Léon Balcer, (October 13, 1917 – March 22, 1991) was a Canadian politician. He was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec and was a lawyer by profession.

Member of the House of Commons

He was one of only three Progressive Conservative (or PC) candidates who were elected to the House of Commons in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

from Quebec, representing the district of Trois-Rivières. He was re-elected in the elections of

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

, and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. He sat with the Government of Canada from 1957 to 1963 and with

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

from 1949 to 1957 and 1963 to 1965. Balcer held numerous ministerial positions in the cabinet of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, including Solicitor General of Canada (1957–1960), and Minister of Transport (1960–1963). He also briefly acted as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys (Acting), and

Secretary of State of Canada The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a Canadian Cabinet position that served as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London. Sco ...

(Acting). During John Diefenbaker's leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, Balcer was his

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 ...

and Deputy Leader of the PC Party. A few months before the 1965 election, he left his party and sat as an independent, saying, "there is no place for a

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

in the party of Mr. Diefenbaker." In 1964, he had led a small group of PC MPs who broke with Diefenbaker and supported a new

flag of Canada The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...

during the flag debate championed by the Liberal prime minister, Lester B. Pearson. He did not run for re-election in that year.

Provincial politics

Balcer ran as a Liberal candidate in the district of Trois-Rivières in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, but lost to Union Nationale incumbent Yves Gabias.

Death

Balcer died on March 22, 1991.

Footnotes

External links

*
Léon Balcer
at The Canadian Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Balcer, Leon 1917 births 1991 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Quebec lieutenants People from Trois-Rivières Canadian Ministers of Transport Solicitors General of Canada

Member of the House of Commons

Provincial politics

Death

Archives

Footnotes

External links