Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of
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 ...
when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the
Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) during the
October Crisis
The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
.
Life and career
Pierre Laporte, grandson of the Liberal politician
Alfred Leduc, was born in
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 ...
,
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 ...
, on 25 February 1921. He was a journalist with ''
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 ...
'' newspaper from 1945 to 1961, and was known for his crusading work against Quebec's then-Premier
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 ...
. During his years in journalism, he published a number of series targeting the management of the Duplessis government. In 1954, ''Le Devoir'' ran a six-part series on problems during the construction of the
Bersimis-1 generating station. In 1958, he was part of a team of ''Le Devoir'' reporters exposing the natural gas scandal,
leading to the formation of the Salvas Commission, soon after the
election of 1960.
After Duplessis' death, Laporte successfully ran for a seat in
Chambly in the
Quebec National Assembly and served in the government of Premier
Jean Lesage
Jean Lesage (; 10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from Quebec. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960 to 16 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is ...
. Laporte was a member of the
Quebec Liberal Party, and considered to be a leading member of the party's
left wing. After Lesage announced in 1969 that he would step down as party leader, Laporte ran to succeed him, but lost the
1970 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election to fellow cabinet member
Robert Bourassa.
After the
Quebec general election in 1970, Premier Bourassa advised the
Lieutenant Governor to appoint Laporte as Deputy Premier, Parliamentary Leader, Minister of Immigration, and Minister of Labour and Manpower.
Kidnapping
On 10 October 1970, Laporte was kidnapped from his home on Robitaille Street in
Saint-Lambert, Quebec
Saint-Lambert () is a city (french: ville) in southwestern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Montreal. It is part of the Urban agglomeration of Longueuil of the Montérégie administrative region. ...
, by the
Chénier Cell of the
FLQ.
The kidnappers –
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
and
Jacques Rose Jacques Rose (born 1947) is a Québécois nationalist who was a member of the Chénier Cell of the ''Front de libération du Québec'' (FLQ), along with his brother Paul Rose, who led the cell.
The Chénier cell of the FLQ kidnapped Quebec Labour ...
,
Francis Simard and
Bernard Lortie
Bernard Lortie (born c. 1951) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a member of the Chenier Cell of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) who were responsible for a decade of bombings and armed robberies in the province of Quebec.
During what b ...
– approached Laporte while he was playing football with his nephew on his front lawn and forced him into their vehicle at gunpoint. They dubbed him the "Minister of Unemployment and Assimilation," and held him hostage, demanding the release of 23 "political prisoners" in exchange for his freedom. British diplomat
James Cross
James Richard Cross (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) durin ...
was also being held hostage by the FLQ at the time, having been kidnapped on 5 October (Cross survived the experience, and was released on 3 December).
Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau invoked Canada's ''
War Measures Act
The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...
'' which allowed mass raids and arrests to take place in order to find the group who had kidnapped Laporte and Cross. Trudeau said:
On 17 October, seven days after he went missing, Laporte's body was found in the trunk of a 1968
Chevrolet Biscayne
The Chevrolet Biscayne was a series of full-size cars produced by the American manufacturer Chevrolet between 1958 and 1975. Named after a show car displayed at the 1955 General Motors Motorama, the Biscayne was the least expensive model in the ...
at
Montreal Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport
Montréal Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport (french: Aéroport Montréal Saint-Hubert Longueuil), also called Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport, is located in the Saint-Hubert borough of Longueuil, Quebec. The airport is located east of Downtown ...
. His kidnappers were subsequently captured and sentenced for his murder, and served terms ranging from 20 years to life, though they were all released on parole much earlier. Laporte was buried in the
Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.
In 2010, journalist Guy Gendron produced a documentary series for
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. ...
, in which he asserted that the killing of Pierre Laporte was unintentional – "Il a été étouffé dans un moment de panique
e was choked in a moment of panic.
[Gendron, Guy]
"Révélations sur la mort de Pierre Laporte"
. Radio-Canada.ca. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
Monument to Laporte
On the 40th anniversary of his death, 17 October 2010, a monument to Laporte was unveiled by then-Premier of Quebec,
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House o ...
. It stands at the St. Lawrence Seaway Park, near Laporte's home on Robitaille Street. On the monument is inscribed: "Nul ne vit pour soi-même. Nul ne meurt pour soi-même" ("No one lives for oneself. No one dies for oneself").
See also
*
List of kidnappings
*
List of solved missing person cases
Lists of solved missing person cases include:
* List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
See also
* List of kidnappings
* List of murder convictions without a body
* List of people who di ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laporte, Pierre
1921 births
1970 deaths
1970s missing person cases
1970 murders in Canada
Assassinated Canadian politicians
Canadian newspaper journalists
Canadian male journalists
Canadian people taken hostage
Canadian political journalists
Canadian terrorism victims
Crime in Quebec
Deaths by strangulation
Deputy premiers of Quebec
Journalists from Montreal
Kidnapped Canadian people
Kidnapped politicians
Missing person cases in Canada
October Crisis
People from Saint-Lambert, Quebec
People murdered in Quebec
Politicians from Montreal
Quebec Liberal Party MNAs
Terrorism deaths in Canada
Le Devoir people
Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery