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Jean-Charles Lapierre (May 7, 1956 – March 29, 2016) was a Canadian politician and television and radio broadcaster. After retiring from the government in 2007, he served as a political analyst in a variety of venues. He was
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
's
Quebec lieutenant In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be his or her main advisor and/or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, t ...
during the period of the Martin government. He was first elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in 1978, serving from 1979 to 1993, and representing the riding of Shefford. He sat as a Liberal from 1979 to 1990, and later as an independent. He returned after an eleven-year absence, when he won a seat in the 2004 federal election for 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
Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...
. On July 20, 2004, he was appointed to the
Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the Ca ...
as
Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
, serving until the 2006 election. Lapierre resigned as the MP for Outremont on January 28, 2007. In 2016, Lapierre died on a private plane that crashed on approach to
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport (french: Aéroport des Îles-de-la-Madeleine) is located on House Harbour island in the Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada. Although it is almost at sea level, nearby land rises significantly to the south, prohibiting ...
. Seven people died in the crash, including four of his family members; they were traveling to their father Raymond's funeral. Both pilots died.


Early life, education and marriage

Born May 7, 1956, Jean Lapierre was the oldest son of Raymond and Lucie Lapierre. He had younger siblings: a sister Martine and brothers Marc and Louis Lapierre. He married and had two children: Marie-Anne and Jean-Michel Lapierre. Later, the couple divorced. Lapierre married Nicole Beaulieu in 1989.


Early political career


Liberal

Lapierre was elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in 1978, serving from 1979 to 1993, representing the riding of Shefford, Quebec. He sat as a Liberal from 1979 to 1990. Lapierre was a Quebec federalist; together with
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 â€“ 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 The prime mini ...
, he opposed the 1980 Quebec referendum alternative to establish sovereignty for the province. In the first referendum on the place of Quebec in Canada, continued federal status won by nearly 60 per cent of the vote. In this period, the government officially recognized French as an official language of equal status with English in government. Federal government operations and documents, signs, etc. are required to be published and accessible in both languages. After Trudeau retired from politics in 1984, he was succeeded as Prime Minister and party leader by
John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
. Turner appointed Lapierre at age 28 to cabinet (at the time, the youngest minister to serve in a federal cabinet) as minister of state for youth and amateur sport. Lapierre's tenure was brief as Turner called an
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
nine days after being sworn in, and the Liberals lost. Lapierre was a strong proponent of the
Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord (french: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the gove ...
, and Turner and Martin also expressed support for it. Trudeau publicly campaigned against it, and
Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
opposed it as well.


Bloc Québécois

Upon leaving the Liberals, Lapierre sat as an independent, helping to found the
Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...
and serving in their first caucus. In 1992, he retired from politics for a time and abandoned his affiliation with the Bloc. Lapierre has said that he never fully identified as a separatist and was the "red of the rainbow" in a temporary ad hoc rainbow coalition. He wanted to gain a level playing field for Quebec.


Broadcaster

In private life, Lapierre was well known in Quebec as a broadcaster and talk show host for
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 ...
radio station
CKAC CKAC is a French-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Cogeco, the station operates as a commercial traffic information service branded as ''Radio Circulation 730''. Its studios are located at Place Bonaventure in ...
. He also worked simultaneously as a TV news presenter for a time.


Return to Liberals

Lapierre never fully gave up his political ambitions or his personal loyalty to
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
. When the latter became liberal leader in December 2003, Lapierre returned to party politics after a decade away. Martin appointed Lapierre as his Quebec lieutenant. He had a different style from his predecessors, most of whom were cautious, soft-spoken, and mindful of the effects of their Quebec actions on the rest of Canada. By contrast, Lapierre had what a CBC commentator described as a "rough and tumble, shoot from the hip style of politics", being known for his flamboyance, aggressiveness, toughness, rudeness and arrogance.LARRY ZOLF:Quebec Lieutenants
News analysts questioned the need for a
Quebec lieutenant In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be his or her main advisor and/or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, t ...
, as Martin was bilingual. In addition, polls showed fading support for the
Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...
and
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 ...
(who lost the 2003 provincial election), suggesting less need for a lieutenant. Others believed that Martin placed high importance on Quebec, hoping to fare significantly better than Chrétien had. He considered Lapierre to be crucial to winning over part of the nationalist vote.


2004 federal election

In the 2004 federal election, Lapierre was expected to deliver the vote in Quebec, but this was difficult following the
sponsorship scandal The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government " sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006. ...
of the Liberal Party. The scandal severely hurt the party's support, especially in that province, while the rival
Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...
gained support. Lapierre said that it would help the Liberals if the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
could "lay some charges already" in the sponsorship probe. Years later, Lapierre said the sponsorship scandal had damaged the party like getting hit by a Mack truck. When Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe tried to link
Liza Frulla Liza Frulla (born March 30, 1949, in Montreal, Quebec), formerly known as Liza Frulla-Hébert, is a former Canadian politician. She was a Liberal Member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1989 to 1998, a Liberal Member of Parliament from 20 ...
to the Sponsorship Scandal, saying that her 2002 by-election campaign was funded by members implicated in the scandal, Lapierre described it as "the cheapest thing you can do—try to start gossip that has no foundation". The Liberals were able to retain a plurality of seats to continue governing, but they were reduced to a minority. In Quebec, they lost 15 of the 36 seats won in 2000, and their popular vote fell from 44 to 34 per cent, while the Bloc Québécois captured 54 of the 75 seats.


Minister of Transport

As Minister of Transport, Lapierre initiated the Pacific Gateway Strategy, signing air transport agreements with China and India and completed a formal Canada-US Open Skies Agreement. He also spearheaded a large federal investment in the Prince Rupert container terminal, saying that it improved ties to Asian markets, while enhancing economic development in northern
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. Lapierre reduced the amount paid by airports to the federal government by some $5 billion over the remaining life of the leases. He announced the implementation of a
No Fly List The No Fly List maintained by the United States federal government's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) is one of several lists included in algorithmic rulesets used by government agencies and airlines to decide who to allow to board airline flight ...
to increase security for airline passengers. As Transport Minister, his predecessor
Tony Valeri Tony Valeri (born August 11, 1957) is a former Canadian politician. Valeri was the Government House Leader in Paul Martin's government from 2004 until 2006. He was narrowly defeated by New Democratic (NDP) candidate Wayne Marston in the 2006 ...
had dismissed VIA Rail chairman
Jean Pelletier Jean Pelletier, (; February 21, 1935 – January 10, 2009) was a Canadian politician who served as the 37th mayor of Quebec City, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister's Office, and chairman of Via Rail. He was a leading organizer of the Libe ...
, who filed a lawsuit against the government charging it had failed to use due process. A federal court ruled in his favor in November 2005 after the change in administrations, ordering Pelletier to be reinstated. The government appealed the court ruling and kept the former chair off the payroll. Lapierre ensured that due process was followed in dismissing Pelletier a second time.Clark, Campbell; ''Globe and Mail'' (December 23, 2005),
Liberals fire Pelletier from railway – Again
''. Retrieved December 23, 2005.
But in March 2007, Justice Francois Lemieux ruled that the Martin government acted improperly in 2005 when it fired Pelletier a second time, immediately after a court had overturned his first dismissal, stating that Lapierre was biased and failed to follow proper procedures. On November 22, 2007, Judge Hélène Langlois of Quebec Superior Court ruled that government of then-Prime Minister
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
had acted in a "cavalier and precipitous" fashion when it fired Pelletier. The court awarded Pelletier $235,000 in lost income, and a further $100,000 in damages. Lapierre and his department were criticised for their handling of the collapse of the carrier
Jetsgo Jetsgo Corporation was a Canadian low-cost carrier based in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal. Jetsgo served 19 destinations across Canada, 10 destinations in the United States, and 12 scheduled weekend-charter destinations in the Caribbean ...
. Critics said that he should have seen warning signs after unsuccessful attempts to lower the carrier's costs. They also said that he had failed to warn the public or intervene, making him indirectly responsible when thousands of travelers were stranded when the carrier stopped operations. Lapierre rejected calls to resign, and denied that he had any knowledge of the collapse. He pointed out that most of the passengers had booked flights with credit cards and would be eligible for refunds.


Opposition

Lapierre retained his position as
Quebec lieutenant In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be his or her main advisor and/or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, t ...
for the 2006 election. He was personally re-elected without much difficulty, though with a reduced margin. But, the Liberals lost power in the campaign, falling from 21 to 13 seats in Quebec. They were surpassed by the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
in the popular vote.
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
resigned as parliamentary leader on election night, and as party leader a month later. Interim successor Bill Graham appointed Lapierre to his shadow cabinet as Industry critic. Lapierre was neutral at the 2006 Liberal leadership election, where
Stéphane Dion Stéphane Maurice Dion (born 28 September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the European Union since 2017. Dion was Leader of ...
was elected Liberal leader. Lapierre afterwards planned to announce that he would not run for re-election in Outremont, saying that his "commitment was to Mr. Martin for one mandate." Lapierre commented that Dion was the first leader not to have to cope with a divided party, after decades of infighting between Trudeau/Turner and Chrétien/Martin.


Return to broadcasting

On January 11, 2007, Lapierre announced that he would retire from political office at the end of the month. He did so on January 28, 2007. He started work as a
political analyst 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 ...
with Quebec television network
TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a Federal government of the United States, federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, an ...
and Montreal radio station
98.5 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 98.5 MHz: Argentina * 985 radio in Punta Alta, Buenos Aires * Cielo in San Bernardo, Buenos Aires * Meridiano in Coronel Charlone, Córdoba * Momentos in Grutly, Santa Fe * Orfeo in Cà ...
. He co-hosted a political show with reporter Paul Larocque: ''Larocque-Lapierre.''Démission prochaine du libéral Jean Lapierre (French article)
/ref> He was also political commentator for
CJAD CJAD (800 AM) is a commercial radio station operating in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The station has an English language news/talk radio format and identifies itself on-air as ''CJAD 800''. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it has a daytime power ...
and FM 98.5 radio in Montreal, and FM 93 in Quebec city. He contributed regularly to ''Power Play'' and ''Question Period'' on the CTV network. In 2014, Lapierre was coauthor with
Chantal Hébert Chantal St-Cyr Hébert (born 1954) is a Canadian journalist and political commentator. Life and career Hébert was born on April 24, 1954, in Ottawa, Ontario. She is the oldest of five children. In 1966 her family moved to Toronto where the 12 ...
of the non-fiction book ''The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day that Almost Was.'' It was a shortlisted nominee for the 2015
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writer ...
.


Death

On March 29, 2016, Jean Lapierre died in a
plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...
short of the airport in the
Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (french: ÃŽles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...
. All seven travelers on board died, including his wife Nicole Beaulieu, sister Martine Lapierre, and brothers Marc and Louis Lapierre. The family was en route to the funeral of Lapierre's father, Raymond C. Lapierre, who had died a few days earlier. All of the Lapierre family members were honored in a service at
Les ÃŽles-de-la-Madeleine The Magdalen Islands (french: ÃŽles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland tha ...
in early April. They are survived by Marie-Anne and Jean-Michel Lapierre, children of Jean and his first wife, Gabrielle Choinière; and Lucie Lapierre, Raymond's widow."Une cérémonie toute madelinienne pour la famille Lapierre"
Radio Canada , 8 April 2016, accessed 19 May 2016
Lapierre and Beaulieu were given a funeral at Saint-Viateur d'Outremont church in
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 ...
on April 16, 2016, attended by extended family, friends, political and broadcasting colleagues, and dignitaries including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. His daughter Marie-Anne Lapierre gave the eulogy.Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press, " 'Papa, we are so proud to be your children': Jean Lapierre's family says final goodbye"
CTV News, 16 April 2016, accessed 19 May 2016
The plane that crashed with Lapierre and six other people aboard was travelling faster and at a higher altitude than recommended, the federal Transportation Safety Board stated. The agency said that the plane crashed short of the airport soon after the pilot turned off the autopilot and lowered the landing gear. Almost immediately afterwards, the Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 aircraft "rolled quickly into a steep right bank and descended rapidly" before smashing to the ground.


Honours


Electoral record

''Source
Official Results, Elections Canada
an
Financial Returns, Elections Canada
''


Archives

There is a Jean Lapierre
fonds In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poe ...
at
Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapierre, Jean 1956 births 2016 deaths Canadian Ministers of Transport Canadian television hosts Canadian radio personalities Liberal Party of Canada MPs Bloc Québécois MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Quebec lieutenants Lawyers in Quebec University of Ottawa alumni Members of the 23rd Canadian Ministry Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry Accidental deaths in Quebec Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Canada Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2016 University of Ottawa Faculty of Law alumni