Browse "Politics & Law"

Jean Drapeau lived by extremes. The man who as Montreal mayor for 29 years routinely travelled the world didn't leave Quebec for the first time until age 36, when he went to New Brunswick.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on August 23, 1999

Jean Charest, lawyer, politician, premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 (born on 24 June 1958 in Sherbrooke, Qc). As a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, Jean Charest became the youngest person to be appointed to Cabinet. Between 1993 and 1998, he led the party after Kim Campbell resigned. Charest then became the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and acted as premier of Quebec from 2003 until 2012. In 2022, he joined Historica Canada’s board of directors.

​Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Premier of Québec and leader of the Union Nationale party (born 20 June 1916 in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, QC; died 22 February 1973 in Montréal, QC).

Jean C. Lapierre, lawyer, politician, co-founder of the Bloc Québécois, and media commentator (born 7 May 1956 in the Magdalen Islands, QC; died there 29 March 2016).

Jean-Léon Côté, surveyor, legislator (b at Les Éboulements, Qué 26 May 1867; d there 24 Sept 1924). After studies at Montmagny and Ottawa, Côté became a land surveyor with the Department of the Interior in 1890; he settled in Edmonton in 1903.

Jean Lesage, PC, CC, premier of Québec 1960–1966, politician, reformer, lawyer (born 10 June 1912 in Montréal, QC; died 12 December 1980 in Québec City, QC).

Jean-Louis Gagnon, journalist, writer, political activist, civil servant (born 21 February 1913 in Québec City, Québec; died 26 May 2004 in Québec City).

Critical of the rise of separatism in Québec in the early 1960s, Marchand was persuaded by PM Lester Pearson to be a member of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism and to join the federal Liberal Party in 1965.

Jean Pelletier, O.C., O.Q., journalist and politician (born 21 January 1935 in Chicoutimi, Québec; died 10 January 2009 in Québec City). Jean Pelletier was mayor of Québec City from 1977 to 1989 and was Jean Chrétien’s chief of staff from 1991 to 2001.

Jean-Pierre Côté, MP, minister, senator and lieutenant-governor of Québec (b at Montréal 9 Jan 1926). He studied at the School of Dental Technology, and was first elected to the House of Commons for Longueuil riding in 1963.

Jeanne Henriette Corbin, communist activist and union organizer (born in March 1906 in Cellettes, France; died 7 May 1944 in London, Ontario). A member of the Communist Party of Canada and secretary of the Canadian Labour Defense League, she defended the rights of Canadian workers for over 15 years. She gained particular prominence for her role in the lumber workers’ strike in Rouyn, Quebec in 1933.

Jeanne-Mathilde Sauvé, PC, CC, governor general of Canada 1984-1990, journalist, politician, speaker of the House of Commons (born 26 April 1922 in Prud'homme, Saskatchewan; died 26 January 1993 in Montreal). Sauvé was Canada's first woman to be Speaker of the House of Commons and first woman to serve as governor general.

In politics Ketchum opposed the FAMILY COMPACT, and helped organize numerous Reform committees and associations. He held office once - from 1828 to 1834 he was in the House of Assembly. He did not participate in the REBELLIONS OF 1837 but following its collapse moved his business to Buffalo.

James Allan Coutts, politician, businessman (born 16 May 1938 in High River, Alberta; died 31 December 2013 in Toronto, Ontario).

James Leo (Jim) Egan, gay activist, writer, politician, environmental activist (born 14 September 1921 in Toronto, ON; died 9 March 2000 in Courtenay, BC). Egan was the first person to publish long articles written from a gay point of view in Canada. He was also one of the first openly gay politicians to serve in Canada. Egan is best remembered for a court challenge he and his partner, Jack Nesbit, launched against the spousal allowance benefit under the Old Age Security Act in 1988. In the subsequent Egan v. Canada decision (1995), the Supreme Court read in that sexual orientation is a protected ground of discrimination in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — a monumental finding in support of LGBTQ2 rights in Canada.