| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
He played a critical role in the October CrisisThe October Crisis was a series of dramatic events triggered by two terrorist kidnappings that occurred in Quebec, Canada, during the month of October, 1970. It resulted in the brief declaration of martial law under the War Measures Act. As a prelude to t of 1970 in which his colleague Pierre LaportePierre Laporte ( February 25, 1921 October 1970), was a Canadian politician who was assassinated by members of the FLQ. Pierre Laporte was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was a journalist with Le Devoir from 1945 to 1961. A Vice-Premier and Minister of Labou was murdered. It was Bourassa who pushed the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre TrudeauJoseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( October 18, 1919— September 28, 2000) was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968, to June 3, 1979, and from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Pierre Trudeau was a f, to declare a state of emergency, which resulted in the Canadian army patrolling the streets of major cities in Quebec, and in the national capital, OttawaThis article is about the capital city of Canada. For other meanings see Ottawa (disambiguation). City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ( In Detail) ( In Detail) Motto: Advance Ottawa/Ottawa en avant Area: 2,778. Population Total (2001) Cdn. CD Rank: Cdn. Rank:. After Laporte's kidnapping, Bourassa barricaded himself and his cabinet behind heavy layers of security.
Bourassa and Trudeau often clashed over issues of federal-provincial relations and Quebec nationalismQuebec nationalism is the subject of many international studies together with the contemporary nationalism of Scotland, Catalonia and others. This article aims at presenting an historical overview of the evolution of Quebec nationalism from its origins un with Trudeau opposing what he saw as concessions to separatism. Trudeau also looked down on Bourassa personally, once referring to him as a mangeur d'hot dog (a hot dog eater).
Bourassa lost the 1976 Quebec election to René Lévesque, leader of the separatist Parti Québécois. He resigned as Liberal Party leader, and accepted teaching positions in Europe and the United States. He subsequently returned to politics as Liberal leader on October 15, 1983, and regained the office of Premier in 1985.
During his time in power, he implemented policies aimed at protecting the status of the French language in Quebec. In 1974, he introduced Bill 22 , the first legislation designed to strengthen the position of French within Quebec. However, this legislation was soon superseded by the Charter of the French Language also known as Bill 101, introduced by the Parti Québécois government that replaced him in 1976.
In his second term, he invoked the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian constitution to override a Supreme Court ruling that declared parts of Bill 101 unconstitutional, causing some English-speaking ministers in his government to resign. A few years later, however, he introduced modifications to Bill 101. These compromises reduced the controversy over language that had been a dominant feture of Quebec politics over the previous decades. The majority of Quebecers reached a consensus on accepting the new status quo.
Bourassa also pushed for Quebec to be acknowledged in the Canadaian constitution as a "distinct society", promising Quebecers that their grievances could be resolved within Canada with a new constitutional deal.
Early in his first term, he participated in an early attempt at constitutional reform, the Victoria Charter of 1971, which quickly unravelled. In his second term, he worked closely with federal Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and received many concessions from the federal government, culminating in the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. When both of these accords failed to be ratified, the constitutional reform efforts collapsed, reviving the separatist movement.
Bourassa initiated the James Bay hydroelectric projects, but ran into opposition from environmentalists and the Cree who lived on the land in question. The Bourassa government also played a major role in rescuing the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal from the huge cost overruns and construction delays incurred by the mismanagement of the project by mayor Drapeau's administration.
Bourassa retired from politics in 1994 in poor health and having lost the popularity that had returned him to the premier's office. He was replaced as Liberal leader and premier by Daniel Johnson, Jr., who lost an election to the separatist Parti Québécois after only nine months.
In 1996, he died in Montreal of skin cancer and was interred at the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.