Josée Legault (born 1966) is 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. She has been a political columnist for the English-language

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 ...

newspaper '' The Gazette'', as well as for ''

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-c ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and currently '' Le Journal de Montréal''.

Biography

Legault earned a degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

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 ...

and subsequently taught at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

(UQÀM). Before the 1995 Quebec referendum, she published a report on the

Charter of the French Language 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 Provinces and territories of ...

(Bill 101). From 1995 to 1998, she was a columnist for ''

''. For the Quebec general election of 1998, she defied the party establishment and ran unsuccessfully for the PQ nomination in the

Mercier Mercier is French for ''notions dealer'' or ''haberdasher'', and may refer to: People * Agnès Mercier, French curler and coach *Annick Mercier (born 1964), French curler *Amanda H. Mercier (born 1975), American Judge * Armand Mercier, (1933–20 ...

riding for 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). Between 2001 and 2002, she was political counsellor for PQ Premier of Quebec

Bernard Landry Bernard Landry (; March 9, 1937 – November 6, 2018) was a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Quebec from 2001 to 2003. A member of the Parti Québécois (PQ), he led the party from 2001 to 2005, also serving as the leader o ...

. The cessation of her employment at this post caused a minor controversy in sovereigntist ranks. The rumours were that she had conflicts with members of the Landry team, notably on the strategy to achieve sovereignty. Perhaps her greatest moment of notoriety came during the 1995 referendum, when Liberal Senator Jacques Hébert called her a ''vache séparatiste'' or a separatist cow. Hébert was roundly criticized for the sexist and insulting remark, but efforts to galvanize separatist forces around this issue were unsuccessful. Additionally to her columns, she was also a regular political panelist on CTV News and is also heard on the airwaves of radio stations CKAC (French language) and CJAD (English language).

Bibliography

* ''L'invention d'une minorité: les Anglo-Québécois'' (1992) * ''Les Nouveaux Démons'' (1996)

References

"Un congédiement politique, dit Josée Legault"
(in French) by Robert Dutrisac, ''Le Devoir'', December 5, 2002, retrieved October 3, 2006

External links

(1992 to 2004) at Vigile.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Legault, Josee 1966 births Canadian columnists French Quebecers Living people Université du Québec à Montréal alumni Canadian women journalists Montreal Gazette people Canadian women columnists Writers from Montreal Canadian political journalists Canadian women non-fiction writers

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links