Jean Lesage

Biography

A legal career

Wire of Xavéri Lesage, teacher and civil servant in Montreal, and of Cecile Côté, Jean Lesage made his studies with the garden of Saint-Child-Jesus childhood of Montreal, with the boarding school Saint-Louis-of-Gonzague with Quebec, the seminar of Quebec and the Université Laval. Graduate in right, Jean Lesage was allowed with the bar of the province of Quebec on July 10th, 1934.

He followed his lawyer occupation with Quebec with Me Paul Lesage in 1934, then with Charles Gavan Power, Valmore Bienvenue, Paul Lesage and Jean Turgeon. He married Corinne Lagarde, professional singer, girl of Alexandre Lagarde, manager of trade, and Valéria Matte. He was Crown attorney of prosecutor of the Commission of the prices and the trade in time of war, of 1939 with 1944.

A political vocation

Jean Lesage was elected appointed federal district of Montmagny-L' Islet on behalf of the Liberal party of Canada for the first time at the time of the general election of 1945. Re-elected in 1949, it was thereafter named assistant member of Parliament of the Secretary of State to the external Businesses, posts that it occupied from January 24th, 1951 to December 31st, 1952, for then becoming assistant member of Parliament of the Minister for Finance from January 1st to June 13rd, 1953. Re-elected again in 1953, Jean Lesage became Minister for the Resources and Economic development in the St. Lawrence cabinet of the September 17th at December 15th, 1953, then Minister for Canadian North and the national Resources of the December 16th 1953 with the June 21st 1957. He survived progressist-preserving vagueness of John George Diefenbaker, having been re-elected in 1957 and 1958, but resigned of this station the June 13rd 1958 following his election with the direction of the Liberal party of Quebec the May 31st of the same year.

The Lesage government

Elected official appointed with the National Assembly of Quebec, Jean Lesage gained the poll of 1960, making countryside with the slogan It is the time which that changes , and put thus fine at the long reign of the National union, which had controlled Quebec since 1944 under the direction of Maurice Duplessis. Lesage became Prime Minister, president of the Executive council and Minister for Finance of the July 5th 1960 at June 16th, 1966, and also Minister for the federal-provincial Businesses from March 28th, 1961 to June 16th, 1966 and Minister for the Income of the May 30th at August 8th, 1963.

According to Pierre Virion, it took part in the meeting Bilderberg of 1965.

The plebiscite of the nationalization

The program of Jean Lesage and his government went well beyond simple economic reforms. Anchored in a preserving tradition, Quebec had a relative autonomy, as well with the political plan as with the economic plan. Lesage wanted to transform the institutions and mentalities, and the nationalization of the very powerful hydroelectric companies of the province was to be one detonator .

He prematurely convened general elections on Wednesday, September 19, 1962 on the topic of the nationalization of electricity. A televised political debate, the first of the history of Canada, took place Sunday November 11th at the evening, and opposed the chief of the government and president of the Liberal party Jean Lesage, with the chief of the opposition and chief of the National union Daniel Johnson. The Prime Minister as a chief makes a success of this feat of ingenuity and gained a poll with the vital stakes for the province:

It is necessary to return to the people of Quebec what belongs to the people of Quebec; its richer inheritance, that of electricity. And that presses, tomorrow it will be too late. It is now or never that we will be Master on our premises.

The Quiet revolution

Benefitting from an economic strong growth, the Lesage government deeply reorganized the Québécois State while launching major projects of public investments, like the nationalization of the natural wealths, with the creation of the companies of State Sidérurgie of Quebec in 1964 and Québécois Société of mining exploration in 1965. Worried by the independence and the competence of the State, Jean Lesage initiated a vast reform of public education, led by his government, whose apogee was the creation of the minister of education in 1964. The Lesage period also saw creation in 1961 of the Québécois Health insurance, the insurance-hospitalization , and of the ministries for the cultural Affairs, the Income and the federal-provincial Businesses. Important economic and social institutions are also created, like the Caisse of deposit and placement of Quebec and the Régie revenues, both in 1965. Lastly, the representation of Quebec abroad was developed, with the inauguration of the General delegations of Quebec with Paris in 1961 and London in 1963.

The government of the liberal party benefitted from the surpluses accumulated by the preceding government (of the National union). It should thus be noted that the government of the National union of Duplessis suitably managed the assets and the entries of the State (at the time, it was one of the only governments of Canada to obtain a positive economic assessment). With died of Duplessis in 1959, Quebec does not have debts but, on the contrary, accumulates a surplus which will be used, by the Liberals, for the creation of the ministers of education and the Natural resources (Hydro-Quebec).

But the poll of 1966 was right of the government of Quiet revolution ; although the Liberal party obtained the greatest number of voices, the counties rural, less favorable to the liberals, continued to enjoy a disproportionate weight compared to the urban counties (and this in spite of a reform of the adopted electoral map the previous year), which made it possible the National union to carry it. At the end of his executive mandate, Jean Lesage became appointed district of Louis-Hébert in 1966, and chief of the opposition until in 1970. Having announced its decision to give up the post of head of the Liberal party on August 28th, 1969, it remained in function until the congress of January 1970, during which it had not been represented.

Professional reconversion

After April 1970, Jean Lesage belonged to the charged commission by the government of Quebec of the preparation of the legislation. Honorary colonel of the 6th artillery regiment of 1965 to 1970, it consequently occupied the position of director of several companies, in particular Lever Brothers Ltd., Montreal Trust Co., Mondev Corporation Ltd., Campbell Chibougamau Mines Ltd. and J.J. Baker Ltd. Member of the board of directors of Canadian Reynolds Metals Co. in 1971, Jean Lesage was named chairman of the board of the Nordiques of Quebec in June 1972.

Jean Lesage died on December 12th, 1980 with Quebec. He is buried with the Cimetière Our-Lady-with-Belmont with Holy-Foy (Quebec).

Distinctions

Honorary

Companion of the Order of Canada
Knight of the Order of Saint-Jean-of-Jerusalem
Knight of the Order of Saint-Lazare-of-Jerusalem
Large Inhabitant of Quebec of the century of the Academy of the Large Inhabitants of Quebec (2000)
Large officer of the Order of the Pleiad on a purely posthumous basis (February 14th 1991)

Academics

Doctor '' honoris causa '' of the universities:

Bishop
Concordia
Laval
McGill
of Moncton
of Montreal
Mount Allison
of the New Brunswick
of Ottawa
of Sherbrooke
Western
of the Dartmouth College
of the School of political sciences of Athens

Member elect of the medal of Old of the Laval University in 1961

Others

the Highway 20 (Jean-Lesage highway) between Cacouna and Montreal was named in its honor.
the airport of Quebec was named in its honor: International airport Jean-Lesage.
an electoral constituency of Quebec is called Jean-Lesage.
a monument was set up in its honor in 2000. It is located on the place of the Assembly-Main road.

Government Jean Lesage

External bond

File on the debate televised Lesage-Johnson

References

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