebec City, the Quebec City Seminary, and Université Laval in Quebec City where he received a law degree. He was admitted to the Barreau du Québec on 10 July 1934. He also served in the Canadian Army reserve from 1933 to 1945.

Legal career

He practised law in Quebec City with Paul Lesage in 1934, then with Charles Gavan Power, Valmore Bienvenue, Paul Lesage, and Jean Turgeon. He married Corinne Lagarde, a singer and the daughter of Alexandre Lagarde and Valéria Matte.

He was made a Crown attorney for Wartime Prices and Trade Board from 1939 to 1944.

Political career in Ottawa

Jean Lesage was elected as a federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Montmagny-L'Islet as a Liberal for the first time in the 1945 general election. After his re-election in 1949, he was first named Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State for External Affairs from 25 January 1951 to 31 December 1952, he was then named Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Finance from 1 January 1953 to 13 June 1953. Following his re-election in 1953, Jean Lesage was appointed Minister of Resources and Development from 17 September 1953 to 15 December 1953 and then Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources from 16 December 1953 to 21 June 1957

He survived the Progressive Conservative ascendancy and was re-elected in both 1957 and 1958. However, he resigned from his seat 13 June 1958 following his election as leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec on 31 May 1958.

The Lesage Government

See also: The Quiet Revolution

Elected to the National Assembly of Quebec, Jean Lesage's Liberal Party won the 1960 Quebec general election, campaigning with the slogan of C’est le temps que ça change (It’s time things changed) and putting an end to the long reign of the Union nationale that had governed Quebec under Maurice Duplessis since 1935 (except for the period from 1940 to 1944). Lesage became Premier, President of the Executive Council, and Minister of Finance from 5 July 1960 to 16 June 1966; he was also Minister of Federal-Provincial Affairs from 28 March 1961 to 16 June 1966 and Minister of Revenue from 30 May 1963 to 8 August 1963.

Lesage's election campaign ushered the Quiet Revolution, which began to change the traditional domination of Quebec's economy by English-speaking Canadians, and the traditional domination of the public lives of French-speaking Quebecers by the Roman Catholic Church was replaced by a larger role for the government of Quebec.

In 1962, the Liberal Party of Quebec won re-election with the slogan Maitres chez nous (Masters in Our Own Home). In the last decade, it had already ended its affiliation with the Liberal Party of Canada.

Some of the major accomplishments were the creation of the Ministry of Education, the nationalization of hydro-electricity (Hydro-Québec) and more control over the health care system. Major reforms were also made in the public sector and improved working conditions were implemented as well.

See also

• Politics of Quebec
• Quebec general elections
• Quiet Revolution
• History of Quebec
• Mackenzie King
• Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport

Book references

• Rouillard, Jacques (2003), Le syndicalisme Québécois : Deux siècles d'histoire, Boréal Editions, 335p.
• Comeau, Robert & Bourque, Gilles (1989), Jean Lesage et l'éveil d'une nation Sillery Editions, 367p.
• Thomson, Dale Carins (1984), Jean Lesage et la révolution tranquille, du Trecarre Editions, 615p.
• Fullerton, Douglas H. (1978), The dangerous delusion McClelland and Stuart Editions, 240p.

External links

• Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution, 1960–1966
• His Order of Canada citation
• National Assembly of Quebec biography (French)

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by J.-Léo-K. Laflamme (Liberal)	MP, District of Montmagny—L'Islet 1945–1958	Succeeded by Louis Fortin (Progressive Conservative)
National Assembly of Quebec
Preceded by Jean-Paul Galipeault (Liberal)	MNA, District of Louis-Hébert (District called Quebec-Ouest until 1965) 1960–1970	Succeeded by Claude Castonguay (Liberal)
Party political offices
Preceded by Georges-Émile Lapalme	Leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec 1958–1970	Succeeded by Robert Bourassa
Government offices
Preceded by Antonio Barrette (Union Nationale)	Premier of Quebec 1960–1966	Succeeded by Daniel Johnson, Sr. (Union Nationale)
Political offices
Preceded by Daniel Johnson, Sr. (Union Nationale)	Leader of the Opposition in Quebec 1966–1970	Succeeded by Robert Bourassa (Liberal)