Article

Louis Joseph Robichaud

Published Online February 14, 2008

Last Edited March 4, 2015

Louis Joseph Robichaud, lawyer, politician, premier of NB 1960-70, senator (born 21 October 1925 in St-Antoine, NB; died 6 January 2005 at Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, NB). His Liberal government passed an Official Languages Act, established Université de Moncton and increased Acadian administrative influence.
Robichaud, Louis
Louis Robichaud when he was a senator (courtesy CP).

Louis Joseph Robichaud, lawyer, politician, premier of NB 1960-70, senator (born 21 October 1925 in St-Antoine, NB; died 6 January 2005 at Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, NB). Educated at Sacré Coeur University and Université Laval, he practised law and was elected MLA for Kent County in 1952. Elected leader of the NB Liberal Party in 1958, he led it to victory over Hugh J. Flemming, 1960, and served as attorney general, 1960-65, and minister of youth, 1968. The first Acadian elected premier of NB (1960), he introduced far-reaching social reforms through the centralizing Programme of Equal Opportunity.

His Liberal government modernized liquor laws, abolished the Hospital Premium Tax, passed an Official Languages Act, established Université de Moncton, increased Acadian administrative influence, and encouraged the mining and forest industries. In 1970 the Liberals were defeated by Richard Hatfield and Robichaud resigned as party leader and MLA in 1971 to become chairman of the Canadian section of the International Joint Commission.

In 1973 he was appointed to the Senate, where he continued to support bilingualism and national unity. Robichaud was named a Companion in the Order of Canada in 1971.