Guy Tardif
Encyclopedia
Guy Tardif was a politician in the Canadian
province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois
member of the National Assembly of Quebec
from 1976 to 1985 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque
and Pierre-Marc Johnson
.
, received his early education in that city, and later studied at the University of Ottawa
and the Université de Montréal
. He was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) officer from 1955 to 1960 and was a lecturer and administrative assistant for the Montreal Police Service from 1963 to 1970.
He received a master's degree
in criminology in 1966 and earned a Ph.D.
from the Université de Montréal in 1974 for a thesis submission entitled Police et politique au Québec. Tardif also wrote several articles on police and prison issues and was a consultant for various government departments and commissions before launching his own career in politics.
Tardif was elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1976 provincial election
, defeating one-term Liberal incumbent Jean Bienvenue in the Montreal division of Crémazie as the Parti Québécois won a historic majority government
across the province. He was appointed to René Lévesque's first cabinet as minister of municipal affairs on November 26, 1976.
In 1978, Tardif and André Ouellet
, the urban affairs minister in Pierre Trudeau
's federal cabinet
, engaged in a public dispute as to which level of government was responsible for delays in proceeding with planned housing construction. The journalist William Johnson
argued in a Globe and Mail editorial that the Quebec Housing Corporation was at fault, notwithstanding Tardif's statements to the contrary. Tardif had a better relationship with Ouellet's successor Elmer MacKay
, who was a member of Joe Clark
's short-lived government in 1979–80.
Tardif ended a provincial trusteeship over the Montreal suburb of St. Leonard in 1979. The trusteeship had been imposed by the previous Liberal government in 1975, following allegations of municipal corruption. He also allowed the town of Buckingham
, which had been merged into a single entity by the previous government, to dissolve itself into four distinct municipalities following a referendum.
Notwithstanding his criticism of Tardif in other respects, William Johnson also credited him with "[taking] the politics out of municipal financing by establishing formula grants."
Minister of planning and housing
Lévesque shuffled his cabinet on November 6, 1980, and appointed Tardif as the minister of state responsible for planning
and the minister responsible for housing.
In December 1980, Tardif was forced to defend his hiring of Luc Cyr, two years earlier, to oversee a program of repairs for low-rent housing. Cyr, an associate of PQ organizers, later put his son and brother-in-law on the payroll; the president of the housing corporation overturned this arrangement once he discovered it. Tardif defended Cyr's appointment, saying that it was normal for such contracts not to go to tender because of the difficulties in predicting expenses. He added the government had cancelled the contract in September 1980 once officials had identified irregularities. This notwithstanding, Tardif responded to criticisms by convening a legislative committee to investigate charges of nepotism and patronage within the corporation.
Minister of housing and consumer affairs
During the 1981 provincial election
, Tardif joined Premier Lévesque to promise a new housing loan program that would provide financial benefits to homeowners with one or more young children. He was narrowly re-elected in Crémazie as the PQ won a second majority across the province. After a cabinet shuffle on April 30, 1981, he retained his position as the minister responsible for housing and was given additional responsibilities as the minister responsible for consumer protection. On June 18, after enabling legislation was passed, he was officially styled as minister of housing and minister of consumer protection.
Tardif introduced the government's promised housing loan program, in a somewhat modified form, in August 1981. The opposition Liberals charged that the amended legislation did not adequately protect homeowners affected by high mortage rates.
As consumer affairs minister, Tardif was once again in regular contact with André Ouellet, who by this time was the minister of consumer and corporate affairs in the re-elected government of Pierre Trudeau
. In September 1981, he criticized Ouellet's plan to strengthen the competition laws that protected consumers and small businesses. Tardif said that he did not object to the intention of the bill, but argued that the matter fell under Quebec's jurisdiction rather than that of the federal government.
In 1982, Tardif expressed the PQ government's opposition to any transfer of flights from Dorval International Airport in Montreal to Mirabel International Airport outside of the city. He argued that the change, if imposed by the federal government, would have a devastating impact on Quebec's economy.
During the same period, Tardif convinced construction unions to make concessions and contractors to accept lower profits in order to construct fifty thousand units of low-income housing in a project called Corvée-Habitation. Many years later, PQ leader Bernard Landry
cited the project as one of Tardif's greatest accomplishments.
1984 PQ crisis
In 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisis
over the nature of its support for Quebec sovereignty. Some leading party figures, including René Lévesque, wanted to moderate the party's position, while others favoured a more hardline indépendantiste approach. Tardif was initially seen as close to the latter group; in early November 1984, he joined twelve other cabinet ministers in signing a manifesto that called for the party to re-affirm its commitment to Quebec independence. However, when several indépendantiste ministers quit the government later in the month, Tardif did not join them.
Lévesque shuffled his cabinet after the indépendantiste resignations and appointed Tardif as transport minister on November 27, 1984.
Transport minister
In April 1985, Tardif said that a provincial agency had purchased a twenty-two per cent interest in the Montreal-based airline Nordair
. He added that his government's plan was to facilitate a merger of Nordair and Quebecair
, a French-language firm owned by the same provincial agency. The company that owned a controlling interest in Nordair responded that it was opposed to the purchase, and would fight it.
Tardif also announced in August 1985 that Quebec was ending its freeway tolls, after twenty-one years of paying off the original cost of Montreal's four-lane highways.
In the fall of 1985, Tardif asked Velo Quebec to organize a cycling tour on new paths in the city's east end. The resulting event eventually became known as the Tour de l'ile de Montreal; in later years, it became the largest participatory cycling tour in the world.
Johnson ministry
René Lévesque announced his resignation as premier of Quebec and Parti Québécois leader in June 1985. There was some speculation that Tardif would be a candidate in the race to succeed him, but this did not occur. Tardif initially supported Bernard Landry
's candidacy, and then declined to back another candidate after Landry withdrew from the contest. Pierre-Marc Johnson
succeeded Lévesque in October 1985 and kept Tardif in the transport portfolio when he announced his cabinet. In early November, he reached a deal with the federal government to re-open Quebec City
's downtown rail line.
Tardif was defeated in the 1985 provincial election
, as the Liberal Party was elected with a majority government across the province. He resigned from cabinet with the rest of the Johnson ministry on December 12, 1985.
Graham Fraser has written Tardif was known for his "ferocious work habits" during his time in government, sometimes calling civil servants in the middle of night to discuss office matters.
called Pommes de Glace. He also returned to academia in 1989, teaching criminology at the Université de Montréal. The Civic Party of Montreal
tried to draft Tardif as a possible mayoral candidate in the 1990 municipal election
, but he declined.
He died on May 24, 2005, of pleural mesothelioma
, which was apparently caused by asbestos
inhalation many years earlier.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
member of the National Assembly of Quebec
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
from 1976 to 1985 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
and Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson, , is a Quebec lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th Premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985.- Early background :...
.
Early life and career
Tardif was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, received his early education in that city, and later studied at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
and the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. He was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) officer from 1955 to 1960 and was a lecturer and administrative assistant for the Montreal Police Service from 1963 to 1970.
He received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in criminology in 1966 and earned a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the Université de Montréal in 1974 for a thesis submission entitled Police et politique au Québec. Tardif also wrote several articles on police and prison issues and was a consultant for various government departments and commissions before launching his own career in politics.
Legislator and cabinet minister
Municipal affairs ministerTardif was elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1976 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1976
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976 to elect members to National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled only by the 1960 general election, and caused major repercussions in the rest of Canada...
, defeating one-term Liberal incumbent Jean Bienvenue in the Montreal division of Crémazie as the Parti Québécois won a historic majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
across the province. He was appointed to René Lévesque's first cabinet as minister of municipal affairs on November 26, 1976.
In 1978, Tardif and André Ouellet
André Ouellet
André Ouellet, P.C., Q.C. is a former Chairman of Canada Post, and a long time Liberal politician in Canada.First elected to the Canadian House of Commons in a 1967 by-election, Ouellet served in a number of different positions in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien...
, the urban affairs minister in Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
's federal cabinet
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
, engaged in a public dispute as to which level of government was responsible for delays in proceeding with planned housing construction. The journalist William Johnson
William Johnson (author)
William Johnson, CM is a Canadian academic, journalist and author.Johnson's mother was francophone and his father anglophone and Johnson himself speaks both English and French...
argued in a Globe and Mail editorial that the Quebec Housing Corporation was at fault, notwithstanding Tardif's statements to the contrary. Tardif had a better relationship with Ouellet's successor Elmer MacKay
Elmer MacKay
Elmer MacIntosh MacKay, PC, QC is a retired Canadian politician.-Life and career:MacKay was born in Hopewell, Nova Scotia. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Central Nova through a 1971 by-election...
, who was a member of Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
's short-lived government in 1979–80.
Tardif ended a provincial trusteeship over the Montreal suburb of St. Leonard in 1979. The trusteeship had been imposed by the previous Liberal government in 1975, following allegations of municipal corruption. He also allowed the town of Buckingham
Buckingham, Quebec
Buckingham was a city located in the Outaouais region of the province of Quebec. Since January 1, 2002, it has been part of the amalgamated city of Gatineau which merged five former municipalities, including Masson-Angers, Buckingham, Hull, Aylmer and Gatineau, into a single entity...
, which had been merged into a single entity by the previous government, to dissolve itself into four distinct municipalities following a referendum.
Notwithstanding his criticism of Tardif in other respects, William Johnson also credited him with "[taking] the politics out of municipal financing by establishing formula grants."
Minister of planning and housing
Lévesque shuffled his cabinet on November 6, 1980, and appointed Tardif as the minister of state responsible for planning
Ministre d’État à l’Aménagement (Quebec)
The Ministre d’État à l’Aménagement is a former cabinet position in the government of Quebec. It was introduced by premier René Lévesque in 1976 and subsequently restructured under a different name after the Parti Québécois internal crisis of 1984...
and the minister responsible for housing.
In December 1980, Tardif was forced to defend his hiring of Luc Cyr, two years earlier, to oversee a program of repairs for low-rent housing. Cyr, an associate of PQ organizers, later put his son and brother-in-law on the payroll; the president of the housing corporation overturned this arrangement once he discovered it. Tardif defended Cyr's appointment, saying that it was normal for such contracts not to go to tender because of the difficulties in predicting expenses. He added the government had cancelled the contract in September 1980 once officials had identified irregularities. This notwithstanding, Tardif responded to criticisms by convening a legislative committee to investigate charges of nepotism and patronage within the corporation.
Minister of housing and consumer affairs
During the 1981 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1981
The Quebec general election of 1981 was held on April 13, 1981, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Claude Ryan.The PQ won re-election despite...
, Tardif joined Premier Lévesque to promise a new housing loan program that would provide financial benefits to homeowners with one or more young children. He was narrowly re-elected in Crémazie as the PQ won a second majority across the province. After a cabinet shuffle on April 30, 1981, he retained his position as the minister responsible for housing and was given additional responsibilities as the minister responsible for consumer protection. On June 18, after enabling legislation was passed, he was officially styled as minister of housing and minister of consumer protection.
Tardif introduced the government's promised housing loan program, in a somewhat modified form, in August 1981. The opposition Liberals charged that the amended legislation did not adequately protect homeowners affected by high mortage rates.
As consumer affairs minister, Tardif was once again in regular contact with André Ouellet, who by this time was the minister of consumer and corporate affairs in the re-elected government of Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
. In September 1981, he criticized Ouellet's plan to strengthen the competition laws that protected consumers and small businesses. Tardif said that he did not object to the intention of the bill, but argued that the matter fell under Quebec's jurisdiction rather than that of the federal government.
In 1982, Tardif expressed the PQ government's opposition to any transfer of flights from Dorval International Airport in Montreal to Mirabel International Airport outside of the city. He argued that the change, if imposed by the federal government, would have a devastating impact on Quebec's economy.
During the same period, Tardif convinced construction unions to make concessions and contractors to accept lower profits in order to construct fifty thousand units of low-income housing in a project called Corvée-Habitation. Many years later, PQ leader Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry, is a Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician, who served as the 28th Premier of Quebec , leader of the Opposition and leader of the Parti Québécois .-Personal:...
cited the project as one of Tardif's greatest accomplishments.
1984 PQ crisis
In 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisis
Parti Québécois Crisis, 1984
The Parti Québécois Crisis of 1984 was one of the most severe internal party crises in Quebec politics.-Origins:In September 1984, Progressive Conservative politician Brian Mulroney became Prime Minister of Canada, with the backing of many Parti Québécois supporters...
over the nature of its support for Quebec sovereignty. Some leading party figures, including René Lévesque, wanted to moderate the party's position, while others favoured a more hardline indépendantiste approach. Tardif was initially seen as close to the latter group; in early November 1984, he joined twelve other cabinet ministers in signing a manifesto that called for the party to re-affirm its commitment to Quebec independence. However, when several indépendantiste ministers quit the government later in the month, Tardif did not join them.
Lévesque shuffled his cabinet after the indépendantiste resignations and appointed Tardif as transport minister on November 27, 1984.
Transport minister
In April 1985, Tardif said that a provincial agency had purchased a twenty-two per cent interest in the Montreal-based airline Nordair
Nordair
Nordair is a defunct Quebec-based regional airline founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation. The airline operated from the 1950s to the 1980s. Most of its business was international and transatlantic passenger and freight charters and other contracts. It also...
. He added that his government's plan was to facilitate a merger of Nordair and Quebecair
Quebecair
Quebecair was a Canadian airline that operated from 1947 until 1986. Quebecair was headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, now a part of Montreal.-Company history:...
, a French-language firm owned by the same provincial agency. The company that owned a controlling interest in Nordair responded that it was opposed to the purchase, and would fight it.
Tardif also announced in August 1985 that Quebec was ending its freeway tolls, after twenty-one years of paying off the original cost of Montreal's four-lane highways.
In the fall of 1985, Tardif asked Velo Quebec to organize a cycling tour on new paths in the city's east end. The resulting event eventually became known as the Tour de l'ile de Montreal; in later years, it became the largest participatory cycling tour in the world.
Johnson ministry
René Lévesque announced his resignation as premier of Quebec and Parti Québécois leader in June 1985. There was some speculation that Tardif would be a candidate in the race to succeed him, but this did not occur. Tardif initially supported Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry
Bernard Landry, is a Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician, who served as the 28th Premier of Quebec , leader of the Opposition and leader of the Parti Québécois .-Personal:...
's candidacy, and then declined to back another candidate after Landry withdrew from the contest. Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson
Pierre-Marc Johnson, , is a Quebec lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th Premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985.- Early background :...
succeeded Lévesque in October 1985 and kept Tardif in the transport portfolio when he announced his cabinet. In early November, he reached a deal with the federal government to re-open Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
's downtown rail line.
Tardif was defeated in the 1985 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1985
The Quebec general election of 1985 was held on December 2, 1985, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by former premier Robert Bourassa, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by premier Pierre-Marc Johnson.This election...
, as the Liberal Party was elected with a majority government across the province. He resigned from cabinet with the rest of the Johnson ministry on December 12, 1985.
Graham Fraser has written Tardif was known for his "ferocious work habits" during his time in government, sometimes calling civil servants in the middle of night to discuss office matters.
After politics
Tardif co-founded a company called Le Clos Saint-Denis in 1989, operating a fruit orchard and vineyard. In 1999, he introduced a new brand of ice ciderIce cider
Ice cider is the cider equivalent of ice wine: a fermented beverage made from the frozen juice of apples. There are two main approaches to producing ice cider: cryoconcentration and cryoextraction...
called Pommes de Glace. He also returned to academia in 1989, teaching criminology at the Université de Montréal. The Civic Party of Montreal
Civic Party of Montreal
The Civic Party of Montreal was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1960 to 1994. Throughout its history the Civic Party was dominated by the personality of its leader Jean Drapeau.-Origins:...
tried to draft Tardif as a possible mayoral candidate in the 1990 municipal election
Montreal municipal election, 1990
The 1990 Montreal municipal election took place on November 4, 1990, to elect a mayor and city councillors in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Jean Doré was elected to a second term as mayor by a significant margin....
, but he declined.
He died on May 24, 2005, of pleural mesothelioma
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma, more precisely malignant mesothelioma, is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium...
, which was apparently caused by asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
inhalation many years earlier.
Electoral record
External links
- National Assembly biography (in French)