Jean Lesage

Jean Lesage
File:Jean Lesage, 1960.jpg Jean Lesage, 1960
19th Premier of Quebec
In office July 22, 1960 – June 16, 1966
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	Onésime Gagnon Paul Comtois Hugues Lapointe
Preceded by	Antonio Barrette
Succeeded by	Daniel Johnson
MNA for Québec-Ouest
In office June 22, 1960 – June 5, 1966
Preceded by	Jean-Paul Galipeault
Succeeded by	District abolished
MNA for Louis-Hébert
In office June 5, 1966 – April 29, 1970
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Claude Castonguay
Member of Parliament for Montmagny—L'Islet
In office June 11, 1945 – June 13, 1958
Preceded by	Joseph-Fernand Fafard
Succeeded by	Louis Fortin
Personal details
Born	(1912-06-10)10 June 1912 Montreal, Quebec
Died	Sillery, Quebec
Political party	Quebec Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Corinne Lagarde
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jean Lesage PC CC CD (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɑ̃ ləsaʒ]; 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 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is often viewed as the father of the Quiet Revolution.

Biography

Early Years

Jean Lesage was born on June 10, 1912, in Montréal, Quebec to Xavéri Lesage, a district manager of the insurance company Les Prévoyants du Canada, and Cécile Côté with whom he also had five more children. Jean began his education at the kindergarten Saint-Enfant-Jésus Montréal. In 1921, the family relocated to Québec where Xavéri was appointed assistant manager by his brother Antoni in the headquarters office.

Education

Jean enrolled as a day student in the private boarding school St-Louis de Gonzague and in 1923, he was admitted to the Petit Séminaire de Québec for an eight-year program which eventually lead to the baccalaureate. He was a talented and bright student who ranked highly in courses especially in religion, French, Latin, Greek and philosophy.

He enrolled in the Faculty of Law at Laval University, where his natural quick wit, his facility in expressing himself and his argumentative nature assured him success in that field. During his years as a student, Jean was an active liberal and he became interested in having a political career. He graduated with a law degree in 1934.

Legal career

Lesage as a young lawyer

He practised law in Québec 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

On June 22, 1960, Jean Lesage's Liberal government won the Quebec general election with 51 of 95 seats and 51 per cent of the popular vote and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec campaigning with the slogans "l’équipe de tonnerre" – "the terrific team" – and "C’est le temps que ça change" - "It’s time for a change".

His electoral success ended the Union Nationale and Maurice Duplessis’ long conservative reign since 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 ushered the Quiet Revolution, which was the rapid and drastic change of values, attitudes, and behaviours in Quebec society also characterized by a surge in Quebec nationalism. In the previous decade, it had already ended its affiliation with the Liberal Party of Canada.

In 1962, the Liberal Party of Quebec won re-election with a campaign centered on the nationalization of hydroelectricity and the slogan Maîtres chez nous (Masters in Our Own Home).

Major accomplishments

The Lesage government’s rule significantly contributed to social, economic and political changes in Quebec society as well as strengthened the Québécois identity during the Quiet Revolution. The modernization of Quebec was Lesage’s main nationalism]].

During his rule, Lesage achieved many great changes in Quebec which he and his fellow Quebecers were extremely proud of. Lesage believed that French Canadians could very well develop as a modern people within Canada without losing their identity.

One of the major and most successful changes made by the Lesage government was the secularization of Quebec from the Roman Catholic Church. Education reform was one of the most prominent examples of this secularization. Lesage rejected the role of the Church which had previously controlled the school system and revamped it. He wanted the Quebec provincial government to provide education for everyone and instill in them Québécois values as well as produce a better skilled labour force. The mandatory schooling age was also increased from 14 to 16. The Ministry of Education was created in 1964 with Paul Gérin-Lajoie becoming Quebec’s first Minister of education.

Another major success was the establishment of Hydro-Québec and the nationalization of the province’s hydro-electricity. “The nationalization of electricity was ‘a logical extension’ of the government’s goal of growth ...based primarily, unfalteringly on the promotion of the French-Canadian people.” With great assistance from René Lévesque, the 11 remaining private power companies were bought out and Hydro-Québec began supplying, distributing and transmitting the entire province’s energy. The Lesage government’s success of Hydro-Québec represents strength, determination and initiative.

Other major economic accomplishments included: the creation of the Société générale de financement which encouraged Quebecers to invest in their future and provided capital for private and mainly Francophone enterprises; the creation of public companies like the Société de Montage Automobile (SOMA) which assembled French automobiles in Quebec, the Société Québécoise d’Exploration Minière (SOQUEM) which ensured that mining resources would be developed in the interests of Quebecers and Sidérurgie Québécoise (SIDBEC) which was established as an integrated steel plant.

Furthermore, during Lesage’s time as Premier, Quebec also took over health care from the Church, was the only province to opt out of the national pension plan in order to create its own version, the Quebec Pension Plan; it formed the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to invest in the pension plan funds and the Régie des rentes du Québec to manage the plan; it revamped the province’s labour force by giving public-sector workers the right to strike; and it laid a foundation for the creation of post-secondary Collèges d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEPs) in the area of education.

Defeat and retirement

Despite winning 47% of the vote in the 1966 provincial election compared to 40% for the Union Nationale, Lesage's Liberals won fewer seats due to the concentration of their vote in urban ridings. Lesage remained Liberal leader for several years, until he resigned as party leader in August 1969. He remained Leader of the Opposition until January 1970 after Robert Bourassa became the new Liberal leader. Lesage retired from politics and sat on several corporate boards until his death in 1980.

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.
• Thompson, Dale C. (1984) Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution. Macmillan of Canada.
• 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

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by J.-Léo-K. Laflamme (Liberal)	Member of Parliament for Montmagny—L'Islet 1945–1958	Succeeded by Louis Fortin (Progressive Conservative)
National Assembly of Quebec
Preceded by Jean-Paul Galipeault (Liberal)	Member of the National Assembly for Louis-Hébert (was Québec-Ouest until 1966) 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
Political offices
Preceded by Antonio Barrette (Union Nationale)	Premier of Quebec 1960–1966	Succeeded by Daniel Johnson, Sr. (Union Nationale)
Preceded by Daniel Johnson, Sr. (Union Nationale)	Leader of the Opposition in Quebec 1966–1970	Succeeded by Robert Bourassa (Liberal)