Joseph Pierre Albert Sévigny (; February 12, 1917 – March 20, 2004) 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 ...

soldier, author,

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and academic. He is best known for his involvement in the Munsinger Affair.

Life and career

Born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, the son of

Albert Sévigny Albert Sévigny, (December 31, 1881 – May 14, 1961) was a Canadian politician, and a judge. Life and career Sévigny was born in Tingwick, Quebec. He opened a law practice in Quebec City in 1905 and practiced until 1911. Political career ...

, the

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons () is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), a speaker is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker's role in pre ...

in 1916, he graduated from

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He briefly attempted to pursue a career in acting, even being given a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

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in 1935, but instead returned to Canada to work in real estate, construction and in the import-export business. He also wrote fiction for ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' under the pen name Peter Maple.Pierre Sévigny
'' The Gazette'', March 22, 2004. Sévigny served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and lost a leg in the Battle of the Rhineland. He was awarded the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

's highest military decoration, for his involvement in the battle at

Hill 262 Hill 262, or the Mont Ormel ridge (elevation ), is an area of high ground above the village of Coudehard in Normandy that was the location of a bloody engagement in the final stages of the Battle of Falaise in the Operation Overlord, Normandy Cam ...

. Along with his Polish comrades of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, he denied access to

Panzer {{CatAutoTOC, numerals=no Words and phrases Germanic words and phrases Words and phrases by language la:Categoria:Verba Theodisca ...

divisions trying to break out of the

Falaise pocket The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, c ...

in August 1944. The action resulted in the encirclement and capture of 50,000 German troops. He also received

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. After the war he wrote a book ''Face à l'ennemi'' about his experiences. It won the Prix Ferrières de l'Académie française in 1948. In 1965, he wrote his second book, ''This Game of Politics'' for

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

. He was 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 ...

in the 1958 election, representing the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, and served as Associate Defence Minister in the Progressive Conservative government of

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 ...

. He was reelected in the 1962 election, but was defeated in the 1963 vote. Sevigny was the father of Expo 67. Diefenbaker wrote in his memoirs: "And it was to prepare for the celebration of our One Hundredth Birthday that my government set in motion the plans necessary to co-ordinate activities at every level across this country to make possible the grand and appropriate Centennial Celebrations of 1967. It was Senator Drouin and the Honourable Pierre Sevigny who first put forward the idea for Expo67 in Montreal. Marc Drouin was a man of ability who had an understanding of Canada as a whole, and I appointed him to the senate, where he served as Government Leader. His premature death was a great loss to Canada. I believe it was Colonel Sevigny who first asked me to do what I could to bring about Canada's selection as the site for the international exposition of 1967..." During a routine investigation into a passport request from one Gerda Munsinger in 1960, it was discovered that her maiden name was Heseler and that she had been denied an immigration visa to visit Canada in 1952. It was also revealed that she had affairs with several important cabinet ministers in the Diefenbaker government. Sevigny was named in the report. The

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

brought the report to the attention of Minister of Justice Davie Fulton who immediately showed it to Diefenbaker. Sevigny was called to explain his relationship. Diefenbaker instructed Sevigny to break off the liaison, and deemed the matter closed. The affair resurfaced in 1966 when then Justice Minister Lucien Cardin (under

Lester 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 ...

) was pressed to explain government action of the George Victor Spencer affair in the House of Commons by shouting out "What about Monseignor". referring to Gerda Munsinger. The original file had been altered to reflect a security issue. It described Munsinger as being a prostitute and alleged spy and had remained under wraps for 17 months in

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 ...

's office. Cardin's goal was to deflect the nation's attention from the Dupuis, Favreau and Spencer scandals besetting Pearson's weak leadership. A

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

, chaired by Justice Wishart Spence, was called by the government of

into the Munsinger Affair. The inquiry chastised Sévigny for his behavior and criticized Diefenbaker for leniency towards his Ministers, but absolved Sévigny of any guilt relating to any breach of security. In 1967, he started teaching business administration at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, eventually becoming executive-in-residence in 1982. He retired in 1995, but returned two years later as a visiting assistant professor. In 1971, he ran for the leadership of the provincial Union Nationale party. He placed last of four candidates on the first ballot, with 26 of the 1,205 votes cast, and was eliminated from subsequent ballots. In 1978, Sévigny and Camil Samson founded the short-lived political party Les Démocrates in Quebec which became the Parti démocrate créditiste before dissolving after Samson left to join the Quebec Liberals and the party, led now by Sévigny, was unable to field a slate of 10 candidates and dissolved prior to the 1981 Quebec election. Sévigny was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1994 during the tenure of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

. He died in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 2004.

References

External links

*
Order of Canada Citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sevigny, Pierre 1917 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian memoirists Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Canadian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Academic staff of Concordia University Politicians from Quebec City Writers from Quebec City Officers of the Order of Canada Espionage scandals and incidents Canadian politicians with disabilities Canadian amputees Canadian writers with disabilities Columbia University alumni Université Laval alumni Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian male short story writers Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Les Démocrates politicians Canadian male non-fiction writers 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada

Life and career

Archives

References

External links