- Gilles Duceppe
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Gilles Duceppe Leader of the Opposition In office
March 15, 1997 – June 1, 1997Monarch Elizabeth II Prime Minister Jean Chrétien Preceded by Michel Gauthier Succeeded by Preston Manning In office
January 16, 1996 – February 17, 1996
ActingMonarch Elizabeth II Prime Minister Jean Chrétien Preceded by Lucien Bouchard Succeeded by Michel Gauthier Leader of the Bloc Québécois In office
March 15, 1997 – May 2, 2011Preceded by Michel Gauthier Succeeded by TBD In office
January 16, 1996 – February 17, 1996
ActingPreceded by Lucien Bouchard Succeeded by Michel Gauthier Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Laurier-Sainte-MarieIn office
August 13, 1990 – May 1, 2011Preceded by Jean-Claude Malépart Succeeded by Hélène Laverdière Personal details Born July 22, 1947
Montreal, Quebec, CanadaPolitical party Bloc Québécois Spouse(s) Yolande Brunelle Children Amélie Duceppe and Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Alma mater University of Montreal (Incomplete) Profession Orderly
Union organizerSignature Gilles Duceppe (French pronunciation: [ʒil dysɛp]; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian politician, and proponent of the Québec sovereignty movement. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for over 20 years and was the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois for almost 15 years. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean Duceppe. He was Leader of the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada from March 17, 1997 to June 1, 1997. He resigned as party leader after 2011 election, in which he lost his own seat to New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Hélène Laverdière and his party suffered a heavy defeat.[1]
Contents
Early life
Duceppe was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Hélène (née Rowley) and actor Jean Duceppe. His maternal grandfather was John James Rowley, a Briton by birth and a home child. Duceppe's British roots had him once quip that "I'm a bloke who turned Bloc."[2]
Duceppe has told the story of an Anglophone Grade 6 teacher slapping him after he complained about preferential treatment being given to anglophone students.[3] Duceppe claimed he slapped the teacher back. In any event, he became a sovereignist by the age of 20, inspired by René Lévesque and the founding of the Mouvement Souveraineté-Association.[4]
Duceppe completed his high school studies at the Collège Mont-Saint-Louis. Duceppe then studied political science at the Université de Montréal but did not complete his program of study. While attending the Université de Montréal, he became general manager of the school's newspaper, Quartier Latin. In his youth, he advocated communism, and held membership in the Workers' Communist Party of Canada (WCP), a Maoist group. Duceppe later claimed that his three-year membership in the WCP was a mistake brought on by a search for absolute answers.[4]
However, during this period—which lasted well into his thirties—he subscribed to militant Maoist ideology and was fired from his job as a hospital orderly for belligerent activities.[5] Duceppe even went so far as to intentionally spoil his 1980 sovereignty-association referendum ballot arguing that Québécois should instead focus their efforts on staying united to fight capitalism.[5]
Before becoming a member of the federal parliament of Canada, Duceppe worked as a hospital orderly and later became a trade union negotiator. In 1968 he became vice-president of the Union générale des étudiants du Québec (General Union of Quebec Students) and in 1970 manager of the Université de Montréal student paper, Quartier latin. In 1972 he launched his career in community and union settings, as moderator for the citizen's committee of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, then in 1977 as a representative for the Royal Victoria Hospital employees. In 1981 he became a union organizer for the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (Confederation of National Trade Unions), where he became a negotiator in 1986.[citation needed]
Election to Parliament
In 1990, Duceppe was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as an independent because the Bloc had not been registered by Elections Canada as a political party. All of the Bloc's other Members of Parliament had crossed the floor from either the Progressive Conservative Party or the Liberal Party earlier that year. Duceppe's victory in a by-election demonstrated — for the first time — that the party had electoral support in Quebec and could win elections. Previously, many pundits (and members of other parties) predicted that the Bloc would not gain traction with ordinary voters in Quebec.[citation needed]
Leadership of the Bloc Québécois
In 1996, when Lucien Bouchard stepped down as Bloc leader to become leader of the Parti Québécois, Duceppe served as interim leader of the party. Michel Gauthier eventually became the official leader later that year. However, Gauthier's lack of visibility in both Quebec and English Canada coupled with his weak leadership resulted in the party forcing him out in 1997. Duceppe won the ensuing leadership contest and became the official leader of the Bloc Québécois and Leader of the Opposition. As Leader of the Opposition, Duceppe was invited to join the Queen's Privy Council for Canada[citation needed], but declined.
In the 1997 general election, the Bloc lost official opposition status, slipping to third place in the House of Commons behind the Reform Party. Of particular note during the campaign was a visit by Duceppe to a cheese factory where he was photographed wearing a hairnet resembling a shower cap. The photo became widely parodied on Canadian television. The Bloc's caucus lost more support during the 2000 election, winning just 38 seats. Over this period, critics derided Duceppe as an ineffectual campaigner, though no serious challenge to his leadership emerged.[citation needed]
When Jean Chrétien stepped down as Prime Minister, to be succeeded by Paul Martin, the Bloc's fortunes improved markedly, particularly after the sponsorship scandal erupted. Duceppe strongly criticized the Liberals over the misuse and misdirection of public funds intended for government advertising in Quebec. During the election's national debates, Duceppe's lucid explanations of Bloc Québécois policies and his chastising of the other national party leaders' promises, resulted in both the French and English media ruling him the best speaker. In the 2004 election, Duceppe's Bloc won 54 seats in the Commons, returning the party to its all-time high water mark.[citation needed]
With Chrétien's departure, Duceppe became the longest-serving leader of a major party in Canada. With the recent success of the Bloc, and his recently well-received performance as leader, speculation mounted that Duceppe might seek the leadership of the Parti Québécois – particularly when Bernard Landry stepped down as party leader on June 4, 2005. On June 13, 2005, Duceppe announced that he would not run for the leadership of the PQ.[citation needed]
In the 2006 federal election, many Bloc insiders believed that Duceppe's popularity, combined with the unpopularity of the Liberal Party in Quebec, would push the Bloc Québécois over the symbolic majority vote mark among Quebec voters. Many Quebec separatists felt that a strong performance by the Bloc in the 2006 federal election would boost the sovereignist movement and perhaps set the stage for a new referendum on secession after the anticipated Quebec provincial election expected in 2007. In actuality, a late surge in Conservative and federalist support kept the Bloc's share of the popular vote below 43% giving the Bloc only 51 seats. The unimpressive and lackluster results on election night has called into question the level of separatist support in Quebec. In the March 26, 2007 Quebec provincial election, the Parti Québécois found itself reduced to third place in the National Assembly of Quebec, behind both the governing Quebec Liberal Party and the opposition Action démocratique du Québec. Following this disappointing result, the PQ leader, André Boisclair, announced his resignation on May 8, 2007. Duceppe confirmed on May 11, 2007, that he would seek the PQ leadership[6] but the next day he withdrew from the race.[7] After his withdrawal, Duceppe announced that he would support two-time leadership hopeful Pauline Marois.[8]
In the 2008 federal election, Duceppe led the Bloc Québécois to 49 seats, up one from its pre-dissolution standing of 48. However, the Bloc's share of the popular vote fell again, to 38%, its lowest result since 1997. In the 2011 federal election, the Bloc suffered a massive 43-seat loss--including many seats they'd held since their 1993 breakthrough--cutting them down to a rump of four seats. Much of that support bled to the NDP, which won 58 seats, including a sweep of the Bloc's heartlands in Quebec City and eastern Montreal. Duceppe lost his own seat. Accepting responsibility for the Bloc's crushing defeat, Duceppe announced his pending resignation as Bloc leader soon after the result was beyond doubt. He remained defiant, however, vowing not to rest "until Quebec becomes a country".[9]
Electoral record
Canadian federal election, 2011 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures New Democrat Hélène Laverdière 23,373 46.64 +29.53 Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 17,991 35.90 -14.34 Liberal Philippe Allard 4,976 9.93 -8.40 Conservative Charles K. Langford 1,764 3.52 -1.31 Green Adam Olivier 1,324 2.64 -5.28 Rhinoceros François Yo Gourd 398 0.79 -0.14 Communist Sylvain Archambault 137 0.27 +0.10 Marxist–Leninist Serge Lachapelle 77 0.15 -0.09 Independent Dimitri Mourkes 73 0.15 Total valid votes/Expense limit 50,113 100.00 Total rejected ballots 471 0.93 Turnout 50,584 64.21 Canadian federal election, 2008 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 24,103 50.24 −4.45 $71,127 Liberal Sébastien Caron 8,798 18.33 +5.88 $30,225 New Democrat François Grégoire 8,209 17.11 +0.44 $31,151 Green Dylan Perceval-Maxwell 3,801 7.92 -0.38 $7,171 Conservative Charles K. Langford 2,320 4.83 −1.55 $5,590 Neorhino.ca François Yo Gourd 447 0.93 $388 Marxist–Leninist Serge Lachapelle 118 0.24 -0.03 Independent Daniel "F4J" Laforest 93 0.19 Communist Samie Pagé-Quirion 86 0.17 -0.03 $898 Total valid votes/Expense limit 47,975 100.00 $84,641 Total rejected ballots 406 0.84 Turnout 48,381 61.10 Canadian federal election, 2006 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 26,773 54.69 -5.4 $74,181 New Democrat François Grégoire 8,165 16.67 +4.6 $20,195 Liberal Soeung Tang 6,095 12.45 -5.2 $12,436 Green Dylan Perceval-Maxwell 4,064 8.30 +2.2 $2,265 Conservative Carlos De Sousa 3,124 6.38 +3.8 $15,665 Marijuana Nicky Tanguay 338 0.69 -0.5 Independent Jocelyne Leduc 157 0.32 * Marxist–Leninist Ginette Boutet 137 0.27 -0.0 Communist Evelyn Elizabeth Ruiz 100 0.20 * $926 Total valid votes/Expense limit 48,953 100.00 $79,692 Total rejected ballots 392 0.79 Turnout 49,345 61.26 Canadian federal election, 2004 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 28,728 60.1 +7.3 $69,284 Liberal Jean-François Thibault 8,454 17.7 -8.1 $52,945 New Democrat François Grégoire 5,779 12.1 +7.3 $5,400 Green Dylan Perceval-Maxwell 2,912 6.1 +1.2 $2,801 Conservative Pierre Albert 1,224 2.6 -3.8 $4,658 Marijuana Nicky Tanguay 572 1.2 -3.7 Marxist–Leninist Ginette Boutet 154 0.3 -0.3 Total valid votes/Expense limit 47,823 100.0 $79,214 Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in the 2000 election.
Canadian federal election, 2000 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 23,473 52.8 -1.9 Liberal Jean Philippe Côté 11,451 25.7 +2.8 Green Dylan Perceval-Maxwell 2,169 4.9 +2.5 Marijuana Marc-Boris St-Maurice 2,156 4.8 New Democrat Richard Chartier 2,121 4.8 +0.3 Progressive Conservative Jean François Tessier 1,879 4.2 -7.7 Canadian Alliance Stéphane Prud'homme 960 2.2 Marxist–Leninist Ginette Boutet 269 0.6 -0.1 Total valid votes 44,478 100.0 Canadian federal election, 1997 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 26,546 54.7 -7.0 Liberal David Ly 11,154 23.0 -1.6 Progressive Conservative Yanick Deschênes 5,808 12.0 +6.6 New Democrat François Degardin 2,180 4.5 +1.4 Independent François Gourd 1,255 2.6 Green Dylan Perceval-Maxwell 1,167 2.4 -0.2 Marxist–Leninist Serge Lachapelle 338 0.7 +0.2 Independent Mathieu Ravignat 123 0.3 Total valid votes 48,571 100.0 Canadian federal election, 1993 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 24,755 61.7 -5.2 Liberal Robert Desbiens 9,854 24.6 +5.4 Progressive Conservative Yvan Routhier 2,136 5.3 +0.9 New Democrat Alain Gravel 1,227 3.1 -4.2 Green John Tromp 1,050 2.6 +1.0 Natural Law Pierre Bergeron 643 1.6 Marxist–Leninist Normand Chouinard 210 0.5 Independent Michel Dugré 130 0.3 Commonwealth Sophie Brassard 124 0.3 Total valid votes 40,129 100.0 Note: Gilles Duceppe's popular vote is compared to his vote as an independent candidate in the 1990 by-election.
By-election on 13 August 1990 On Mr. Malépart's death, 16 November 1989
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Independent Gilles Duceppe 16,818 66.9 Liberal Denis Coderre 4,812 19.1 -19.9 New Democrat Louise O'Neill 1,821 7.2 -14.4 Progressive Conservative Christian Fortin 1,120 4.5 -25.2 Green Michel Szabo 395 1.6 -1.9 Independent Daniel Perreault 123 0.5 Independent Rejean Robidoux 42 0.2 Total valid votes 25,131 100.0 References
- ^ CBC News (2 May 2011). "Bloc Leader defeated in his riding". http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/05/02/cv-election-bloc-wrap-652.html.
- ^ "Gilles Duceppe on Quebec Sovereignty". YouTube. 2010-04-08. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIeelMJSFGM. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
- ^ "Gilles Duceppe, elegant separatist". CBC News. 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/leadersparties/leaders-duceppe.html. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
- ^ a b "Gilles Duceppe: Leader, Bloc Québécois". CBC.ca. http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2004/leadersparties/leaders/bio_duceppe.html. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ a b The Globe and Mail on Duceppe[dead link]
- ^ "Duceppe, Marois will run for the PQ's top spot". CBC News. 2007-05-11. http://cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/05/11/qc-duceppewillrun0511.html. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070512/CPACTUALITES/70512070/6488/CPACTUALITES%7CActualités%7CCyberpresse
- ^ "Gilles Duceppe se retire". Lcn.canoe.com. 2009-04-23. http://lcn.canoe.com/lcn/infos/national/archives/2007/05/20070512-174804.html. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ "''Globe and Mail'' coverage of Duceppe's 2011 defeat". Theglobeandmail.com. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/gilles-duceppe-resigns-as-bloc-leader/article2007598. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
External links
- Gilles Duceppe - Parliament of Canada biography
- How'd they vote?: Gilles Duceppe's voting history and quotes
- Leader: Gilles Duceppe, from CBC Canada Votes 2006
Leaders of the Official Opposition in Canada Mackenzie · Macdonald · Mackenzie · Blake · Laurier · Tupper · Borden · Laurier · McKenzie · King · Meighen · King · Guthrie · Bennett · King · Bennett · Manion · Hanson · Graydon · Bracken · Drew · Rowe · Drew · Rowe · Diefenbaker · St. Laurent · Pearson · Diefenbaker · Starr · Stanfield · Clark · Trudeau · Clark · Nielsen · Mulroney · Turner · Gray · Chrétien · Bouchard · Duceppe · Gauthier · Duceppe · Manning · Grey · Day · Reynolds · Harper · Hill · Harper · Graham · Dion · Ignatieff · Layton · Turmel← Canadian federal election, 2011 → Outgoing: Conservative minority Result: Conservative majorityAnimal Alliance (Liz White, candidates) · Bloc Québécois (Gilles Duceppe, candidates) · Christian Heritage (James Hnatiuk, candidates) · Communist (Miguel Figueroa, candidates) · Conservative (Stephen Harper, candidates) · Green (Elizabeth May, candidates) · Independent candidates · Liberal (Michael Ignatieff, candidates) · Libertarian (Dennis Young, candidates) · Marxist–Leninist (Anna Di Carlo, candidates) · New Democrats (Jack Layton, candidates) · Rhinoceros (François Gourd, candidates)
Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.Outgoing: Conservative minority Result: Conservative minorityBloc Québécois (Gilles Duceppe, candidates) · Canadian Action (Connie Fogal) · Christian Heritage (Ron Gray, candidates) · Communist (Miguel Figueroa, candidates) · Conservative (Stephen Harper, candidates) · Green (Elizabeth May, candidates) · Independent candidates · Liberal (Stéphane Dion, candidates) · Libertarian (Dennis Young, candidates) · Marxist–Leninist (Anna Di Carlo) · New Democrats (Jack Layton, candidates)
Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.Results · Results by Riding · Newspaper Endorsements · Opinion Polling · Timeline · Scandalpedia · Anything But ConservativeOutgoing: Liberal minority Result: Conservative minorityBloc Québécois (Gilles Duceppe, candidates) · Canadian Action (Connie Fogal, candidates) · Christian Heritage (Ron Gray, candidates) · Communist (Miguel Figueroa, candidates) · Conservative (Stephen Harper, candidates) · Green (Jim Harris, candidates) · Independent candidates · Liberal (Paul Martin, candidates) · Libertarian (Jean-Serge Brisson, candidates) · Marijuana (Blair Longley) · Marxist–Leninist (Sandra L. Smith, candidates) · New Democrats (Jack Layton, candidates) · Progressive Canadian (Tracy Parsons, candidates)
Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.Results · Results by Riding · Newspaper Endorsements · Opinion Polling · Timeline · Issues · Target Ridings · Endorsements · Liberal AdvertisementsOutgoing: Liberal majority Result: Liberal minorityBloc Québécois (Gilles Duceppe) · Canadian Action (Connie Fogal, candidates) · Christian Heritage (Ron Gray, candidates) · Communist (Miguel Figueroa, candidates) · Conservative (Stephen Harper, candidates) · Green (Jim Harris, candidates) · Independent candidates · Liberal (Paul Martin, candidates) · Marijuana (Marc-Boris St-Maurice, candidates) · Marxist–Leninist (Sandra L. Smith, candidates) · New Democrats (Jack Layton, candidates) · Progressive Canadian (Ernie Schreiber, candidates)
Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.Outgoing: Liberal majority Result: Liberal majorityBloc Québécois (Gilles Duceppe) · Canadian Action (Paul Hellyer, candidates) · Canadian Alliance (Stockwell Day, candidates) · Christian Heritage (de-registered, candidates) · Communist (Miguel Figueroa, candidates) · Green (Joan Russow, candidates) · Liberal (Jean Chrétien, candidates) · Marijuana (Marc-Boris St-Maurice, candidates) · Marxist–Leninist (Sandra L. Smith, candidates) · Natural Law (Neil Paterson, candidates) · New Democrats (Alexa McDonough, candidates) · Progressive Conservative (Joe Clark, candidates)
Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.Outgoing: Liberal majority Result: Liberal majorityBloc Québécois (Gilles Duceppe) · Canadian Action (Paul Hellyer, candidates) · Christian Heritage (Ron Gray, candidates) · Green (Joan Russow, candidates) · Independent candidates · Liberal (Jean Chrétien, candidates) · Marxist–Leninist (Hardial Bains, candidates) · Natural Law (Neil Paterson, candidates) · New Democrats (Alexa McDonough, candidates) · Progressive Conservative (Jean Charest, candidates) · Reform (Preston Manning, candidates) · Rhinoceros (de-registered, candidates)
Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.Categories:- 1947 births
- Leaders of the Opposition (Canada)
- Bloc Québécois MPs
- Canadian people of English descent
- French Quebecers
- Living people
- Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Quebec
- People from Montreal
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