Paul Bouchard (1908–1997) was 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 ...

( Québécois) lawyer, right-wing politician, and journalist. Paul's parents were Bernadette Boulet Bouchard and Alfred Bouchard. He studied at the Séminaire de Québec from 1920 to 28. A family friend, Philippe-Auguste Choquette, secured Paul a special pass to the

Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Otta ...

, where he attended lectures as a young man. In 1934, he opened a law firm with Roger Vézina. As editor of the journal '' La Nation'' (The Nation), he criticized the government of R.B. Bennett and argued that

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

was bankrupt. As well as a

Quebec Nationalist Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

, Bouchard was a militant

corporatist Corporatism is a Collectivism and individualism, collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guil ...

tempted by

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. He was inspired by Mussolini's use of the fasces (a symbol of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

), and created a small, militant extreme-right group called the Republican Fasces (or Separatist Fasces) associated with ''La Nation''. Bouchard supported a secular form of Quebec nationalism, opposed to the clerico-nationalist movement represented by Lionel-Groulx. In 1940s, Bouchard supported the government of

Quebec Premier 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 ...

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

. He was one of the main journalists and propagandists of Duplessis' Union nationale political party, and the author of many official party publications. Starting in the 1960s, Bouchard became a professor at

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Lux ...

and held diplomatic posts for some South American dictatorships. In 1980, he became the president of the Société des écrivains Canadiens (Society of French-Canadian Authors). Today, Bouchard is considered one of the leading thinkers of the

Quebec sovereignty movement The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision o ...

. However, he was denounced by the controversial researcher

Esther Delisle Esther Delisle (born 1954) is a French Canadian historian and author of historical works from Quebec. Biography Born and raised in Quebec City, she completed her BA and MA in political science at Université Laval in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Sainte ...

for drifting into fascism. Robert Comeau, a now-retired professor of history 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 ...

, dedicated a thesis to the newspaper ''La Nation'' in the 1970s.

Bibliography

*Comeau, Robert. Les indépendantistes québécois, 1936-1938. Mémoire de M.A. (Histoire), université de Montréal, 1971. 2 v. *Côté, Jean. Paul Bouchard : flamboyante figure de notre époque, 1908-1997. Outremont, Québécor, 1998. 240 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Paul French Quebecers Quebec sovereigntists Writers from Quebec Canadian non-fiction writers in French Politicians in Quebec Far-right politics in Canada 1908 births 1997 deaths Academic staff of Université Laval Université Laval alumni Canadian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian politicians