Paul Gouin (May 20, 1898 – December 4, 1976) was a politician in

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 ...

, Canada, was the son of

Lomer Gouin Sir Jean Lomer Gouin, (March 19, 1861 – March 28, 1929) was a Canadian politician. He served as 13th premier of Quebec, as a Cabinet minister in the federal government of Canada, and as the 15th lieutenant governor of Quebec. Biography ...

and the grandson of

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Libera ...

Life and career

He was born 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 ...

, Quebec to Lomer Gouin and Éliza Mercier. He fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a tank commander, studied at

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

, and was admitted to the

bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

in 1920. Dissatisfied with the direction of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

, he helped found the

Action libérale nationale The Action libérale nationale (ALN)('National Liberal Action') was a short-lived provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was founded during the Great Depression and led by Paul Gouin. The ALN played an important role in the foundatio ...

party on June 6, 1934. He soon formed an alliance with

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 his ...

's Quebec Conservative Party to contest the 1935 provincial election. Gouin withdrew his support from Duplessis on June 18, 1936, but most members of the ALN caucus sided with Duplessis and joined with his Conservative caucus, which formally merged into the Union Nationale party, which not long afterwards won the 1936 election. He re-formed the

and became its leader on July 24, 1938. However, the ALN did poorly in the 1939 election, winning only 4.5% of the popular vote and no seats, and soon disbanded. He helped found the Bloc populaire canadien in 1942 but left it in early 1944 when

André Laurendeau Joseph-Edmond-André Laurendeau (March 21, 1912 – June 1, 1968) was a journalist, politician, co-chair of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, and playwright in Quebec, Canada. He is usually referred to as André Laurend ...

was chosen to lead the Quebec wing of the party. In 1952 he succeeded

Madame Athanase David Antonia David (14 April 1886 – 6 December 1955) was a Canadian arts administrator and arts patron. Early life and education David was born Antonia Nantel in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, the daughter of Guillaume-Alphonse Nantel, who was a journa ...

as the President of the

Montreal Festivals The Montreal Festivals (french: Festivals de Montréal) was an arts festival held annually in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1936-1965. The festival was originally dedicated to the performance of classical music, presenting concerts of symphonic w ...

, a post he held through 1956. File:Paul Gouin.JPG, Paul Gouin

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gouin, Paul 1898 births 1976 deaths Action libérale nationale MNAs Politicians from Montreal Quebec political party leaders Université Laval alumni

Life and career

See also

External links