Huguette Lachapelle (October 28, 1942 – December 15, 2021) was a Canadian politician. Lachapelle served in 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 ...

from 1981 to 1985, representing the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

riding of Dorion as a member of 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 ...

(PQ).

Early life and career

Lachapelle was born in

Saint-Basile, Quebec Saint-Basile is a municipality situated in Portneuf Regional County Municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Basile had a population of living in o ...

. She was a graduate of the Elie Business College à Montréal and was a parliamentary aide for PQ

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

Lise Payette Lise Payette ( Ouimet; August 29, 1931 – September 5, 2018) was a Canadian politician, journalist, writer, and businesswoman. She was a Parti Québécois (PQ) minister under the leadership of Premier René Lévesque and National Assembly of ...

from 1976 to 1981.David Wimhurst, "Dorion: Three candidates feel they can win riding," ''Montreal Gazette'', 29 November 1985, p. 7.

Legislator

Lachapelle was elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1981 provincial election. She was subsequently elected to the PQ party executive in December 1981, appointed one of three deputy government

whips A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

's government on September 22, 1982, and promoted to

chief government whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

on December 4, 1984. She served in the latter position until October 23, 1985. Lévesque resigned as PQ leader and

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

in 1985, and Lachapelle supported

Pierre-Marc Johnson Pierre-Marc Johnson (born July 5, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985, making him the province's shortest-serving premier, and the first Baby Boomer to hold t ...

's successful bid to succeed him. When asked about rival candidate

Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ� ...

's prospects of winning, Lachapelle responded that she did not believe Quebecers were ready for a woman to be premier. Johnson distanced himself from this statement, and some political observers believed that it helped to increase Marois's public profile. Lachapelle was defeated in the 1985 provincial election, losing by a narrow margin to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate

Violette Trépanier Violette Trépanier (born March 14, 1945) is a Canadian politician in the province of Quebec. She was a Liberal member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1985 to 1994 and was a minister in the governments of Robert Bourassa and Daniel John ...

After politics

Lachapelle worked in Quebec's justice department from 1986 until her retirement in 2002. She died on December 15, 2021, at the age of 79.

Electoral record

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lachapelle, Huguette 1942 births 2021 deaths French Quebecers Parti Québécois MNAs People from Capitale-Nationale Women MNAs in Quebec