This article is about Gerard Lecuyer, the Manitoba politician. Gérald L'Ecuyer

Gerald L'Ecuyer

Gerald L’Ecuyer is a Canadian film and television director.L’Ecuyer was born in Montreal. He studied at Marianopolis College in Montreal, before going to New York, were he studied at the New School and worked for Andy Warhol’s Interview. He returned to Montreal and studied cinema at Concordia...

 is a Canadian film and television director and performer.

Gerard Lecuyer (born August 2, 1936 in Ste. Agathe

Ste. Agathe, Manitoba

Ste. Agathe is a primarily francophone community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located along the Red River in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot....

, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

) is a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 from 1981 to 1988, and a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party of Manitoba

The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...

 government of Howard Pawley

Howard Pawley

Howard Russell Pawley, PC, OC, OM is a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th Premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988.-Personal life:...

 from 1983 to 1988.

Lecuyer was educated at the University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

, and worked as an educator-administrator before entering public life. He directed special projects in the Bureau de l'Éducation français for the Department of Education, and was a teacher in the St. Boniface school division. He also spent five years in Africa as a teacher with the Canadian International Development Agency

Canadian International Development Agency

The Canadian International Development Agency was formed in 1968 by the Canadian government. CIDA administers foreign aid programs in developing countries, and operates in partnership with other Canadian organizations in the public and private sectors as well as other international organizations...

 (CIDA), and was a member of the Franco-Manitoban Society.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the election of 1981

Manitoba general election, 1981

The Manitoba general election of November 17, 1981 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the opposition New Democratic Party, which took 34 of 57 seats. The governing Progressive Conservative Party took the remaining 23, while the...

, scoring a comfortable victory in the east-Winnipeg riding of Radisson. The NDP won a majority government in this election, and Lecuyer was named Government House Leader soon after the party's victory. He was a leading supporter of the legal re-entrenchment of French language services within the province.

Lecuyer was named Minister of Environment and Workplace Safety and Health on November 4, 1983. He won a fairly easy re-election in the 1986 election

Manitoba general election, 1986

The Manitoba general election of March 18, 1986 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which took 30 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party won 26 seats and formed the official opposition...

, and retained his cabinet positions until the NDP government was unexpectedly defeated in the legislature in 1988. He lost his seat to Liberal

Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...

 Allan Patterson

Allan Patterson

Allan Patterson was a politician in the Canadian province of Manitoba...

 by almost 2,000 votes in the 1988 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1988

The Manitoba general election of April 26, 1988 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a minority government...

.

In 1993, he won a Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence. He was later appointed to the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission.