Jacques Léonard
Encyclopedia
Jacques Léonard is an accountant, educator, and politician in the Canadian
province of Quebec
. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec
from 1976 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 2001 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque
, Jacques Parizeau
, and Lucien Bouchard
. Léonard is a Quebec sovereigntist and a member of the Parti Québécois
(PQ) and Bloc Québécois
(BQ).
in commercial sciences from the Université Laval
in 1962. After working for two years in the Montreal
firm of Clarkson and Gordon, he continued his studies in Paris
, France
, from 1964 to 1966. Léonard taught at the École des hautes études commerciales and the Université national du Rwanda from 1966 to 1968, at which time he returned to Quebec. From 1968 to 1976, he was a professor and vice-dean of education at the Université de Montréal
.
Léonard became a member of the sovereigntist Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale
(RIN) in 1962 and joined the Parti Québécois after the RIN party wound down in 1968. He ran unsuccessfully as a PQ candidate in Labelle
in the 1970
and 1973
provincial elections. The PQ won a historic majority government
in the 1976 provincial election
, and Léonard was elected on his third attempt in Labelle over one-term Liberal incumbent Roger Lapointe
.
Léonard was named to René Lévesque's first cabinet on November 26, 1976, as the minister of state responsible for planning. This was intended as one of five "superministry" portfolios in the cabinet; Léonard was entrusted with working on long-term strategy for land use rather than having the day-to-day administrative duties of a department. On March 2, 1978, he was also named as vice-president of the treasury board.
In May 1979, Léonard was a signatory to a deal that saw the governments of Quebec
and Canada
invest one hundred and fifty million dollars in Quebec's pulp and paper industry.
Municipal affairs
Léonard was re-assigned as municipal affairs minister on November 6, 1980, exchanging portfolios with Guy Tardif
. Shortly after his appointment, he ordered the municipal government of Aylmer
to focus on basic administration after receiving a troubling audit of the city's finances.
In 1981, a representative of Montreal
's municipal government requested that the Lévesque government impose a freeze on the construction of shopping centres, arguing that they often destroy traditional city centres. Léonard responded that he was reluctant to intervene, particularly as municipalities already had the power to impose a freeze themselves.
Léonard was re-elected in the 1981 general election
, in which the Lévesque government was returned with a second consecutive majority, and was kept in the municipal affairs portfolio. He sought to restructure Montreal's municipal government in 1982, giving the smaller suburban communities more power in relation to the city. He faced opposition to this measure from long-standing Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau
, whose power was threatened by the reform.
In 1983, Léonard attempted to pass legislation permitting the Quebec government to withhold funds from municipalities that accept federal money for job creation purposes. This bill was blocked in the legislature in December 1983, after the opposition Liberal Party threatened a filibuster
. The Union des Municipalités du Québec
also strongly opposed the measure, and discussions between the two levels of government reached an impasse in early 1984. After Léonard was moved to a different portfolio, the Lévesque government abandoned the legislation.
Transport
Léonard was shifted to the position of transport minister on March 5, 1984. Two months later, he said that the Quebec government would not make a bid for Nordair
(which was then being sold by the federal government) but would oppose any deal under which the company would leave the province.
over Premier Lévesque's intention to de-emphasize Quebec sovereignty in the next provincial election. Léonard sided with the hardline indépendantiste wing of the party and resigned from cabinet on November 22. Five days later, he left the PQ caucus to sit as an independent member of the assembly. From the opposition benches, he demanded that Lévesque not make any constitutional agreement with Canadian prime minister
Brian Mulroney
that would result in a weakening of Quebec's Charter of the French Language
.
In early 1985, Léonard joined an informal grouping of former PQ MNAs centered around the newly formed Rassemblement démocratique pour l'indépendance
. He resigned his seat on May 23, 1985, to become dean of the faculty of education at the Université de Montréal
, a position he held until his return to politics in 1989.
, a fellow indépendantiste and former cabinet colleague, became party leader in 1988. He was re-elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1989 provincial election
over Liberal incumbent Damien Hétu
, who had been elected in Labelle in 1985
. The Liberals won a majority government provincially under Robert Bourassa
's leadership, and Léonard re-entered the legislature as a member of the official opposition. For the next five years, he served as his party's finance critic. In 1993, he accused the Bourassa government of taking a laissez-faire
approach to the economy and of having no overall vision.
The Parti Québécois won a majority government under Parizeau's leadership in the 1994 general election
. Léonard was re-elected to the legislature and rejoined cabinet on September 26, 1994, as minister of transport, ironically the same position he had resigned from ten years earlier. He was also appointed to a second term as vice-president of the treasury board.
After his appointment, Léonard argued that highways are an exclusively provincial jurisdiction and tried to postpone the government of Canada
's planned national highway program. He announced increased penalties for persons driving under the influence of alcohol in 1995 and introduced legislation to require photographs on Quebec driving licenses. He also expressed scepticism about mandatory helmet laws for cyclists, saying that safety education was a better approach.
In early 1995, Léonard and industry minister Daniel Paillé
announced a proposal to save the financially troubled MIL Davie Inc. shipyard
with a ferry construction contract. Later in the year, he announced that the Parizeau government had no choice but to drop the plan on the grounds it had become too expensive and complex. Following protests from the shipyard workers, the government reversed itself a second time and agreed to a modified sixty-six million dollar construction program over two years.
Treasury Board president
Parizeau announced his resignation as premier after the sovereignty option's narrow defeat in the 1995 Quebec referendum. On November 3, 1995, while still leading a caretaker administration, he shuffled his cabinet and named Léonard as president of the treasury board and minister responsible for administration and the public service. In the following months, Parizeau, Léonard, and finance minister Pauline Marois
worked in committee reviewing government expenses and revenues in a bid to reduce public spending.
Léonard was kept in the treasury board portfolio when Lucien Bouchard
succeeded Parizeau as premier on January 29, 1996. He was also named to the priorities committee, an "inner cabinet" with significant control over the government's direction, and was named as minister responsible for the Laurentides
. Over the next two years, he played a central role in the Bouchard government's ultimately successful effort to eliminate the provincial deficit.
He announced several austerity measures in March 1996, making significant spending cuts in areas such as health, education, and social assistance; the total cuts for the fiscal year amounted to $2.2 billion. In announcing these measures, Léonard said, "We have fallen behind other Canadian provinces in cleaning up public finances. Quebec must act now." He also expressed scepticism about proposed pay equity legislation later in 1996, arguing that it would put a strain on public-sector spending.
In late 1996, Léonard announced that the Bouchard government would try to achieve $1.4 billion in savings from Quebec's public-sector unions, to be achieved by unfreezing pension reserve funds rather than by taking measures that would result in significant job losses. The unions responded with a plan that focused on early retirement and employee buyouts. Negotiations continued into 1997.
Léonard introduced more severe funding cuts, amounting to $2.3 billion, in March 1997. At the same time, however, he noted that the Quebec's financial situation was improving and that no comparable cuts would be needed in the future. He also argued that the Bouchard government's austerity plan would benefit Quebec sovereignty in the long term, saying "once Quebec is much more financially solid, Quebecers will look at the future with much more confidence in themselves and their state." Ultimately, an unexpectedly high rate of voluntary retirement in the public sector allowed the government to reach its goals without difficulty. Léonard announced further cuts of one billion dollars in 1998 and noted that the province would be out of debt the following year.
Re-elected in the 1998 general election
, Léonard was kept in the treasury board portfolio in Bouchard's post-election cabinet shuffle. In January 1999, he began a new round of negotiations with public-sector workers on collective agreements. After protracted discussions, the two sides agreed on a nine per cent wage increase over four years.
After years of cutbacks, Léonard projected a $1.1 billion budget surplus in March 1999 and announced new public spending in areas such as health, education, and information technology
. He also introduced new hiring in the public service, with a particular focus on minority communities. The same financial trend continued the following year, and Léonard introduced more new program funding in 2000.
Lucien Bouchard resigned as premier on March 8, 2001, and was succeeded by Bernard Landry
. Léonard used the occasion to announce his own resignation from both cabinet and the legislature, saying "You are witnessing a changing of the guard. My decision will allow one more young person to be promoted to cabinet." He returned to accountancy work and, in 2002, became a professor of political science
at the Université du Québec à Montréal
. He joined the board of governors of the Conseil de la Souveraineté du Québec
in early 2003.
review of Canadian federal spending practices. He concluded that there had been sharp increases in some areas, including opinion polls, office furniture, and the office of the privacy commissioner of Canada
.
Léonard ran as a Bloc Québécois
candidate in the Montreal
division of Outremont
in the 2006 federal election
and finished a close second against incumbent Liberal
cabinet minister Jean Lapierre
. Léonard later served as the Bloc's vice-president and worked on the party's campaign in the 2008 federal election
.
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.
Provincial
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
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
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. He served in 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 again from 1989 to 2001 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...
, Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau, is an economist and noted Quebec sovereignist who was the 26th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996.-Early life and career:...
, and Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard, is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001...
. Léonard is a Quebec sovereigntist and a member of the 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...
(PQ) and Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
(BQ).
Early life and career
Léonard was born in Saint-Jovite, in the Laurentides region of Quebec. He received a diploma in accountacy in 1959 and a master's degreeMaster'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 commercial sciences from the Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
in 1962. After working for two years in the Montreal
Montreal
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...
firm of Clarkson and Gordon, he continued his studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, from 1964 to 1966. Léonard taught at the École des hautes études commerciales and the Université national du Rwanda from 1966 to 1968, at which time he returned to Quebec. From 1968 to 1976, he was a professor and vice-dean of education at 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...
.
Léonard became a member of the sovereigntist Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale
Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale
The Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale was a political organization dedicated to the promotion of Quebec national independence from Canada.-History:...
(RIN) in 1962 and joined the Parti Québécois after the RIN party wound down in 1968. He ran unsuccessfully as a PQ candidate in Labelle
Labelle (provincial electoral district)
Labelle is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The riding was created in 1980 from parts of Laurentides-Labelle and Gatineau. The riding also existed from 1912 to 1973...
in the 1970
Quebec general election, 1970
The Quebec general election of 1970 was held on April 29, 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The former Legislative Assembly had been renamed the "National Assembly" in 1968...
and 1973
Quebec general election, 1973
The Quebec general election of 1973 was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, and the Union Nationale .The Liberals won a...
provincial elections. The PQ 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...
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...
, and Léonard was elected on his third attempt in Labelle over one-term Liberal incumbent Roger Lapointe
Roger Lapointe
Roger Lapointe is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was a Liberal member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1973 to 1976 and has been the mayor of Mont-Saint-Michel since 1997.-Early life and career:...
.
Cabinet minister (1976–84)
PlanningLéonard was named to René Lévesque's first cabinet on November 26, 1976, as the minister of state responsible for planning. This was intended as one of five "superministry" portfolios in the cabinet; Léonard was entrusted with working on long-term strategy for land use rather than having the day-to-day administrative duties of a department. On March 2, 1978, he was also named as vice-president of the treasury board.
In May 1979, Léonard was a signatory to a deal that saw the governments of Quebec
Government of Quebec
The Government of Quebec refers to the provincial government of the province of Quebec. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
and Canada
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...
invest one hundred and fifty million dollars in Quebec's pulp and paper industry.
Municipal affairs
Léonard was re-assigned as municipal affairs minister on November 6, 1980, exchanging portfolios with Guy Tardif
Guy Tardif
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.-Early life and career:Tardif was born in Montreal, received...
. Shortly after his appointment, he ordered the municipal government of Aylmer
Aylmer, Quebec
Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It became a sector of the City of Gatineau on January 1, 2002. Located on the Ottawa River and Route 148 it is a part of the National Capital Region. The population in 2006 was 41 882 — approx. 16% of Gatineau...
to focus on basic administration after receiving a troubling audit of the city's finances.
In 1981, a representative of Montreal
Montreal
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...
's municipal government requested that the Lévesque government impose a freeze on the construction of shopping centres, arguing that they often destroy traditional city centres. Léonard responded that he was reluctant to intervene, particularly as municipalities already had the power to impose a freeze themselves.
Léonard was re-elected in the 1981 general 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...
, in which the Lévesque government was returned with a second consecutive majority, and was kept in the municipal affairs portfolio. He sought to restructure Montreal's municipal government in 1982, giving the smaller suburban communities more power in relation to the city. He faced opposition to this measure from long-standing Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
, whose power was threatened by the reform.
In 1983, Léonard attempted to pass legislation permitting the Quebec government to withhold funds from municipalities that accept federal money for job creation purposes. This bill was blocked in the legislature in December 1983, after the opposition Liberal Party threatened a filibuster
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
. The Union des Municipalités du Québec
Union des Municipalités du Québec
The Union des Municipalités du Québec is an organization representing municipalities in the Canadian province of Quebec...
also strongly opposed the measure, and discussions between the two levels of government reached an impasse in early 1984. After Léonard was moved to a different portfolio, the Lévesque government abandoned the legislation.
Transport
Léonard was shifted to the position of transport minister on March 5, 1984. Two months later, he said that the Quebec government would not make a bid for 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...
(which was then being sold by the federal government) but would oppose any deal under which the company would leave the province.
Opposition member (1984–85)
In late 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisisParti 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 Premier Lévesque's intention to de-emphasize Quebec sovereignty in the next provincial election. Léonard sided with the hardline indépendantiste wing of the party and resigned from cabinet on November 22. Five days later, he left the PQ caucus to sit as an independent member of the assembly. From the opposition benches, he demanded that Lévesque not make any constitutional agreement with Canadian prime minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
that would result in a weakening of Quebec's Charter of the French Language
Charter of the French Language
The Charter of the French Language , also known as Bill 101 and Loi 101, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the only official language of Quebec, and framing fundamental language rights for everyone in the province...
.
In early 1985, Léonard joined an informal grouping of former PQ MNAs centered around the newly formed Rassemblement démocratique pour l'indépendance
Rassemblement démocratique pour l'indépendance
The Rassemblement démocratique pour l'indépendance was a short-lived political movement promoting the cause of Quebec independence. It was started in February 1985 by disgruntled former members of the Parti Québécois, who objected to the party's decision the previous month to de-emphasize its...
. He resigned his seat on May 23, 1985, to become dean of the faculty of education at 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...
, a position he held until his return to politics in 1989.
Opposition member (1989–94)
Léonard returned to the Parti Québécois after Jacques ParizeauJacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau, is an economist and noted Quebec sovereignist who was the 26th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996.-Early life and career:...
, a fellow indépendantiste and former cabinet colleague, became party leader in 1988. He was re-elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1989 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1989
The Quebec general election of 1989 was held on September 25, 1989, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada...
over Liberal incumbent Damien Hétu
Damien Hétu
Damien Hétu was a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He served as mayor of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts on two separate occasions and was a Liberal member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1985 to 1989....
, who had been elected in Labelle in 1985
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...
. The Liberals won a majority government provincially under Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...
's leadership, and Léonard re-entered the legislature as a member of the official opposition. For the next five years, he served as his party's finance critic. In 1993, he accused the Bourassa government of taking a laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
approach to the economy and of having no overall vision.
Cabinet minister (1994–2001)
Transport ministerThe Parti Québécois won a majority government under Parizeau's leadership in the 1994 general election
Quebec general election, 1994
The Quebec general election of 1994 was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.....
. Léonard was re-elected to the legislature and rejoined cabinet on September 26, 1994, as minister of transport, ironically the same position he had resigned from ten years earlier. He was also appointed to a second term as vice-president of the treasury board.
After his appointment, Léonard argued that highways are an exclusively provincial jurisdiction and tried to postpone the government of Canada
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...
's planned national highway program. He announced increased penalties for persons driving under the influence of alcohol in 1995 and introduced legislation to require photographs on Quebec driving licenses. He also expressed scepticism about mandatory helmet laws for cyclists, saying that safety education was a better approach.
In early 1995, Léonard and industry minister Daniel Paillé
Daniel Paillé
Daniel Paillé is a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Prévost in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 1996 as a member of the Parti Québécois, and represented the district of Hochelaga in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Bloc Québécois.He was first elected...
announced a proposal to save the financially troubled MIL Davie Inc. shipyard
MIL-Davie Shipbuilding
MIL-Davie Shipbuilding is a historic Canadian shipbuilding company that was located in both Sorel, Quebec and Lauzon, Quebec .In 1986, Marine Industries Limited merged with Davie Shipbuilding to become MIL-Davie Shipbuilding....
with a ferry construction contract. Later in the year, he announced that the Parizeau government had no choice but to drop the plan on the grounds it had become too expensive and complex. Following protests from the shipyard workers, the government reversed itself a second time and agreed to a modified sixty-six million dollar construction program over two years.
Treasury Board president
Parizeau announced his resignation as premier after the sovereignty option's narrow defeat in the 1995 Quebec referendum. On November 3, 1995, while still leading a caretaker administration, he shuffled his cabinet and named Léonard as president of the treasury board and minister responsible for administration and the public service. In the following months, Parizeau, Léonard, and finance minister Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...
worked in committee reviewing government expenses and revenues in a bid to reduce public spending.
Léonard was kept in the treasury board portfolio when Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard, is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001...
succeeded Parizeau as premier on January 29, 1996. He was also named to the priorities committee, an "inner cabinet" with significant control over the government's direction, and was named as minister responsible for the Laurentides
Minister responsible for the Laurentides
The Minister responsible for the Laurentides is a ministerial designation in the government of Quebec. The minister who holds this position is responsible for overseeing government matters in the Laurentides region, to the northwest of Montreal...
. Over the next two years, he played a central role in the Bouchard government's ultimately successful effort to eliminate the provincial deficit.
He announced several austerity measures in March 1996, making significant spending cuts in areas such as health, education, and social assistance; the total cuts for the fiscal year amounted to $2.2 billion. In announcing these measures, Léonard said, "We have fallen behind other Canadian provinces in cleaning up public finances. Quebec must act now." He also expressed scepticism about proposed pay equity legislation later in 1996, arguing that it would put a strain on public-sector spending.
In late 1996, Léonard announced that the Bouchard government would try to achieve $1.4 billion in savings from Quebec's public-sector unions, to be achieved by unfreezing pension reserve funds rather than by taking measures that would result in significant job losses. The unions responded with a plan that focused on early retirement and employee buyouts. Negotiations continued into 1997.
Léonard introduced more severe funding cuts, amounting to $2.3 billion, in March 1997. At the same time, however, he noted that the Quebec's financial situation was improving and that no comparable cuts would be needed in the future. He also argued that the Bouchard government's austerity plan would benefit Quebec sovereignty in the long term, saying "once Quebec is much more financially solid, Quebecers will look at the future with much more confidence in themselves and their state." Ultimately, an unexpectedly high rate of voluntary retirement in the public sector allowed the government to reach its goals without difficulty. Léonard announced further cuts of one billion dollars in 1998 and noted that the province would be out of debt the following year.
Re-elected in the 1998 general election
Quebec general election, 1998
The Quebec general election of 1998 was held on November 30, 1998, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Lucien Bouchard, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Charest.After the narrow defeat of...
, Léonard was kept in the treasury board portfolio in Bouchard's post-election cabinet shuffle. In January 1999, he began a new round of negotiations with public-sector workers on collective agreements. After protracted discussions, the two sides agreed on a nine per cent wage increase over four years.
After years of cutbacks, Léonard projected a $1.1 billion budget surplus in March 1999 and announced new public spending in areas such as health, education, and information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. He also introduced new hiring in the public service, with a particular focus on minority communities. The same financial trend continued the following year, and Léonard introduced more new program funding in 2000.
Lucien Bouchard resigned as premier on March 8, 2001, and was succeeded by 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:...
. Léonard used the occasion to announce his own resignation from both cabinet and the legislature, saying "You are witnessing a changing of the guard. My decision will allow one more young person to be promoted to cabinet." He returned to accountancy work and, in 2002, became a professor of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
. He joined the board of governors of the Conseil de la Souveraineté du Québec
Conseil de la Souveraineté du Québec
The Conseil de la Souveraineté du Québec is a non-governmental organization promoting Quebec sovereignty in the Canadian province of Quebec. The council was started in 2003 at the initiative of the province's Parti Québécois government....
in early 2003.
Federal Politics
In 2003–04, Léonard led a Bloc QuébécoisBloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
review of Canadian federal spending practices. He concluded that there had been sharp increases in some areas, including opinion polls, office furniture, and the office of the privacy commissioner of Canada
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is a special ombudsman and an officer of parliament who reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate....
.
Léonard ran as a Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
candidate in the Montreal
Montreal
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...
division of Outremont
Outremont (electoral district)
Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...
in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
and finished a close second against incumbent Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
cabinet minister Jean Lapierre
Jean Lapierre
Jean-Charles Lapierre, PC is a Canadian television broadcaster and a former federal politician.He was Paul Martin's Quebec lieutenant during the period of the Martin government. He returned to the Canadian House of Commons after an eleven year absence when he won a seat in the 2004 federal...
. Léonard later served as the Bloc's vice-president and worked on the party's campaign in the 2008 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
.
Electoral record
FederalSources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.
Provincial
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.