Jean Lapierre
Encyclopedia
Jean-Charles Lapierre, PC
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 (born May 7, 1956) is a Canadian
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...

 television broadcaster and a former federal politician.

He was Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

's Quebec lieutenant
Quebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...

 during the period of the Martin government. He returned to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 after an eleven year absence when he won a seat in the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

 for the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 riding of Outremont
Outremont (electoral district)
Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...

. On July 20, 2004, he was appointed to the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Transport
Minister of Transport (Canada)
The Minister of Transport is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada...

, serving until February 6, 2006
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...

. On January 11, 2007, Lapierre announced his intention to resign from federal politics. He resigned as the MP for Outremont on January 28, 2007.

Liberal

He originally served in the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 from 1979 to 1993, representing the riding of Shefford
Shefford (electoral district)
Shefford is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867. Its population in 2006 was 100,000.-Demographics:Ethnic groups: 99.2% WhiteLanguages: 95.2% French, 3.2% English...

, sitting as a Liberal from 1979 to 1990. A Quebec federalist who fought the 1980 Quebec referendum beside Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau retired from politics in 1984 and was succeeded as Prime Minister and party leader by John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....

. Lapierre was appointed to cabinet as minister of state for youth and amateur sport and his tenure was brief as Turner called an election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...

 four days after being sworn in, which the Liberals lost.

Lapierre was a strong proponent of the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...

, while Turner and Martin also expressed support for it, though Trudeau publicly campaigned against it and his protege Chrétien was later revealed to oppose it as well.

Lapierre's group led a stir at the 1990 Liberal Leadership Convention in Calgary when Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....

 embraced Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is the first minister, head of government and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Before 1964, the position's official title was Premier of Newfoundland...

 Clyde Wells
Clyde Wells
Clyde Kirby Wells, QC was the fifth Premier of Newfoundland and was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1999 to March 2009...

 hours after the latter had helped kill the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...

. Lapierre's followers wore black armbands and yelled "Vendu!" (sell out!) at Jean Chrétien. Lapierre had supported Paul Martin's unsuccessful campaign for the Liberal leadership. Chrétien, a staunch federalist like Trudeau, won the leadership the day of the failure of the Meech Lake Accords and Lapierre left the party as a result.

Bloc Québécois

Upon leaving the Liberals, sitting as an independent,at the request of Premier Robert Bourassa, he helped to found the Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 and served in their first caucus. In 1992, he retired from politics for a time and abandoned his affiliation with the Bloc. Lapierre himself has maintains that he was never really a separatist and that he was the "red of the rainbow" in a temporary ad hoc rainbow coalition, saying that he wanted a level playing field for Quebec.

Broadcaster

In private life, Lapierre had a very high profile in Quebec as a broadcaster and talk show host for Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 radio station CKAC. He also worked simultaneously as a TV news presenter for a time. He had a reputation for being extremely well-connected, able to pick up the phone and arrange meetings between different Quebecers from all walks of life, and was sometimes sought for behind-the-scenes political advice. As a talk show host, Lapierre was free to speak his mind and some have speculated that he may find the rules of politics to be somewhat constraining, in particular the requirement to stay "on message."

Return to Liberals

He never really gave up his political ambitions and his personal loyalty to Paul Martin was well known in Quebec. He returned to politics soon after being promised a senior cabinet post by Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

 who became Liberal leader in December 2003.

Lapierre differed from the other Quebec lieutenants before him, most of whom were cautious, soft-spoken, and ever mindful of the impact of their Quebec actions on the rest of Canada. Lapierre by contrast had what a commentator described as a "rough and tumble, shoot from the lip style of politics", being known for his flamboyance, aggressiveness, his toughness, his rudeness and arrogance.

Some questioned the need for a Quebec lieutenant as Martin himself was bilingual, and polls showed fading support for the Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 and Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

 (who had just lost the 2003 provincial election). Others believed that Martin placed high importance on the province for the upcoming election, hoping to fare significantly better than Chrétien had. Some speculated that Martin had anticipated another Quebec referendum (and remembering the near separatist win in the 1995 referendum), with Lapierre's understanding of Quebec nationalism and the Bloc being crucial to winning over the nationalist vote.

2004 federal election

In the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

, Lapierre was expected to deliver the vote in Quebec, but in the wake of the sponsorship scandal, this was a difficult task. The scandal severely hurt the party's support, especially in that province, while the rival Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 gained support. Lapierre commented that that it would help the Liberals if the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

 could "lay some charges already" in the sponsorship probe. Years afterwards, Lapierre compared the impact of the sponsorship scandal to getting hit by a Mack truck. When Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...

 tried to link Liza Frulla
Liza Frulla
Liza Frulla, PC , also formerly known as Liza Frulla-Hébert, is a former Canadian politician. She was a Quebec Liberal Party MNA in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1989 to 1998, and a Liberal Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2006.From 1974 to 1976, she worked for the public affairs service...

 to the Sponsorship Scandal, saying that her 2002 byelection campaign was funded by members implicated in Adscam, Lapierre described it as "the cheapest thing you can do—try to start gossip that has no foundation".

After Duceppe boasted that he would make the Liberals in the province disappear, Lapierre said "[that] kind of language, where you want to make people disappear, there is a bit of a tone of Nazism in that". Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...

 CEO Bernie Farber
Bernie Farber
Bernie M. Farber is the former chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress and a social activist. He has testified before the Canadian courts as an expert witness on hate crime....

 said that Duceppe may have been overzealous, but Lapierre's Nazi analogy was inappropriate and such uses "have a tendency to minimize the horrors of Nazism". Duceppe later apologized for his remarks, saying that he meant that the Bloc would take every federal Liberal seat, while Lapierre told a Quebec radio station that he would not use the term "Nazi" again. Lapierre also denied that there was a fiscal imbalance during an interview; the BQ dug up an article that he had written four years ago on February 2000 where he criticized the Liberal government for cutting transfer payments which "strangled the provinces".

The Liberals were able to retain a plurality of seats to continue governing, but they were reduced to a minority. In Quebec, they lost 15 of the 36 seats won in 2000, and their popular vote fell from 44% to 34%, while the Bloc Québécois captured 54 of the 75 seats.

Minister of Transport

As Minister of Transport, Lapierre initiated the Pacific Gateway Strategy, signing air transport agreements with China and India and completed a formal Canada-US Open Skies Agreement. He also spearheaded a large federal investment in the Prince Rupert container terminal, saying that it improved ties to Asian markets, while enhancing economic development in northern BC and Alberta. Lapierre reduced the amount paid by airports to the federal government by some $5 billion over the remaining life of the leases. He announced the implementation of a No Fly List
No Fly List
The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States government's Terrorist Screening Center , of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has also been used to divert away from U.S. airspace aircraft not...

 for airline passengers.

Lapierre's predecessor as Transport Minister, Tony Valeri
Tony Valeri
Tony Valeri, PC is a former Canadian politician. Valeri was the Canadian Government House Leader in Paul Martin's government from 2004 until 2006...

, did not follow due process in the dismissal of VIA Rail chairman Jean Pelletier, causing Pelletier to file a lawsuit. A federal court ruled that dismissal did not follow due process and ordered him reinstated in November 2005. Although he was reinstated, the government appealed the court ruling and kept him off the payroll. Lapierre ensured that due process was followed in dismissing Pelletier a second time. Justice Francois Lemieux ruled ruled in March 2007 that the Martin government acted improperly in 2005 when it fired Pelletier a second time, immediately after a court overturned his first dismissal as head of Via Rail, stating that Lapierre was biased and failed to follow proper procedures.
On November 22, 2007, Judge Hélène Langlois of Quebec Superior Court ruled that government of then-Prime Minister Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

 had acted in a "cavalier and precipitous" fashion when it fired Pelletier. Pelletier was awarded $235,000 in lost income, and a further $100,000 for damaging his reputation.

Lapierre and his department were criticised for their handling of the Jetsgo
Jetsgo
Jetsgo Corporation was a Canadian low-cost carrier based in the Saint-Laurent area of Montreal. Jetsgo served 19 destinations across Canada, 10 destinations in the United States, and 12 scheduled weekend-charter destinations in the Caribbean...

 collapse. Critics argued that he should have seen warning signs after unsuccessful attempts to lower the carrier's costs. They also said that he had failed to warn the public or intervene, making him indirectly responsible for stranding thousands of travellers. Lapierre rejected calls to resign, and denied that he had any knowledge of the collapse. He pointed out that most of the passengers had booked flights with credit cards and would be eligible for refunds.

When Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean...

 decided not to enter provincial politics after Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry, is a Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician, who served as the 28th Premier of Quebec , leader of the Opposition and leader of the Parti Québécois .-Personal:...

 resigned as Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

 leader, Lapierre called him a coward. He was criticized for these comments and was seen by some as trying to goad the Bloc leader into changing his mind, a decision that almost undoubtedly would help to sell separatism in Quebec.

Opposition

Lapierre retained his position as Quebec lieutenant
Quebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...

 for the 2006 election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...

 and he was personally re-elected without much difficulty, though with a reduced margin. However, the Liberals lost power in the campaign, falling from 21 to 13 seats in Quebec, and even being surpassed by the Conservatives
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

 in the popular vote.

Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

 resigned as parliamentary leader on election night, and as party leader a month later. Interim successor Bill Graham
Bill Graham
William Carvel "Bill" Graham, PC QC is a former Canadian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence, and Leader of the Opposition and interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.-Personal life:...

 appointed Lapierre to his shadow cabinet as Industry critic.

Lapierre was neutral at the 2006 Liberal leadership election, where Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...

 was elected Liberal leader. Lapierre afterwards planned to announce that he would not run for re-election in Outremont, saying that his "commitment was to Mr. Martin for one mandate" and that he felt "personally and morally relieved of his obligation" after the party paid tribute to the outgoing Liberal leader at the Montreal convention. Lapierre also commented that Dion was the first leader not to have to cope with a divided party, after decades of infighting between Trudeau/Turner and Chrétien/Martin.

Retirement

On January 11, 2007, Lapierre announced that he was going to retire at the end of the month. He did so on January 28, 2007.

He returned as a political analyst with Quebec television network TVA
TVA (TV network)
TVA is a privately owned French language television network in Canada. The network is currently owned by Groupe TVA Inc. , a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media...

 and Montreal radio station 98.5 FM
CHMP-FM
CHMP-FM is a French language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec. Owned and operated by Cogeco, it broadcasts on 98.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 40,800 watts using an omnidirectional antenna....

. He co-hosts a political show with reporter Paul Larocque called Larocque-Lapierre. He is also political commentator for CJAD radio in Montreal and FM 93 in Quebec city. He contributes regularly to Power Play and Question Period on the CTV network.

Electoral record (partial)

Source: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

External links

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