Robert (12 April 1921 – 15 September 1978) 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 ...

lawyer, politician and judge.

Biography

Born and raised in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, in the

Beauce Beauce may refer to: * Beauce, France, a natural region in northern France * Beaucé, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, France * Beauce, Quebec, an historical and cultural region of Canada ** Beauce (electoral district), a fed ...

region of Quebec, Robert Cliche studied law 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 ...

from 1941 to 1944. After graduation, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he joined the Royal Marines as a sailor and left as an officer in 1946.Marthe Legault
Robert
The Canadian Encyclopedia In 1946, he established a general law practice in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce. In politics, Cliche publicly supported the Liberal Party until 1960. In the early 1960s, he joined the New Democratic Party. In September 1963, he became the associate president of the federal NDP, then under the leadership of

Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...

. In March 1965, Cliche was elected leader of the

New Democratic Party of Quebec The New Democratic Party of Quebec (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Québec; NPDQ) is a federalist and social-democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The party is a revival of the comparable Nouveau Parti Démocratique ...

. Cliche was the NDP candidate in the riding of

in the 1965 federal election and he obtained 29.44% of the vote. He was the NDP candidate in the riding of Duvernay in the 1968 federal election and he obtained 43.85% of the vote. The party was not successful in electing candidates from Quebec to the House of Commons of Canada. In 1968, left the leadership of the NDPQ and the associate presidency of the NDP and returned to law practice. On 27 July 1972, minister of Justice

Jérôme Choquette Jérôme Choquette (; January 25, 1928 – September 1, 2017) was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. Choquette ran a private law practice, representing various claimants in a wide range of cases from his office on ''Avenue du Parc'', down ...

announced the nomination of Cliche as judge and assistant chief justice to the

Provincial Court The provincial and territorial courts in Canada are local trial "inferior" or "lower" courts of limited jurisdiction established in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. These courts typically hear criminal, civil (or “ small claims” ...

. Cliche officially became judge on 5 September 1972. In 1974 and 1975, he chaired the Royal Commission investigating the exercise of trade-union freedom in Quebec's construction industry. The two other members of the Commission were Brian Mulroney and

Guy Chevrette Guy Chevrette (born January 10, 1940 in Saint-Come, Quebec) served as Parti Québécois leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, from 1987 to 1989. He was the MNA for the riding of Joliette-Montcalm from 1976 to 1981 ...

. He was married to journalist and novelist Madeleine Ferron from 1945 until his death. Their son

David Cliche David Cliche (July 10, 1952 – July 19, 2020) was a Quebec politician. He represented Vimont in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2002, as a member of the Parti Québécois. He was the son of lawyer and former head of the New De ...

later served in the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

as a

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

MNA. With his wife, he published ''Quand le peuple fait la loi'' (1972) and ''Les Beaucerons ces insoumis'' (1974). He died in

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 ...

in 1978 at the age of 57. He was named to the

Order of La Pléiade The Order of La Pléiade (; ) is an honorary order of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. It recognizes people who particularly distinguished themselves in the service of its ideals of cooperation and friendship, promoting the rol ...

later that same year. The Robert- Regional County Municipality was named in his memory, as well as Autoroute 73 south of Quebec City. The literary prize Prix Robert-Cliche was also named in his honour.

Biography

References

Further reading