Jean Lesage (; 10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from

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 ...

. He served as the 19th

premier of Quebec 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 ...

from 22 June 1960 to 16 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme,

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

and others, he is often viewed as the father of the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...

. Quebec City International Airport was officially named in his honour on 31 March 1994, and a provincial electoral district, Jean-Lesage, was named for him, as well.

Early years

Lesage was born on June 10, 1912, 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, one of six children of Xavéri Lesage, a district manager of the insurance company ''Les Prévoyants du Canada'', and Cécile Côté. Lesage began his education at the kindergarten Saint-Enfant-Jésus Montréal. In 1921, the family relocated to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, where Xavéri Lesage was appointed as assistant manager by his brother Antoni in the headquarters office.

Education

Lesage enrolled as a day student in the private boarding school École Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague and, in 1923, he was admitted to the Petit Séminaire de Québec for an eight-year program which eventually led to the baccalaureate. He was a talented and bright student who ranked highly in courses, especially in religion, French,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and philosophy. He enrolled in the Faculté de droit de l'Université Laval, where his natural quick wit, his facility in expressing himself, and his argumentative nature assured him success in the field of law. During his years as a student, Lesage was an active Liberal, and he became interested in having a political career. He graduated with a law degree in 1934. In 1965, he received an honorary doctorate from Sir George Williams University, which later became Concordia University. He was a student and a supporter of the New Left movement of the 1960s and his education was strongly influenced by figures such as

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

Legal career

He practised law in Quebec City with Paul Lesage in 1934, then with

Charles Gavan Power Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power, (18 January 1888 – 30 May 1968) was a Canadian politician and ice hockey player. Many members of his family, including his father, two brothers, a son and a grandson, all had political careers; two of his br ...

Valmore Bienvenue Valmore Bienvenue KC (July 12, 1894 – February 19, 1952) was a lawyer and political figure in Quebec. He represented Bellechasse in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1939 to 1948 as a Liberal. Bienvenue was Speaker of the Legislative A ...

, Paul Lesage, and Jean Turgeon. He married Corinne Lagarde, a singer and the daughter of Alexandre Lagarde and Valéria Matte. He was made a Crown attorney for the Wartime Prices and Trade Board from 1939 to 1944. He served in the Canadian Army Reserve from 1939–1945.

Federal political career

Lesage was elected as a federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Montmagny-L'Islet as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

for the first time in the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

. After his re-election in 1949, he was first named Parliamentary Secretary to the

Secretary of State for External Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs (french: Ministre des Affaires étrangères) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's international relations and is the lead minister respo ...

from 25 January 1951 to 31 December 1952. He was then named Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Finance from 1 January 1953 to 13 June 1953. Following his re-election in 1953, Lesage was appointed as

Minister of Resources and Development The minister of northern affairs (french: ministre des Affaires du Nord) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The position has been held by Dan Vandal since 20 November 2019. In 1953, the role of Minister of Northern Affairs and N ...

from 17 September 1953 to 15 December 1953, and then Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources from 16 December 1953 to 21 June 1957. He survived the Progressive Conservative ascendancy and was re-elected in both

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 year ...

and

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 ...

. However, he resigned from his seat on 13 June 1958 following his election as leader of the

Liberal Party of Quebec 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; ...

on 31 May 1958.

Lesage government

On June 22, 1960, Lesage's Liberal party won the Quebec general election with 51 of 95 seats and 51 percent of the popular vote. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec with the slogans "''l’équipe de tonnerre''" – "the terrific team" – and "''C'est le temps que ça change''" - "It’s time for a change". His electoral success ended the Union Nationale and

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 ...

's conservative reign since 1944. Lesage became Premier, President of the Executive Council, and Minister of Finance from 5 July 1960 to 16 June 1966. He was also Minister of Federal-Provincial Affairs from 28 March 1961 to 16 June 1966, and Minister of Revenue from 30 May 1963 to 8 August 1963. His election ushered in the

, which was the rapid and drastic change of values, attitudes, and behaviours in Quebec society also characterized by a surge in

Quebec nationalism Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

. In the previous decade, it had already ended its affiliation with the Liberal Party of Canada. In

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 wor ...

, the Liberal Party of Quebec won re-election with a campaign promising the nationalization of hydroelectricity, with the slogan ''Maîtres chez nous'' (Masters in Our Own Home). The Lesage government’s rule significantly contributed to environmental, legal, social, economic and political changes in Quebec society, and strengthened the ''Québécois'' identity during the

. The modernization of Quebec was Lesage’s main

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

. During his time as premier, Lesage achieved many great changes in Quebec. Lesage believed that French Canadians could very well develop as a modern people within Canada without losing their identity. One of the major and most successful changes made by the Lesage government was the

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of Quebec from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Education reform was one of the most prominent examples of this secularization. Lesage rejected the role of the Catholic Church, which had previously controlled the school system, and modernized it. He wanted the Quebec provincial government to provide education for everyone and instill in them Québécois values as well as produce a better skilled labour force. The mandatory schooling age was also increased from 14 to 16. The Ministry of Education was created in 1964 with Paul Gérin-Lajoie becoming Quebec’s first Minister of education. Another major success was the establishment of Hydro-Québec and the nationalization of the province's hydro-electricity. "The nationalization of electricity was 'a logical extension' of the government’s goal of growth... based primarily on the promotion of the French-Canadian people." With much assistance from

, the 11 remaining private power companies were bought out, and Hydro-Québec began supplying, distributing, and transmitting the entire province's energy. The Lesage government’s success of Hydro-Québec represents strength, determination, and initiative. Other major economic accomplishments included the creation of the Société générale de financement to encourage Quebecers to invest in their future and provided capital for private and mainly Francophone enterprises; the creation of public companies like the Société de Montage Automobile (SOMA) to assemble French automobiles in Quebec; the Société Québécoise d’Exploration Minière (SOQUEM) to ensure that mining resources would be developed in the interests of Quebecers; and Sidérurgie Québécoise (SIDBEC) which was established as an integrated steel plant. Furthermore, during his time as Premier, Quebec also took over health care from the Church and was the only province to opt out of the national pension plan to create its own version, the

Quebec Pension Plan The Canada Pension Plan (CPP; french: Régime de pensions du Canada) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old ...

. It also formed the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to invest in the pension plan funds and the Régie des rentes du Québec to manage the plan, revamped the province’s labour force by giving public-sector workers the right to strike, and laid a foundation for the creation of post-secondary Collèges d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEPs) in the area of education.Thompson, David C. (1984). Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution. Macmillan of Canada.

Defeat and retirement

Despite winning 47% of the vote in the

1966 Quebec general election The 1966 Quebec general election was held on June 5, 1966, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Union Nationale (UN), led by Daniel Johnson, Sr, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage. In ...

, compared to 40% for the Union Nationale, Lesage's Liberals won fewer seats because their vote was concentrated in urban ridings. Lesage remained Liberal leader for several years until he resigned in August 1969. He remained Leader of the Opposition until January 1970, when Robert Bourassa became the new Liberal leader. Lesage retired from politics and sat on several corporate boards until his death in 1980.

Book references

* Rouillard, Jacques (2003), ''Le syndicalisme Québécois : Deux siècles d'histoire'', Boréal Editions, 335p. * Comeau, Robert & Bourque, Gilles (1989), ''Jean Lesage et l'éveil d'une nation'' Sillery Editions, 367p. * Thompson, Dale C. (1984) Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution. Macmillan of Canada. * Thomson, Dale Carins (1984), ''Jean Lesage et la révolution tranquille'', du Trecarre Editions, 615p. * Fullerton, Douglas H. (1978), ''The dangerous delusion''. McClelland and Stewart, 240p.

External links

*
Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution, 1960–1966

His Order of Canada citation
* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesage, Jean 1912 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Canadian lawyers Canadian humanists Companions of the Order of Canada Lawyers from Montreal Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Montreal Premiers of Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Quebec political party leaders Université Laval alumni Université Laval Faculté de droit alumni