Bernard Landry
Two Priorities: Sovereignty and the Economy
CBC News Online | June 6, 2005
At a glance
Born March 9, 1937 in the region of Joliette.
Holds degrees in law and economics.
First elected to National Assembly in 1976.
Failed in his attempt to succeed René Lévesque in 1985.
Returned to active politics in 1994 and becomes deputy premier under Jacques Parizeau, and then under Lucien Bouchard.
Took over for Lucien Bouchard as premier in 2001.
Began to sit as head of the official opposition in the National Assembly when his party lost the election to the Liberals on April 14, 2003.
Father of three, Julie, Philippe and Pascale. Grandfather of three young girls.
Married to former singer Chantal Renaud.
The man and his politics
Bernard Landry was born in St-Jacques-de-Montcalm, Que. on March 9, 1937. He studied law at Université de Montréal, then economics and finance at the Institut d'etudes politiques in Paris before being called to the Quebec Bar in 1965.
After helping found the Parti Québécois in 1968, Landry was defeated when he ran for the National Assembly under the fledgling party's banner in 1970.
Landry was successful, however, in the 1976 election that swept René Lévesque to power, and served in Lévesque's cabinet as minister of state for economic development.
He had a second successful run in 1981, but sat out the 1985 and 1989 elections as the PQ's fortunes sagged. While the Liberal government of Robert Bourassa was running the province, Landry went into a political exile of sorts, teaching business at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Landry returned to political life in 1994, winning a seat in the National Assembly and serving as deputy premier under Jacques Parizeau. Landry kept the deputy position after Parizeau, embittered by the failure of the 1995 referendum, handed over the party leadership to Lucien Bouchard. He added the Finance portfolio to his responsibilities in early 1996.
In 1999, Landry's wife, Lorraine, died of cancer.
• FROM SEPT. 30, 2004: Landry breaks down as defamation case heard
Two years later, as Bouchard abandoned politics, Landry reached the apex of his political career: he ran unopposed for the PQ leadership, and became the next premier of Quebec.
• FROM MAY 8, 2001: Landry sworn in as Quebec premier
Until he announced his retirement from politics on June 4, 2005, Landry was ever eager to argue the merits of Quebec sovereignty.
• FROM JUNE 4, 2005: Landry steps down as Parti Québécois leader
Despite his choice to leave politics, he will remain a man filled with the passion that gave birth to the PQ in 1968.
http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/features/landry/index.html
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Bernard Landry
The Quotable Bernard Landry
CBC News Online | June 6, 2005
Bernard Landry has rarely been far from the front pages of newspapers in his home province and across the country.
It was just days before the PQ's 2001 leadership convention, where he ran unopposed to succeed retiring premier Lucien Bouchard, that Landry referred to the Canadian flag as a "red rag."
Then, at the end of his first term in office in 2003, Landry once again made national headlines with comments that critics said demeaned women and poverty-stricken parents.
But within Quebec, the party co-founder has played his political cards carefully.
A committed sovereigntist, he often held the party together as factions within it battled over when to call the next referendum.
However, Landry also spent a lot of time defending himself. In March 2003, at the PQ policy meeting in Montreal, Landry was voting on a proposal to recruit more women into politics. Party executive member Jocelyne Gadbois explained to him it was a strategic vote for women's groups.
A Radio-Canada microphone caught their remarks on tape.
"Don't talk to me about women's groups," the Premier said. "I'd rather meet with the president of Sun Life," referring to the insurance company which left Quebec after the PQ came to power in the 1976, and then returned in the 90s after Landry met with the chairperson.
Landry's quarrel with women's groups came from a meeting he had with both them and anti-poverty activists.
After that meeting, they quoted him as saying he found it hard to believe children go to school hungry when even birds, with their tiny brains, can feed their young.
Landry said his words were taken out of context.
http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/features/landry/quotable.html
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Landry breaks down as defamation case heard
Last updated Sep 30 2004 10:24 AM EDT
CBC News
Bernard Landry broke down Wednesday while telling the court how much a Montreal Gazette article hurt him and his late wife. He called his wife a "saint" whom he loved for 36 years, and still loves.
Reporter Jeff Heinrich says his story about Landry's late wife's hospital stay was designed to cover the controversy over whether she received preferential treatment.
The Parti Québécois leader is seeking $800,000 in damages from Heinrich and the newspaper for defamation over the story published in July 1998.
Landry and his wife, Lorraine Laporte-Landry, went strictly by the book in terms of obtaining health care, the PQ leader testified Wednesday.
He says the night before his wife's operation, she slept on a stretcher.
Upon cross-examination, Landry admitted his electoral support wasn't affected by the article. He says people know better than to trust everything in the Montreal Gazette.
At the time, both Landry and the hospital denied the politician applied undue pressure or received preferential treatment.
Heinrich testified he was assigned to check out a story broadcast by Montreal radio station CIQC in July 1998.
He says he didn't speak to the broadcaster, nor did he listen to what was said, instead he spoke to an editor at the station.
Later that day, in consultation with Landry's office, the Pierre Boucher hospital in Longueuil organized a news conference and sent out a communiqué.
Shift in news focus
Heinrich says he drove to the south shore but couldn't attend the press conference.
He says he tried to interview officials at the hospital, but wasn't able to.
Heinrich says after it became clear there were no sources to back up the story, he decided to shift focus.
He testified that while some media outlets were covering the news conference he decided to cover the controversy generated by the accusations.
The news report in question begins with a series of questions: Did Landry lose his cool? Did he berate people or was the radio station guilty of irresponsible broadcasting?
Landry testified after Heinrich calling the article "filth" based on absurdities.
Landry's wife died of cancer in 1999.
Landry settled out of court with CIQC in 2002, and the station has since gone off the air.
http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc_gaz20040929
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Landry sworn in as Quebec premier
Last updated Mar 8 2001 12:00 AM EST
CBC News
Bernard Landry was sworn in as Quebec's 28th premier at a ceremony in Quebec's National Assembly.
• Related story: Landry's cabinet has few surprises
The new premier put his stamp on by making important changes to the cabinet, and reaffirmed the ability of the Parti Québécois to work towards sovereignty while delivering good government.
Landry, who served as deputy premier and Finance minister under Bouchard, was acclaimed PQ leader last Friday.
Landry made headlines across the country in January when he compared the Maple Leaf with "bits of red rag". He later said he was sorry if he offended anyone. He's considered a hardline sovereignist.
Lifelong dream
Landry becomes Quebec's fifth premier in seven years, achieving a lifelong dream years after it seemed to have escaped him.
In 1985, the last time the PQ held a leadership race, Landry was forced to withdraw when it became apparent he had no chance of beating Pierre-Marc Johnson.
"Life can be full of strange surprises,'' Landry told PQ members at a January rally where he announced his candidacy.
"Fifteen years ago, when I ardently hoped to have the job . . . the tide was so strongly against me that I was forced, not without great pain, to abandon and seek other ways to contribute," he said.
Back to the drawing board
After losing his seat when Robert Bourassa's Liberals swept the 1985 provincial election, Landry embarked on a long international teaching stint as a travelling university professor.
Landry returned to the legislature under Jacques Parizeau's government in 1994. As finance minister under Bouchard, he helped Quebec erase its $6-billion deficit.
He never challenged Bouchard for the leadership in 1996 and says he would have been happy to end his political career as an understudy to his popular boss.
"The plan I had for the end of my public life was to work under, in a devoted and loyal fashion, the great political figure that was Lucien Bouchard until I felt useless and decided to leave,'' he said in January.
Involved in politics since the 1950s
Landry began his drive for Quebec independence as a student activist in the late 1950s, when the idea had almost no support. He helped found the PQ with René Lévesque in 1968 and was defeated in his first two elections as a party candidate.
Landry's ascension to the top job follows numerous cabinet roles under all four PQ leaders who preceded him.
He has served as minister responsible for economic development, external trade, international relations, immigration and cultural communities, youth, international affairs, and humanitarian action.
Landry, who has university degrees in law and economics, has also twice been named finance minister.
A father of three and grandfather of two, Landry lost his wife, Lorraine Laporte-Landry, to cancer in 1999.
http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?r=-1084030566&filename=landry010308
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Landry steps down as Parti Québécois leader
Last Updated Sat, 04 Jun 2005 23:10:49 EDT
CBC News
Parti Québécois Leader Bernard Landry has dropped a bombshell, announcing that he is leaving politics after earning a score of 76.2 per cent in a confidence vote.
Landry, who has led the party since 2001, had said he would stay on if he scored at least 76 per cent in Saturday's vote at a PQ convention in Quebec City.
Bernard Landry says he hopes his resignation will let the party focus on achieving sovereignty instead of bickering over leadership.
But after hearing the result, the 68-year-old said he felt he didn't have enough support to continue as PQ leader and was stepping down.
"It breaks my heart to tell you this, but I'm doing it in the national interest," said Landry, who choked up as he told about 1,500 PQ members that his days in politics were over.
"I'm sorry to do this."
More support needed for sovereignty push: Landry
The PQ is redesigning its platform to make a much more aggressive drive for sovereignty, guaranteeing another referendum if the party wins the next election.
It is also poised to capitalize on the Quebec public's anger at the Liberals over the federal sponsorship scandal.
But Landry said that with nearly one member in four against him, he simply didn't have the backing he needed to get the job done.
"The next person who leads the sovereigntist troops must be strongly supported without equivocation."
"The next person who leads the sovereigntist troops must be strongly supported without equivocation," Landry said.
Landry, who became premier after Lucien Bouchard resigned in 2001, lost the 2003 provincial election to Jean Charest's Liberals.
Since then, a series of people within the PQ – including former deputy premier Pauline Marois and a founding member of the party, Marc Brière – have called for a leadership race.
The last one was in 1985 when Pierre Marc Johnson succeeded René Lévesque. Jacques Parizeau, Lucien Bouchard and Landry were each acclaimed as leader.
Saturday's vote marked the first leadership review Landry had faced since the 2003 election.
Resignation leaves party reeling
Landry's announcement left many supporters in tears and prompted all PQ legislators to gather for an emergency meeting.
The PQ caucus will meet Tuesday to pick an interim leader, party officials said.
There's no obvious successor within the party.
Meanwhile, the head of the federal Bloc Québécois, Gilles Duceppe, urged Landry in a statement to stay on as leader.
"Bernard Landry is still the man for the situation and [Duceppe] is asking him to reconsider his decision," the statement said.
Prime Minister Paul Martin extended his best wishes for Landry in his retirement.
"While Mr. Landry and I have fundamentally different views about the future of Quebec and the unity of our country, his commitment to his province – as a Member of the National Assembly, as Minister of Finance and ultimately, as Premier – is beyond question," Martin said in a statement.
A PQ stalwart since the beginning
Landry was born in Saint-Jacques-de-Montcalm on March 9, 1937. He studied law at the University of Montreal, then economics and finance at the Institut d'études politiques in Paris before being called to the Quebec Bar in 1965.
After helping found the PQ in 1968, Landry was defeated when he ran for the National Assembly under the fledgling party's banner in 1970.
Landry was successful, however, in the 1976 election that swept Lévesque to power, and served in Lévesque's cabinet as minister of state for economic development.
He had a second successful run in 1981, but sat out the 1985 and 1989 elections as the PQ's fortunes sagged. While the Liberal government of Robert Bourassa was running the province, Landry went into a political exile of sorts, teaching business at the University of Quebec's Montreal campus.
Landry returned to political life in 1994, winning a seat in the National Assembly and serving as deputy premier under Parizeau.
Landry kept the deputy position after Parizeau, embittered by the failure of the 1995 referendum, handed over the party leadership to Bouchard. He added the Finance portfolio to his responsibilities in early 1996.
When Bouchard abandoned politics, Landry reached the apex of his political career: he ran unopposed for the PQ leadership, and became the premier.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/04/landry-050601.html
