Former Bloc leader Michel Gauthier, 70, had friends from all sides of political spectrum
In this file photo, Bloc Quebecois MP for Roberval-Lake-Saint-Jean Michel Gauthier speaks to delegates at a party general council meeting in Quebec City, Oct. 21, 2006.Michel Gauthier only ran for Parliament because another candidate had been accused of résumé-padding, but he would become a prominent figure in the Quebec sovereignty movement in the 1990s, even succeeding Lucien Bouchard as the head of the Bloc Québécois.
The Bloc was in an unprecedented position as a separatist group that had also gained enough seats to become the Official Opposition. This status gave Mr. Bouchard’s caucus the research budget and visibility to use Canada’s 35th Parliament to attack the federal system and the government of Jean Chrétien.
Mr. Gauthier was a second-generation politician but a reluctant public figure who needed some nudging at each of the pivotal points of his career: fist to enter provincial politics, second to run federally and finally, to become Bloc leader. By that time, Michel was studying for a teaching certificate. He later said he was not tempted to follow in his father’s footsteps, seeing the demands that political life made on the family. Instead, Mr. Gauthier taught grade school, then became a school-board administrator. He was also the head of the local chamber of commerce.
In the local riding, Roberval, a businessman who won the nomination was disqualified on allegations that he falsely claiming to have a political-science degree. It took two telephone calls from Mr. Bouchard to convince Mr. Gauthier to replace the businessman on the ballot. After he retired from politics in 2007, he dabbled in journalism, hosting a television public-affairs show and writing a newspaper column. In May, 2018, he announced that he was no longer a sovereigntist, noting that it was clear there was no prospect for another referendum.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ex-Bloc Quebecois leader, longtime Quebec politician Michel Gauthier dead at 70‘Michel died in the arms of his wife and two children, his soul at peace,’ Gauthier’s family said in a statement on Saturday
Read more »
Ex-Bloc Quebecois leader, longtime Quebec politician Michel Gauthier dead at 70Gauthier was MP for 20 years, first for the riding of Roberval in Quebec’s Saguenay Lac-Saint Jean region between 1997 and 2004 and then for the new riding of Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean until 20…
Read more »
In hard-hit Quebec, families struggle to mourn those lost to COVID-19MONTREAL — July Mak spent nearly every night with her father, Paul.Because he was plagued by health problems, including a stroke that left him unable to walk on his own, the family decided to…
Read more »
Quebec records 37 new COVID-19 deaths, but adds 165 that weren't recordedQuebec public health authorities announced that 37 people have died of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, but that 165 deaths were not counted due to a data transmission problem.
Read more »
Quebec town across from N.B. community with COVID outbreak gets testing centreThe mayor of a small town in eastern Quebec says residents are breathing a small sigh of relief after he pushed to open a COVID-19 testing unit in his community over concerns that residents may have been in contact with a New Brunswick health-care professional who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Read more »
Quebec breaks another low bar with 419 new COVID-19 casesThere are now a total of 50,651 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Quebec and 4,439 people have died due to the virus.
Read more »