Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau,
Ph.D. (born
August 9,
1930) is an
economist and noted Quebec
sovereigntist who served as
Premier of
Quebec,
Canada, from
September 26,
1994 to
January 29,
1996.
Parizeau graduated with a doctorate from the
London School of Economics in
London,
England. A believer in
Keynes' theory of economic interventionism, he was one of the most important advisors to the provincial government during the 1960s, playing an important behind the scenes role in the
Quiet Revolution. He was especially instrumental in the
nationalization of
Hydro-Quebec (a hydro-electric utility), the nationalization of
Asbestos mines, and the creation of the
Quebec Pension Plan.
Parizeau gradually became a committed sovereigntist, and officially joined the
Parti Québécois (PQ) on
September 19,
1969.
After the PQ was elected to office in the
1976 provincial election, the new premier,
René Lévesque, appointed Parizeau as
Minister of Finance. Parizeau played an important role in the
1980 Quebec referendum campaign in favour of the government's proposals for
sovereignty-association, i.e., political independence from Canada.
As Minister of Finance in Quebec, he was responsible for a number of innovative economic proposals, including the
Quebec Stock Savings Plan ("QSSP").
Married to
Jewish and
Polish immigrant
Alice Poznanska (
1930-
1990), Jacques Parizeau was criticized for supporting the
Charter of the French Language. This law limits access to English-language public schools to children whose parents received their education in English in Canada, and is generally opposed by the English-speaking minority. Parizeau bypassed
Bill 101 by having his children educated in private schools.
In
1984, he had a falling out with Lévesque. Lévesque had moved away from pursuing
sovereignty to focus on governing Quebec. Parizeau opposed this shift, resigned the Cabinet, and temporarily retired from politics. Lévesque retired soon after and was replaced by
Pierre-Marc Johnson.
In
1987, Johnson also left the PQ leadership after losing the
1985 election. Parizeau, still a widely-liked figure, was elected to replace him as party leader on
March 19,
1988.
In the
1989 election, Parizeau's first as PQ leader, his party did not fare well. But five years later, in the
1994 election, they won a convincing majority government. Parizeau promised to hold a referendum on Quebec sovereignty within a year of his election,and despite many objections, he followed through on this promise. In the beginning, support for sovereignty was only about 40% in the public opinion polls. As the campaign wore on, however, support for the "Yes" side grew larger. This growth halted, however, and Parizeau came under pressure to hand more of the campaign over to the more moderate and conservative
Lucien Bouchard, the popular leader of the federal
Bloc Québécois party. Parizeau agreed, and as the campaign progressed, lost his leadership role to Bouchard.
During the
1995 referendum he caused an uproar when it was reported by columnist
Chantal Hébert in the
La Presse newspaper that despite the guarantee of an offer of partnership with the rest of Canada before declaring sovereignty following a "Yes" vote, Parizeau had told a group of foreign diplomats that what mattered most was to get a majority vote from Quebec citizens for the proposal to
secede from Canada because with that, Quebecers would be trapped "like lobsters thrown in boiling water." [
1] On the night of the referendum, Quebec came within only a few thousands of votes of separation, but the Yes side still lost. In his concession speech, Parizeau said sovereignty had been defeated by "
money and the ethnic vote", and referred to the
Francophones who voted Yes in the referendum as
"nous" (us) when he said that this majority group was, for the first time, no longer afraid of political independence. 60% of Quebec Francophones (who represent 80% of all Quebecers) voted Yes. However, the sovereigntist side accepted the results of the vote which they had initiated.
Parizeau was widely criticized for the remarks, which he later characterized as unfortunate and as meriting the disapproval they received. Because of the defeat and these remarks, he resigned as PQ leader and Quebec premier the next day. The English-language media, as well as non-sovereignist newspapers such as
La Presse and
Le Soleil, associated Parizeau's resignation only with these remarks. As against which, the sovereignist-friendly media (notably
Le Devoir newspaper) argued that he had made the decision beforehand, drawing attention to a television interview conducted on the eve of the vote with the channel in which Parizeau spoke of his intentions to step down in the event of defeat. (This interview had previously been held under "embargo", which is to say that the station agreed not to broadcast it until the referendum was over.)
Parizeau was replaced by
Lucien Bouchard as PQ leader and Quebec premier on
January 29,
1996.
Parizeau retired to private life, but continued to make comments critical of Bouchard's new government and its failure to press the cause of Quebec independence. He owns an estate at his vineyard in
France, a farm in the
Eastern Townships of Quebec and a home in
Montreal. His biographer is
Pierre Duchesne.
*Well, in a case like this, what do we do? We spit in our hands and we start over!
**"Bon, ben, dans un cas comme ça, qu'est-ce qu'on fait? On se crache dans les mains et on recommence!"
**1995 referendum concession speech.
*"It is true, it is true that we were beaten, but in the end, by what? By money and ethnic votes, essentially."
** C'est vrai, c'est vrai qu'on a été battus, au fond, par quoi? Par l'argent puis du vote ethnique, essentiellement."
**1995 referendum concession speech.
*Question of the 1995 referendum on independence. (
read) (
listen)
*
May 15,
2005 -interview on
CTV news with reporter/anchorwoman
Lisa LaFlamme, Parizeau said the
Clarity Act "meant nothing" and would be ignored. "Can you imagine feds saying we don't like your answers," Parizeau told the interviewer, calling such suggestions a "political stunt."
He lost the
1989 election, and won the
1994 election. He announced his resignation the day after the "Yes" side in the
1995 Quebec referendum was defeated.
*
Politics of Quebec*
List of Quebec premiers*
List of Quebec general elections*
Timeline of Quebec history*
Sovereignty Association*
History of the Quebec sovereignist movement*
Politician and personality nicknaming in Quebec*
National Assembly biography (in French)
