Bernard Lortie (born c. 1951) of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada was a member of the Chenier Cell of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) who were responsible for a decade of bombings and armed robberies in the province of Quebec. During what became known as the

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...

, on October 5, 1970, members of the FLQ's Liberation Cell kidnapped the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Trade Commissioner

James Cross James Richard Cross (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) durin ...

from his Montreal home as part of a violent attempt to overthrow the elected government and to establish a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

Quebec state independent of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. On October 10, Bernard Lortie, along with Chenier Cell leader Paul Rose and his brother,

Jacques Rose Jacques Rose (born 1947) is a Québécois nationalist who was a member of the Chénier Cell of the ''Front de libération du Québec'' (FLQ), along with his brother Paul Rose, who led the cell. The Chénier cell of the FLQ kidnapped Quebec Labour ...

, and Francis Simard,

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

ped and then murdered Quebec Vice Premier and Cabinet Minister,

Pierre Laporte Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of Quebec when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ ...

. Believing many others would follow in an uprising, their goal was to create an independent state based on the ideals of Fidel Castro's

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. On November 6, 1970, Bernard Lortie was arrested when the police raided the hiding place of the FLQ's Chenier cell. Although the other three members escaped the raid, they were later captured in St-Luc, Quebec in late December. All four members were charged with the kidnapping and murder of

. For his part in the kidnapping and murder, Bernard Lortie was sentenced to 20 years in jail. He was granted parole by the Canadian Parole Board after seven years.

References

Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lortie, Bernard People from Montreal Canadian assassins Canadian people convicted of murder Front de libération du Québec members People convicted of murder by Canada October Crisis Canadian people convicted of kidnapping Year of birth uncertain Living people Year of birth missing (living people)