Claude Charron (born October 22, 1946 in L'Île-Bizard, Quebec) is a former

CEGEP A CEGEP ( or ; ), also written cégep, CÉGEP and cegep, is a publicly funded college providing technical, academic, vocational or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and broadcaster. He became Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the youngest Member of the National Assembly of Quebec. He graduated from the École de Saint-Raphaël in L'Île-Bizard and Collège Saint-Laurent. Charron received his master's in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

. He was the vice-president of the Union générale des étudiants du Québec (UGEQ) (General Union of Quebec Students) in 1968 and 1969. During 1969 and 1970 he taught at

Cégep Édouard-Montpetit Cégep Édouard-Montpetit is a public Francophone college in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. Approximately 7,300 (fall 2016) students (as much in the Continuing Education programs) are enrolled in the 2 campuses, the main one located in Longueuil and ...

and the

Cégep du Vieux Montréal Cégep du Vieux Montréal is a CEGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, or College of General and Vocational Education) located at 255 Ontario Street East, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The College of General and Vocational Edu ...

. Before running provincially, Charron participated in the foundation of the

Mouvement Souveraineté-Association The Mouvement Souveraineté-Association (MSA, ''English: Movement for Sovereignty-Association'') was a separatist movement formed on November 19, 1967 by René Lévesque to promote the concept of sovereignty-association between Quebec and the res ...

in 1967. He was also an anti-Vietnam War activist and expressed an interest in

syndicalism Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of prod ...

. In 1970, Claude Charron entered provincial politics. He was elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

as the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

candidate in the riding of Saint-Jacques (now part of

Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises part of the borough of Ville-Marie and part of the borough of Le Plateau ...

) and was reelected in 1973, 1976, and 1981. At the time of his first election, Charron became the youngest MNA (

Member of the National Assembly (Quebec) A Member of the National Assembly (MNA) is a member of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. In other jurisdictions within Canada, the titles used are: * " Member of Provincial Parliament" (MPP) in Ontario, * " Member of the House of Assembly ...

) in the province's history. Following the election of his party to power in 1976 he was appointed Minister responsible for High Commission on Youth, Recreation and Sports and in 1979 was named the Government House Leader and Minister responsible for Parliamentary Affairs. In February 1982 Charron resigned his cabinet position after pleading guilty to a charge of

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

a tweed jacket from the Eaton's

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 ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

."Public figures nabbed for shoplifting," ''Montreal Gazette''August 23, 2015. Charron was found by a security guard wearing the coat with the price tag still attached. He later described the act as a form of political suicide after the PQ's failures in the 1980 referendum and constitutional negotiations. In November of that year he was charged with drunk driving and resigned his seat in the Quebec National Assembly. The following year Charron published his memoir in the French language under the title ''Désobéir''. In this book he confirmed his

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

. Since leaving politics Charron has worked in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, notably with the TVA network and

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, and has contributed to the news magazine ''

L'actualité ''L'actualité'' is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Rogers Communications until 2016, then by Mishmash (XPND Capital). The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Measu ...

''. He is currently the correspondent for TVA in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

but had worked alongside Pierre Bruneau during the special televised program for the 2007 Quebec elections.

Electoral record (incomplete)

References

*
New York Times report on Claude Charron's resignation from Cabinet

* ttp://www.etre.net/claude-charron-de-lassemblee-a-la-tele/ Etremag "Claude Charron : de l’Assemblée à la télé," 10 July 2012 (In French) Retrieved: 24 March 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Charron, Claude Academics in Quebec French Quebecers Parti Québécois MNAs Canadian LGBT people in provincial and territorial legislatures Gay politicians Canadian gay writers 1946 births Living people People from L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève Université de Montréal alumni Canadian non-fiction writers in French Canadian radio personalities Canadian memoirists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian LGBT journalists Canadian television reporters and correspondents 21st-century LGBT people