Robert Bourassa

Robert Bourassa (July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a politician in Quebec, Canada. Born in Montreal, he served as Liberal Premier of Quebec from May 12, 1970 to November 25, 1976. He served as premier again from December 12, 1985 to January 11, 1994).

Profile

Robert Bourassa graduated from the Université de Montréal law school in 1956 and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec the following year. Later, he studied at the University of Oxford, obtaining a degree in political economy and at the Harvard University. He led the Liberal Party of Quebec into government in the 1970 election, defeating the conservative union Nationale governemnt.

Related Topics:
Université de Montréal - Barreau du Québec - University of Oxford - Political economy - Harvard University - 1970 election - Union Nationale

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As Premier of Quebec, he played a critical role in the October Crisis of 1970 in which his labour minister Pierre Laporte was murdered. It was Bourassa who pushed the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, to declare a state of emergency, which resulted in the Canadian army patrolling the streets of major cities in Quebec and in the national capital, Ottawa. After Laporte's kidnapping, Bourassa barricaded himself and his cabinet behind heavy layers of security.

Related Topics:
October Crisis - 1970 - Pierre Laporte - Pierre Trudeau - Ottawa

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Bourassa and Trudeau often clashed over issues of federal-provincial relations and Quebec nationalism with Trudeau opposing what he saw as concessions to sovereigntism. Trudeau also looked down on Bourassa personally, once referring to him as a mangeur d'hot dog (a hot dog eater).

Related Topics:
Quebec nationalism - Sovereigntism

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Bourassa lost the 1976 Quebec provincial election to René Lévesque, leader of the separatist Parti Québécois. He resigned as Liberal Party leader, and accepted teaching positions in Europe and the United States. He subsequently returned to politics as Liberal leader on October 15, 1983, and regained the office of premier in the 1985 election.

Related Topics:
1976 Quebec provincial election - René Lévesque - Separatist - Parti Québécois - October 15 - 1983 - 1985 election

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During his time in power, Bourassa implemented policies aimed at protecting the status of the French language in Quebec. In 1974, he introduced Bill 22, the first legislation designed to strengthen the position of French within Quebec. However, this legislation was soon superseded by the Charter of the French Language also known as Bill 101, introduced by the Parti Québécois government that replaced him in 1976. Nonetheless, Bill 22 perhaps had a greater impact than Bill 101. By making French the official language of Quebec, that meant that Quebec was no longer institutionally bilingual (English and French). Many businesses and professionals were unable to operate under such stringent requirements and an estimated 300,000 emigrated to neighboring Ontario, enabling Toronto to overtake Montreal as the business capital of Canada. Bill 22 angered both Anglophones for infringing on their rights while not going far enough to appease many Francaphones; Bourassa was vilified by both groups and lost the 1976 election in a landslide. When Bourassa lost his own seat in the National Assembly, he described himself as "having his head chopped off, with people still looking for it." Bourassa remained in political exile until 1983 when he returned to provincaial politics.

Related Topics:
1974 - Bill 22 - Charter of the French Language - 1976

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In his second term, he invoked the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to override a Supreme Court ruling that declared parts of the Charter of the French Language unconstitutional, causing some English-speaking ministers in his government to resign. A few years later, however, he introduced modifications to the language charter. These compromises reduced the controversy over language that had been a dominant feature of Quebec politics over the previous decades. The majority of Quebecers reached a consensus on accepting the new status quo.

Related Topics:
Notwithstanding clause - Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Supreme Court

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Bourassa also pushed for Quebec to be acknowledged in the Canadian constitution as a "distinct society", promising Quebecers that their grievances could be resolved within Canada with a new constitutional deal. However, Prime Minister Trudeau successfully opposed Bourassa in both of his administrations. Early in his first term, he participated in an early attempt at constitutional reform, the Victoria Charter of 1971, which quickly unravelled. In his second term, he worked closely with federal Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and received many concessions from the federal government, culminating in the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. When both of these accords failed to be ratified, the constitutional reform efforts collapsed, reviving the separatist movement.

Related Topics:
Victoria Charter - 1971 - Brian Mulroney - Meech Lake Accord - Charlottetown Accord

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Bourassa initiated the James Bay hydroelectric projects, but ran into opposition from environmentalists and the Cree who lived on the land. The project was later never completed because the New York State Power Authority refused to sign a contract for power purchases in 1992. He also forced the federal government to move its proposed airport away from Ottawa and the Ontario border to a remote location north of Montreal; that played a role in the airport's eventual demise at taxpayers' enormous expense. The Bourassa government also played a major role in rescuing the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal from the huge cost overruns and construction delays incurred by the mismanagement of the project by mayor Drapeau's administration. However, Bourassa was accused of simply throwing money to bail out the Montreal Olympics without taking the much-needed steps of providing additional oversight, and his government became embroiled in corruption scandals that led to his 1976 defeat.

Related Topics:
James Bay - Hydroelectric - Cree - New York State Power Authority - Proposed airport - 1976 Olympic Games - Montreal - Drapeau

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Bourassa retired from politics in 1994 in poor health and having lost the popularity that had returned him to the premier's office. He was replaced as Liberal leader and premier by Daniel Johnson, Jr., who lost an election to the separatist Parti Québécois after only nine months.

Related Topics:
1994 - Daniel Johnson, Jr.

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In 1996, he died in Montreal of skin cancer and was interred at the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.

Related Topics:
1996 - Skin cancer - Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges

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