Léon Balcer, (October 13, 1917 – March 22, 1991) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

politician. He was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and was a lawyer by profession.

Member of the House of Commons

He was one of only three Progressive Conservative (or PC) candidates who were elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

from Quebec, representing the district of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. He was re-elected in the elections of

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

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 thir ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

. He sat with the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

from 1957 to 1963 and with

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

from 1949 to 1957 and 1963 to 1965. Balcer held numerous ministerial positions in the cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

, including

Solicitor General of Canada The Solicitor General of Canada () was a position in the Canada, Canadian The Ministry, ministry from 1892 to 2005. The position was based on the Solicitor General for England and Wales, Solicitor General in the Great Britain, British system and wa ...

(1957–1960), and

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

(1960–1963). He also briefly acted as Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys (Acting), and Secretary of State of Canada (Acting). During John Diefenbaker's leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, Balcer was his

Quebec lieutenant In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant () is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be the main advisor or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, though se ...

and Deputy Leader of the PC Party. A few months before the 1965 election, he left his party and sat as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, saying, "there is no place for a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

in the party of Mr. Diefenbaker." In 1964, he had led a small group of PC MPs who broke with Diefenbaker and supported a new

flag of Canada The National Flag of Canada (), popularly referred to as The Maple Leaf or l'Unifolié (), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in which is featured one stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf Charge (hera ...

during the flag debate championed by the Liberal prime minister,

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

. He did not run for re-election in that year.

Provincial politics

Balcer ran as a Liberal candidate in the district of

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, but lost to Union Nationale

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Yves Gabias Yves Gabias (December 8, 1920 – March 25, 2002) was a politician from Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on December 8, 1920, in Montreal and was a lawyer. He was the father of Liberal MNA André Gabias. Member of the legislature ...

Death

Balcer died on March 22, 1991.

Footnotes

External links

*
Léon Balcer
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcer, Leon 1917 births 1991 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Quebec lieutenants People from Trois-Rivières Politicians from Mauricie Ministers of transport of Canada Solicitors general of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Université Laval alumni

Member of the House of Commons

Provincial politics

Death

Archives

Footnotes

External links