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Claude Ryan, (January 26, 1925 – February 9, 2004) was a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He was the director of the newspaper ''
Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large- ...
'' from 1964 to 1978, leader of the
Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...
from 1978 to 1982,
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 ...
member for
Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the sec ...
from 1979 to 1994 and Minister of Education from 1985 to 1989.


Early life

Ryan was born in
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 Government of Canada, 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 ...
, the son of Blandine Dorion and Henri-Albert Ryan. Ryan's brother, Yves Ryan, was also politically active and served as mayor of Montreal North from 1963 to 2001.


Journalism

From 1962 to 1978, Ryan was editorialist at ''
Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large- ...
'', a French-language daily
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...
in Montreal, and he was the director of the newspaper from 1964 to 1978. During his tenure at the head of the editorial staff he became known for his probity and his mastery of contemporary political issues. His advice was sought by the provincial governments of Quebec and by opposition parties. During the 1970
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 ...
Ryan was accused of participating in a plot to overthrow
Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just ...
's recently elected government. Though the rumour was proven to be baseless, it served as a source of tension between Ryan and
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as suc ...
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
, whom Ryan suspected of having spread the rumour in an attempt to damage him politically.


Politics

Bourassa lost the 1976 election and his own MNA seat to the
Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereignist and social democracy, social democratic provincial list of political parties in Quebec, political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates Quebec sovereignty movement ...
under
René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois people, Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Canad ...
, in part due to the editorial position of ''Le Devoir'' under Ryan's stewardship. Subsequently, Ryan won the 1978 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election and served as party leader from 1978 to 1982, where he opposed Lévesque in two prominent campaigns (a referendum and an election). Ryan led the victorious "No" side in the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty which captured 60% of the vote. One particular turning point in the campaign was when Quebec PQ cabinet minister Lise Payette criticized Ryan's wife, Madeleine, as an "Yvette," a stay-at-home character in a popular Quebec storybook, then further suggesting that all females who were against sovereignty were acting as "Yvettes". This attack outraged many women voters in Quebec, especially since Madeleine Ryan was very active in political and social circles. Madeleine herself responded by organizing a ''brunch des Yvettes'' at the Château Frontenac on March 30. A week later, 14,000 women gathered at the
Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the ...
to denounce Payette's remarks. By nearly all accounts, many women voted "No" in the referendum out of anger at this insult. Nonetheless, Pierre Trudeau was particularly critical of Ryan. Trudeau first criticized the performance of the Quebec Liberal Party, saying it was "drowning in a swamp of its own verbiage" during a televised National Assembly debate on sovereignty, in contrast to the Parti Québécois which had masterfully coordinated its speakers. Trudeau also said that Ryan's initial campaign efforts of talking to small groups of people was insufficient, which resulted in the federal cabinet minister Jean Chrétien being sent in to help the federalist side. That helped to perpetuate the strained relationship between Ryan and Trudeau. Ryan then led the party into the 1981 provincial election. His Liberals finished just 3% behind the PQ in the popular vote, but the latter won twice as many seats; Quebec elections have typically seen large discrepancies between raw votes and seat counts. The loss was widely blamed on Ryan's campaign style, which was criticized for being old-fashioned and ill-suited for the television age. Notably, he refused to tailor sound bites for the evening news. Ryan was succeeded as MNA opposition leader and party chief by Bourassa, who was making a political comeback. After the Liberals regained power under Bourassa in the 1985 election, Ryan became one of the most important members of the government and served as Minister of Education. He was also Minister of municipal affairs, public safety and minister responsible for the Charter of the French language. He also served in the cabinet led by Daniel Johnson. Many in English Canada might remember Ryan for his work against the establishment of an independent Quebec. Those who followed his career, as a publisher and later as a politician, noted that he also opposed the existing federal status quo, which he considered as too centralized, despite statements to the contrary by Canadian Prime Minister
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
.


Retirement

Ryan retired from
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
in September 1994. In 1995, he was made a Companion of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...
. In 2002, he was awarded the Canadian version of the
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
. Ryan died in Montreal, on February 9, 2004, at 4:20 a.m, of
stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenoca ...
. In 2006, he was posthumously made a Grand Officer of the
National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Govern ...
.


Works

Besides his abundant editorial production in ''Le Devoir'', Ryan also published: *Les classes moyennes au Canada français, 1950 *L'éducation des adultes, réalité moderne, 1957 *Le contact dans l'apostolat, 1959 *Esprits durs, coeurs doux; la vie intellectuelle des militants chrétiens, 1959 *Les comités : esprit et méthodes, 1962 *Un type nouveau de laïc, 1966 *Le Devoir et la crise d'octobre 70, 1971 *Le Québec qui se fait, 1971 *Une société stable, 1978 *Regards sur le fédéralisme, 1995 *Mon testament spirituel, 2004


Biographies

*Aurélien Leclerc, ''Claude Ryan, l'homme du devoir'', Les éditions Quinze, Montréal, 1978, 224 pages, *Pierre Pagé, ''Claude Ryan, Un éditorialiste dans le débat social'', Éditions Fides, Montréal, 2012, 544 pages,


See also

*
List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition This is a list of the leaders of the opposition party of Quebec, Canada since Confederation (1867). Note that the leader of the Opposition is not always the leader of the political party with the second-largest number of seats, in cases where the ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Claude 1925 births 2004 deaths Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists Deaths from cancer in Quebec Companions of the Order of Canada Deaths from stomach cancer Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Journalists from Montreal Politicians from Montreal Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Quebec people of Irish descent Quebec political party leaders Université de Montréal alumni Le Devoir people