Jean-Jacques Bertrand (; June 20, 1916 – February 22, 1973) was the 21st

premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of th ...

, from October 2, 1968, to May 12, 1970. He led the Union Nationale party.

Member of the legislature

Bertrand served as

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

for the District of Missisquoi from 1948 until his death in 1973.

Member of the Cabinet

He served as Minister of Lands and Forestry from 1958 to 1960 and briefly as Minister of Youth and Social Welfare until his party, the Union Nationale lost the provincial election in 1960. Bertrand tried to become leader of the Union Nationale in 1961, but was defeated by his colleague

Daniel Johnson, Sr. Francis Daniel Johnson Sr. (April 9, 1915 – September 26, 1968) was a Canadian politician and the 20th premier of Quebec from 1966 to his death in 1968. Background Johnson was born in Danville, Quebec, Canada. He was the son of Francis John ...

, the MLA for the district of Bagot. In 1966, the Union Nationale was put back in office and Premier

appointed Bertrand to his Cabinet. Bertrand served both as Education Minister until 1967 and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

until Johnson's sudden death from a heart attack in 1968. In addition to those assignments, Bertrand was also Johnson's

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Premier of Quebec

Bertrand was chosen interim Party Leader until a leadership convention could be held and therefore became Premier of Quebec. His victory (58% of the delegates) over colleague Jean-Guy Cardinal (41%), Minister of Education and newly elected MLA for the district of Bagot, at the Leadership Convention of 1969, caused a deep division among party insiders. While Johnson had been more accommodating towards the more nationalist elements of the party, Bertrand clearly positioned himself as a

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

. Cardinal was considered the nationalist candidate in the race. His defeat prompted a number of supporters to leave the Union Nationale and join 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 ...

. The Union Nationale was also weakened by the passage of a controversial language legislation in 1969, known as

Bill 63 Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. Meant to resolve a conflict that plagued the public school board of Saint-Léonard, the bill confirmed the status quo on the language of instruction in the public schools (parents can choose English or French) and angered Quebec nationalists. Two Union Nationale MLAs, Jérôme Proulx and

Antonio Flamand Antonio Flamand (born June 28, 1933) was a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on June 28, 1933, in Saint-Honoré, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. He moved to Rouyn-Noranda and made career in accounting and education. ...

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

and sat as Independents, along with Parti Québécois Leader

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 ...

and Liberal dissident Yves Michaud to protest against the new law. The Bill 63 would be superseded by

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 un ...

Bill 22 The ''Official Language Act'' of 1974 (french: Loi sur la langue officielle), also known as Bill 22, was an act of the National Assembly of Quebec, commissioned by Premier Robert Bourassa, which made French the sole official language of Quebec, ...

in 1974 and René Lévesque's

Bill 101 The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...

in 1977. The less controversial accomplishments of the Bertrand administration include the abolition of the

Legislative Council of Quebec The Legislative Council of Quebec (French; ''Conseil législatif du Québec'') was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1867 to 1968. The Legislative Assembly was the elected lower hou ...

, the provincial equivalent of the

Canadian Senate The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. Since then, the Legislative Assembly of Quebec is known as 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 ...

Leader of the Official Opposition

The Union Nationale lost the 1970 election to Robert Bourassa's Liberals. While the party managed to obtain the status of Official Opposition, it finished third in the popular vote behind the PQ. The UN never significantly recovered from that defeat and no longer exists as a political party. A year later, Bertrand resigned as Leader of the Union Nationale. In 1971, he received an honorary doctorate from

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène ...

, which later became

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

. He died a few months before the 1973 election.

Personal life

His son, Jean-François Bertrand, was the

Member of the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

for the district of Vanier from

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

to 1985 and a Cabinet Member of

government. Bertrand's widow Gabrielle served as Progressive Conservative

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the district of

Brome—Missisquoi Brome—Missisquoi (formerly known as Missisquoi) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1925. The original electoral district of Missiquoi existed from 1867 to 19 ...

from 1984 to 1993.

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, Jean-Jacques 1916 births 1973 deaths Lawyers in Quebec Justice ministers of Quebec Premiers of Quebec Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs Leaders of the Union Nationale (Quebec) Deputy premiers of Quebec Université de Montréal alumni University of Ottawa alumni People from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts 20th-century Canadian lawyers