Paul Demers (March 9, 1956 – October 29, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter."Singer Paul Demers wrote anthem for Franco-Ontarians"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', November 29, 2016. He was best known for writing the song "

Notre Place "Notre Place" ( en, Our Place, italic=no) is the official community anthem of the Franco-Ontarian people in the province of Ontario, Canada. History The song was originally written by Paul Demers and François Dubé in 1989 to celebrate the com ...

", which came to be recognized as an anthem of the

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians (french: Franco-Ontariens or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of On ...

community."Le chanteur Paul Demers mène son ultime combat la tête haute"

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, October 1, 2016.

Background

Born in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

Quebec 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 thirtee ...

, his family moved to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

when he was 16. He began performing as a musician in adulthood, touring music festivals across Ontario and forming the band Purlaine in 1979. Following a diagnosis of

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight los ...

in the early 1980s, however, he took several years off from music to undergo cancer treatment.

"Notre place"

He came out of retirement in 1986 to write the lyrics to "Notre place", which was originally commissioned for a gala to celebrate the passage of Ontario's 1986

French Language Services Act The ''French Language Services Act'' (french: Loi sur les services en français) (the ''Act'') is a law in the province of Ontario, Canada which is intended to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians, or French-speaking people, in the province. ...

. The song came to be adopted as the Franco-Ontarian community's unofficial anthem, and was formally designated as the community's official anthem by the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

in 2017. Following "Notre place", Demers returned to touring, both as a solo artist and with musicians

Robert Paquette Robert Paquette (born July 2, 1949) is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. In 1970, he worked with the student theatre group at Laurentian University, composing songs for the Franco-Ontarian stage musical ''Moé, j'viens du nord, 'stie!'' The tr ...

and

Marcel Aymar Marcel Aymar (born in Meteghan, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian musician, composer, writer and actor. He moved to Sudbury, Ontario in 1972 as a teen and was a founding member of the popular Franco-Ontarian group CANO, playing guitar.Kuzyk, Jane. "That ...

in the group Paquette-Aymar-Demers, released three albums, and worked as a theatre producer and director. A biography of him, by writer Pierre Albert, was published by Éditions Interligne in 1992."Engaging biography". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', June 27, 1992.

Death

Demers was diagnosed with

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

in January 2016. He gave a retrospective interview from his hospital bed to the

Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) is a Canadian French language, French-language radio network, the news and information service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known as Société Radio-Canada in French), the Public ...

program '' Grands Lacs Café'' in the fall, prior to his death on October 29.

Discography

*''Paul Demers'' (1990) *''D’hier à toujours'' (1999) *''Encore une fois'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demers, Paul 1956 births 2016 deaths Canadian rock singers Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters French-language singers of Canada Musicians from Gatineau Musicians from Ottawa French Quebecers Franco-Ontarian people Canadian theatre directors 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers