Jean Chrétien
Encyclopedia
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (born January 11, 1934), known commonly as Jean Chrétien (ʒɑ̃ kʁetjɛ̃) is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada
. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan, Quebec
, Chrétien is a law graduate from Université Laval
. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
in 1963. He served in various cabinet posts under prime minister Pierre Trudeau
, most prominently as Minister of Justice
, Minister of Finance
, and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He also served as deputy prime minister in John Turner
's short-lived government. He became leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
in 1990, and led the party to a majority government
in the 1993 federal election
. He was re-elected with further majorities in 1997
and 2000
.
Chrétien was strongly opposed to the Quebec sovereignty movement
and supported official bilingualism and multiculturalism. He won a narrow victory as leader of the federalist camp in the 1995 Quebec Referendum
, and then pioneered the Clarity Act
to avoid ambiguity in future referendum questions. He also advanced the Youth Criminal Justice Act
in Parliament. Although his popularity and that of the Liberal Party were seemingly unchallenged for three consecutive federal elections, he became subject to various political controversies in the later years of his premiership. He was accused of inappropriate behaviour in the Sponsorship Scandal
, although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He also became embroiled in a protracted inner-party struggle against long-time political rival Paul Martin
. He resigned as prime minister in December 2003, and left public life.
, Quebec
, as the 18th of 19 children (10 of whom did not survive infancy) to Wellie Chrétien and Marie (née Boisvert). As a young boy his father made him read the dictionary. Chrétien attended Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières
and studied law at Université Laval
. He later made light of his humble origins, calling himself "le petit gars de Shawinigan", or the "little guy from Shawinigan". In his youth, he suffered an attack of Bell's palsy
, permanently leaving the left side of his face partially paralyzed. Chrétien used this in his first Liberal leadership campaign, saying that he was "One politician who didn't talk out of both sides of his mouth."
On September 10, 1957, he married Aline Chainé
. They have two sons (Hubert Chrétien and Michel
) and one daughter (France
).
and Joe Lafond until he was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
as a Liberal from the riding of Saint-Maurice–Laflèche in the 1963 election
. He represented this Shawinigan-based riding, renamed Saint-Maurice
in 1968, for all but eight of the next 41 years.
After re-election in the 1965 election
, he served as parliamentary secretary
(junior minister) to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
(1965) and then to Minister of Finance
, Mitchell Sharp
(1966). He was selected for appointment as Minister of National Revenue
in 1968 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
.
After the June 1968 election
, he was appointed Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
. His most notable achievement in this role was the 1969 White Paper
, a proposal to abolish the Indian Act
. The paper was widely opposed by First Nations
groups, and later abandoned.
During the October Crisis
, Chrétien told Trudeau to "act now, explain later", when Trudeau was hesitant to invoke the War Measures Act
. 85% of Canadians agreed with the move. In 1974, he was appointed President of the Treasury Board; and beginning in 1976, he served as Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce
. In 1977, following the resignation of Finance Minister John Turner
, Chrétien succeeded him. He was the first francophone
Minister of Finance, and remains one of only three francophones to hold that post.
Early in his career, Chrétien was described by Dalton Camp
as looking like the driver of the getaway car, a condescending assessment which stuck with him, and which was often cited by journalists and others throughout his career, and usually considering his eventual success.
to a minority Conservative government led by Joe Clark. When they regained power in February, 1980
, Chrétien was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General
of Canada. In this role, he was a major force in the 1980 Quebec referendum
, being one of the main federal representatives "on the ground" during the campaign. His fiery and emotional speeches would enthrall federalist crowds with his blunt warnings of the consequences of separation. He also served as Minister of State for Social Development and Minister Responsible for Constitutional Negotiations, playing a significant role in the patriation
of the Constitution of Canada
in 1982. He was the chief negotiator of what would be called the "Kitchen Accord", an agreement which led to the agreement of nine provinces to patriation. His role in the dealings, however, would forever follow him in his native Quebec, who did not ratify the Constitution (although the Supreme Court of Canada
ruled that Quebec was bound by it). In 1982, Chrétien was appointed Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources
.
. The experience was a hard one for Chrétien, as many of his longtime Cabinet allies supported the bid of John Turner
. He was thought to be a dark horse
until the end, but lost on the second ballot to Turner at the leadership convention that June. Iona Campagnolo
would ominously introduce Chrétien as, "Second on the ballot, but first in our hearts."
Turner personally appointed him Deputy Prime Minister
, and selected him for appointment by the Governor General as Secretary of State for External Affairs (foreign minister
). Relations between the two were strained, especially after the Liberals were severely defeated in the 1984 election
. He was one of only 17 Liberal MPs elected from Quebec (the party had won 74 out of 75 seats in 1980). He was also one of only four MPs from the province elected from a riding outside Montreal
.
subsidiary Consolidated Bathurst, the Toronto-Dominion Bank
, and the Brick Warehouse Corporation.
Chrétien was a major focal point of dissatisfaction with Turner, with many polls showing his popularity. His 1985 book, Straight from the Heart, recounted his early life in Shawinigan, his years spent in the Canadian House of Commons
as both a Member of Parliament
and Cabinet Minister, and his failed 1984 leadership bid. It was an instant best-seller.
, Alberta
.
Chrétien's principal opponent, Paul Martin
, was generally seen as the ideological heir to John Turner
, while Chrétien was the ideological heir to Trudeau. A key moment in that race took place at an all-candidates debate in Montreal, where the discussion quickly turned to the Meech Lake Accord
. Martin attempted to force Chrétien to abandon his nuanced position on the deal and declare for or against it. When Chrétien refused to endorse the deal, young Liberal delegates crowding the hall began to chant "vendu" ("sellout" in French) and "Judas
" at Chrétien. Martin continues to state he had nothing to do with the response from the floor, or a similar outburst by his supporters at the convention, in which Chrétien defeated Martin on the first and only ballot. However, his reputation in his home province never recovered.
Despite his victory at the convention, Chrétien was criticized in the Quebec media for his opposition to Meech Lake. His leadership was also shaken by the defection from the caucus of francophone MPs (and Paul Martin
loyalists) Jean Lapierre
and Gilles Rocheleau
. Chrétien seemed indecisive in the Oka standoff. The federal Liberals were disorganized and dropped in the polls from 50 to 32 per cent. In order to reinvigorate his leadership and reorganize his office which was in chaos, he hired an old friend and classmate, Jean Pelletier
, as his chief of staff.
In December 1990, Chrétien returned to the House of Commons after winning a by-election
in the safe Liberal riding of Beauséjour, New Brunswick
. The incumbent, Fernand Robichaud
, stood down in Chrétien's favour, which is traditional practice when a newly elected party leader doesn't have a seat in Parliament.
Chrétien later revealed himself to be as staunchly federalist as Trudeau. However, he supported the Charlottetown Accord
while his mentor Trudeau opposed it. At the urging of Pelletier, Chrétien met secretly with Trudeau at the Royal York Hotel
in Toronto where the two men argued about the meaning of “distinct society” for more than two hours. While the two did not resolve their differences, Trudeau promised to refrain from undermining Chrétien's authority in public. Trudeau denounced the Accord at the Maison Egg Roll in Montreal.
When Progressive Conservative
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
began to lose ground in the polls, Chrétien was the major beneficiary. In particular, Chrétien reaped a major windfall after Mulroney introduced an unpopular Goods and Services Tax
(GST).
. Mulroney announced his retirement in February, and was succeeded by Minister of National Defence Kim Campbell
in June. Campbell managed to pull the PCs to within a few percentage points of the Liberals by the time the writs were dropped in September.
Campbell, however, had little luck overcoming the tremendous antipathy toward Mulroney, despite a substantial bounce from the leadership convention. Chrétien saw an opportunity, and on September 19, he dropped a bombshell by releasing the entire Liberal platform. The 112-page document, Creating Opportunity, quickly became known as the Red Book
because of its bright red cover. It was a very specific and detailed statement of exactly what a Chrétien government would do in office.
The Liberals did not promise to remove the GST altogether as a revenue producing agent. Instead, the Red Book pledged to replace the GST "with a system that generates equivalent revenues, is fairer to consumers and to small business, minimizes disruption to small business, and promotes federal-provincial fiscal cooperation and harmonization."
Chrétien promised to renegotiate of the North American Free Trade Agreement
, and reform to the unemployment insurance system. Above all, he promised to return Canada to fiscal solvency. As proof, the Red Book gave costs for each of the Liberals' policy goals the first time a Canadian party had gone to such lengths to prove that its proposals were fiscally responsible. In their first mandate in the 1993 election, they attempted to merge the GST with provincial retail sales taxes, but most provinces refused to accept this change after the election. The Progressive Conservatives put forward the idea that Chrétien had actually promised to "scrap the GST" leading to wide public misperception.
The Red Book gave the Liberals the reputation as the party with ideas, since none of the other parties had anything comparable. The Liberals quickly surged to a double-digit lead in most opinion polls. By October, it was obvious that the Liberals would win at least a minority government
. Even at this stage, however, Chrétien's personal approval ratings were far behind those of Campbell. Realizing this, the Tory campaign team released a series of ads attacking Chrétien
. The ads were viewed as a last-ditch effort to keep the Liberals from winning a majority. The second ad, released on October 14, appeared to mock Chrétien's facial paralysis, and generated a severe backlash from all sides. Even some Tory candidates called for the ad to be yanked. Campbell was not directly responsible for the ad, and ordered it off the air over her staff's objections. However, she didn't apologize and lost a chance to contain the fallout from the ad.
Chrétien, taking advantage of the furor, likened the Tories to the children who teased him when he was a boy in Shawinigan. "When I was a kid people were laughing at me," he said at an appearance in Nova Scotia
. "But I accepted that because God gave me other qualities and I'm grateful." The speech, which one Tory described as one Chrétien had waited his whole life to deliver, moved many in the audience to tears. Chrétien's approval ratings shot up, nullifying the only advantage the Tories still had over him.
On October 25, the Liberals were elected to a strong majority government, winning 177 seats the third-best performance in the Liberals' history, and their most impressive win since their record of 190 seats in 1949
. The Tories were nearly wiped out, winning only two seats in the worst defeat ever suffered by a governing party at the federal level. Chrétien himself yielded Beauséjour back to Robichaud in order to run in his old riding, Saint-Maurice. However, he was unable to lead the Liberals back to their traditional dominance in Quebec. He was one of only four Liberal MPs elected from that province outside the Montreal
area. With few exceptions, most of the support that had switched from the Liberals to the Tories nine years earlier flowed to the Bloc.
Ray Hnatyshyn
as prime minister. While Trudeau, Joe Clark
and Mulroney had been relative political outsiders prior to becoming prime minister, Chrétien had served in every Liberal cabinet since 1965. This experience gave him knowledge of the Canadian parliamentary system, and allowed Chrétien to establish a very centralized government that, although highly efficient, was also lambasted by critics and the media as being a "friendly dictatorship" and intolerant of internal dissent.
Chrétien turned most of his attention to reducing the large national debt he had inherited from the Trudeau and Mulroney eras. He was assisted by Martin. The government began a program of deep cuts to provincial transfers and other areas of government finance. During his tenure as prime minister a $42 billion deficit was eliminated, five consecutive budget surpluses were recorded (thanks in part to favorable economic times), $36 billion in debt was paid down, and taxes were cut by $100 billion (cumulatively) over five years. There were, however, undeniable costs associated with this endeavour. The cuts resulted in fewer government services, most noticeably in the health care sector, as major reductions in federal funding to the provinces meant significant cuts in service delivery. Moreover, the across-the-board cuts affected the operations and achievement of the mandate of most federal departments. Many of the cuts were restored in later years of Chrétien's period in office.
One of Chrétien's main focuses in office was preventing the separation of the province of Quebec, which was ruled by the sovereigntist
Parti Québécois
for nearly the Prime Minister's entire term. After the 1995 referendum
very narrowly defeated a proposal on Quebec sovereignty, the government passed what became known as the Clarity Act
, which said that no Canadian Government would acknowledge any province's declaration of independence unless a "clear majority" supported a "clear question" about sovereignty in a referendum, as defined by the Parliament of Canada
, and a constitutional amendment was passed. The size of a "clear majority" was left unspecified.
On November 5, 1995, Chrétien and his wife escaped injury when André Dallaire
, armed with a knife, broke in the Prime Minister's official residence at 24 Sussex Drive
. Aline Chrétien shut and locked the bedroom door until security came. It is said Jean was ready to defend himself with a sharp-edged Inuit
carving.
. However, the election call came during a major flooding emergency in Manitoba, which led to charges of insensitivity. The Progressive Conservatives had a popular new leader in Jean Charest
and the New Democrats
' Alexa McDonough
led her party to a breakthrough in Atlantic Canada, where the Liberals had won all but one seat in 1993. In 1997, the Liberals lost all but a handful of seats in Atlantic Canada and Western Canada, but managed to retain a bare majority government due to their continued dominance of Ontario.
In 1999, Chrétien supported Canada's involvement in NATO's bombing campaign of Yugoslavia
over the issue of Kosovo
. The 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was NATO's and Canada's first deliberate non-defensive aggression against another sovereign state.
The government under Chrétien's prime ministership also introduced a new and far-reaching Youth Criminal Justice Act
, which replaced the old Young Offenders Act
, and changed the way youths were prosecuted for crimes in Canada.
Chrétien was known to be friendly in foreign policy towards the People's Republic of China. He led four "Team Canada" trade missions to China, and sharply increased the amount of trade between the two countries during his tenure as Prime Minister. Under his leadership, China and Canada signed several bilateral relations agreements.
and its neophyte leader Stockwell Day
off guard. Finance Minister Paul Martin
released a 'mini-budget' just before the election call that included significant tax cuts, a move aimed at undermining the Alliance position going into the campaign. Day turned in a generally weak performance during the campaign that did little to allay media concerns about his socially-conservative views. The New Democrats and Bloc Québécois also ran lacklustre campaigns, while the Progressive Conservatives
, led by former Prime Minister Joe Clark
, struggled to retain official party status. The Liberals secured a strong majority mandate, winning nearly as many seats as they had in 1993, largely thanks to significant gains in Quebec.
Following the September 11 attacks, Canadian forces joined with multinational forces that invaded Afghanistan
to pursue al-Qaeda
forces. He had also commended how Canada responded to the crisis. Among them included Operation Yellow Ribbon
and the memorial service on Parliament Hill
three days after 9/11.
Chrétien's government did not support the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq
. His reasoning was that the war lacked UN Security Council sanction; while not a member of the Security Council, Canada nevertheless attempted to build a consensus for a resolution authorizing the use of force after a short (two to three month) extension to UN weapon inspections in Iraq. (Critics also noted that, while in opposition, he had also opposed the first US-led Gulf War
.) In December 2003, it emerged that the government had prepared plans for Canada to send as many as 800 Canadian troops to Iraq if the UN Security Council had authorized it; however, a UN request for an increased deployment of Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan removed this option from the table. This led some of Chrétien's anti-war critics on the left to accuse the Prime Minister of never really being fully opposed to the war. Nonetheless, Canada was the first non-member of the US-led coalition to provide significant financial aid to the post-war reconstruction effort, relative to Canada's size. This move allowed Canadian companies to bid on reconstruction contracts.
' aging fleet of Labrador and Sea King helicopters. The aircraft were used for maritime surveillance
, search and rescue
and anti-submarine warfare
operations. The helicopters were 20 to 30 years old, typically required 30 hours of maintenance for every hour in the air, were frequently grounded for repairs and required many expensive custom-made parts for their obsolete machinery. The government's announced choice of the EH-101 was derided by Chrétien as an overly-expensive "Cadillac" aircraft. Immediately upon taking office, he cancelled the contract and paid a $500 million termination fee
to AgustaWestland
. In 1998 however, his government announced that the CH-113s would be replaced by a scaled down search-and-rescue variant of the EH101, carrying the designation CH-149 Cormorant
. Unlike the Petrel/Chimo contract, these 15 aircraft were to be built entirely in Europe with no Canadian participation or industrial incentives. The first two aircraft arrived in Canada in September 2001 and entered service the following year. His Maritime Helicopter Project was supposed to find a low-cost replacement aircraft. The candidates were the Sikorsky S-92
, the NHIndustries NH90 and the EH-101, although critics accused the government of designing the Project so as to prevent AgustaWestland from winning the contract. A winner, the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, would not be announced until after Chrétien retired.
, owned by the Government of Canada, to grant a $2 million loan to Yvon Duhaime. Duhaime was a friend and constituent to whom the Prime Minister stated that he had sold his interest in the Grand-Mère Inn, a local Shawinigan-area hotel and golf resort, eventually providing evidence of the sale - a contract written on a cocktail napkin. The Business Development Bank had turned down the initial loan application, but later approved a $615,000 loan following further lobbying by Chrétien. It was revealed that Chrétien had never been paid for his share in the sale of the adjoining golf course, and criminal charges were laid against Duhaime. The Prime Minister's ethics counselor, who was appointed by and reported to the Prime Minister, determined that Prime Minister Chrétien had not violated any conflict-of-interest rules, noting that there were no clear rules. There was no comment on ethics by the ethics counsellor.
, which involved more than $100 million distributed from the Prime Minister's Office
to Quebec's federalist and Liberal Party interests without much accountability. The lingering repercussions of the scandal reduced the Liberal Party to a minority in the 2004 federal election
, and may have strengthened the separatist case, and contributed to the government's defeat in the 2006 election
. The scandal led to long-running, deep investigations by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
, a federal inquiry, the Gomery Commission
, chaired by Justice John Gomery
(called by Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2005), and several prosecutions and convictions; the legal process was still ongoing in late 2009, more than a decade after the scandal began.
(GST). It was eventually replaced with the Harmonized Sales Tax
in three Atlantic provinces
. Chrétien claimed that the fiscal situation was far worse than expected. Despite slipping poll numbers, he advised the Governor General to call an election in 1997
, a year ahead of schedule. Many of his own MPs criticized him for this move, especially in light of the devastating Red River Flood
. He was reelected with a considerably reduced mandate. However, they still finished with 95 more seats than the next-largest party. The Liberals rebounded in the 2000 election
, nearly tying their 1993 total.
" (from the name of his home town).
campus in Vancouver. The APEC summit was a summit of many Asian and Pacific countries, and students on UBC's campus protested the meeting of some of these leaders because of their poor human rights
practices. One of the leaders most criticized was then Indonesian President Suharto. Demonstrators tore down a barrier and were pepper-sprayed by the RCMP. Other peaceful demonstrators were subsequently pepper-sprayed as well. There was debate over whether the action was necessary. Chrétien responded to the media's questions about the incident at a press conference. He was asked about the pepper spraying by a Vancouver-based comedic reporter known as "Nardwuar the Human Serviette
", a frequent contributor to Canada's MuchMusic
network, known for his high pitched voice and odd attire, who told Chrétien that there was a song released by a punk rock
band called "The Nomads" (a fictitious band Nardwuar had made up) called "The Suharto Stomp". Nardwuar then asked Chrétien "Do you think, if you were say 40-years younger, that you too would be writing punk songs about Suharto and protesting against APEC?" Chrétien replied that he himself had protested as a student, and that in a democracy, protests were to be expected. Nardwuar followed up by telling the Prime Minister that "Some of the protesters were maced
." Chrétien asked "what do you mean by that?" Nardwuar then clarified "Mace? Pepper spray
?" Chrétien then stated abrubtly "I don't know, these techniques did not exist in those days", which received big laughs from everyone in the room. Nardwuar simply smiled at Chrétien's joke, and the Prime Minister concluded his answer by adding "For me, pepper
, I put it on my plate", with a smile while pantomiming shaking pepper onto a plate. This line also received laughter. However, allegations soon arose that someone in the Prime Minister's Office or Chrétien himself gave the go-ahead for the pepper spraying of protestors. Chrétien denied any involvement, and it has never been proven.
Relationships between Chrétien and Martin were frequently strained, and Martin was reportedly angling to replace Chrétien as early as 1997. In the summer of 2002, Chrétien tried to curtail Martin's by-now open campaign for the leadership of the party. Some said that Chrétien dismissed Martin from Cabinet, while others say that Martin resigned. In any case, the departure generated a severe backlash from Martin's supporters, who largely controlled the party machinery, and all signs indicated that they were prepared to oust Chrétien at a leadership review in January 2003. After less than half the caucus committed to support him, Chrétien announced that he would not lead the party into the next election, and set his resignation date for February 2004.
Chrétien maintained a high approval rating near the end of his term thanks to several developments. The cooperation of federal, provincial, and municipal governments enabled Vancouver to win the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics
. The election victory
of the federalist Jean Charest
in Quebec was largely seen by the rest of the provinces as a vote of confidence in Chrétien's unity efforts. His decision not to participate in the Iraq war
was popular with a large majority of Canadians but was also criticized as potentially hurting Canadian business interests with the US.
Chrétien's final sitting in the House of Commons took place November 6, 2003. He made an emotional farewell to the party on November 13 at the 2003 Liberal leadership convention. The following day his rival Martin was elected his successor. U2
lead singer Bono
attended the convention and made a speech, joking "I'm the only thing these two can agree upon."
On December 12, 2003, Chrétien formally resigned as prime minister, handing power over to Paul Martin. According to Canadian protocol, as a former prime minister, he is styled "The Right Honourable
" for life. Mr. Chrétien joined the law firm of Heenan Blaikie
on January 5, 2004, as counsel. The firm announced he would work out of its Ottawa offices four days per week and make a weekly visit to the Montreal office.
Jean Chrétien testified for the Gomery commission
regarding the sponsorship scandal
in 2005. Earlier that year his lawyers tried, but failed, to have Justice John Gomery
removed from the commission, arguing that he lacked objectivity. Chrétien contends that the Gomery commission was set up to make him look bad, and that it was not a fair investigation. He cites comments Gomery made calling him "small town cheap", referring to the management of the sponsorship program as "catastrophically bad", and calling Chuck Guité, a "charming scamp". Subsequent to the release of the first report, Chrétien has decided to take an action in Federal Court to review the commission report on the grounds that Gomery showed a "reasonable apprehension of bias", and that some conclusions didn't have an "evidentiary" basis. Chrétien believes that the appointment of Bernard Roy
, a former chief of staff to former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, as chief counsel for the commission was a mistake, as he failed to call some relevant witnesses such as Don Boudria
and Ralph Goodale
.
In November 2008, Chrétien and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent
came out of retirement to negotiate a formal coalition agreement between the Liberals, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois, the first power-sharing coalition since World War I
, in a bid to form a new government to replace the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper
. Harper's request to prorogue parliament was granted by Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, staving off the opposition's scheduled motion of non-confidence.
by the governor general
:
's ideals of official bilingualism
and multiculturalism
, but his government oversaw the erosion of the welfare state
established, and built, under William Lyon Mackenzie King
, Louis St. Laurent
, Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau
. His government advocated neo-liberal policies on a number of economic fronts, cutting transfer payments to the provinces and social programs, supporting globalization
and free trade
and implementing large personal and corporate tax cuts. However, in 1999 his government negotiated the Social Union Framework Agreement
, which promoted common standards for social programs across Canada.
Chrétien was repeatedly attacked by both his opponents and supporters for failing to live up to key election promises, such as eliminating the so-called "golden handshake" by which politicians receive a substantial life-time pension after serving a mere five years in elected office. Other unkept election promises included replacing the GST and renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). Some point to the "No" result of the 1995 Quebec referendum
on separation as a political victory for Chrétien, while others interpret the extremely slim margin as a near-disaster for which Chrétien, as de facto leader of the "No" campaign, was responsible. However, some argue that his post-referendum efforts at addressing the separatist issue, notably through the Clarity Act
, will cement his legacy as a staunchly federalist prime minister.
One of the most pressing issues in Chrétien's final years in office was Canada's relationship with the United States. Chrétien had a close relationship with President Bill Clinton
, after attacking Brian Mulroney
for being too friendly with both Ronald Reagan
and George H. W. Bush
, but when George W. Bush
took office in the United States, relations began to cool.
Very soon after his retirement, Chrétien's legacy was marred by the sponsorship scandal. Nevertheless, many of his closest and longtime political allies were fired from government jobs by his successor Paul Martin
, with whom he had fought a bitter leadership battle. The scandal also put a question mark over Chrétien's preferred style of governance, which had been in question long before his retirement due to various scandals, particularly involving cabinet minister Alfonso Gagliano
.
Martin, who was cleared by Justice Gomery, moved to sharply distance himself from the Chrétien legacy, although this was also due to the at times bitter political rivalry
between the two men. Chrétien's supporters have accused Martin of trying to elude responsibility by blaming the scandal on the former. In an unprecedented move, many of Chrétien's most loyal ministers were not included in Martin's cabinet and many of those were also forced to contest their nominations in uphill contests against Martin's appointed candidates. As a result, most of them were forced to retire, although Sheila Copps
contested and lost the Liberal nomination in her riding. The Chrétien-Martin rift has also divided the Liberals in the 2004 and 2006 elections, with some Chrétien supporters complaining of being sidelined despite their extensive campaign expertise.
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Chrétien was active on the world stage and formed close relationships with world leaders such as Jacques Chirac
, John Major
, and Bill Clinton
. His name was rumoured as a replacement for Kofi Annan
as Secretary General of the United Nations
.
He was appointed to the Order of Merit
by Queen Elizabeth II in July 2009, and received the insignia of the order from the Queen on October 20, 2009.
Jean Chrétien is an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Chrétien was ranked #9 greatest Prime Minister in a survey of Canadian historians in 1999 that ranked them all through his time in office. The survey appeared in Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer
.
on June 29, 2007. His citation reads:
Chrétien married Aline Chaîné of Shawinigan on September 10, 1957. They met when they were just 13 years old. They have three children. Their eldest is daughter France Chrétien Desmarais
(b. 1958), who is a lawyer, and is married to André Desmarais
, the son of Paul Desmarais, Sr., and the President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of his father's founding company the Power Corporation, based in Montreal, Canada. France and André have four children.
Jean and Aline Chrétien also have two sons: Hubert (b. 1965) and Michel Chrétien
(b. 1968).
Hubert is a scuba diving
instructor and a pioneer in teaching scuba diving to people with disabilities.
Michel, Chrétien's youngest child, was adopted as a Gwichʼin child from an Inuvik orphanage by Jean and Aline in 1970. At the time, Jean Chrétien was the Minister of Indian Affairs. He was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
. In addition to past heroin and cocaine addictions, Michel is an admitted alcoholic and was arrested for drinking and driving in 1988 and 1998. He received a nine-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to assault after throwing an object at a former girlfriend's six-year-old son in 1998. In the 1990s, he was sentenced to three years in prison for sexually assaulting a 27-year-old Montreal woman. He spent the three years between trial and incarceration with his birth mother, Anne Kendi, a counsellor at a Yellowknife detox centre. She had recognised her son, then 23, from pictures in a newspaper during his trial. Michel is a talented graphic artist and has worked as a furniture designer.
Former Premier of New Brunswick
and Canadian Ambassador
to the United States, Frank McKenna
said "In terms of the personality of Jean Chrétien, what you see is what you get, with few surprises. As a political leader, what you need to know about him is that, more than anything else, he is a pragmatist."
Chrétien would often make light of his humble, small-town origins, calling himself “le petit gars de Shawinigan”, or the “little guy from Shawinigan”.
Upon his first election in 1962, Chrétien did not speak English. While in parliament, he found two mentors who were anglophone: Mitchell Sharp
and Lester B. Pearson
. He didn't learn to speak English until age 30.
His nephew, Raymond Chrétien
, was appointed by his uncle as the Ambassador to the United States.
timed the re-issuing to coincide with the publication of My Years As Prime Minister.
, north of Montreal, at a charity golf event. Playing alongside a cardiologist, he mentioned his discomfort, saying he "had been suffering some symptoms for some time" and the doctor advised he come for a check up. After examination, Chrétien was hospitalized at the Montreal Heart Institute
, with unstable angina
, a sign a heart attack might be imminent. He underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery as a result on the morning of October 3, 2007. The operation forced Chrétien to delay a promotional tour for his book. He was "expected to have a full and complete recovery".
On August 5, 2010, Chrétien complained of experiencing difficulty walking, and was admitted to a hospital. A brain scan was conducted the next day, and it revealed that a 3 centimeter wide subdural hematoma
was pushing 1.5 centimeters into his brain. Emergency surgery was then performed that afternoon, and the blood was successfully drained. He was released from hospital, on August 9, 2010. Doctors, who were impressed with the speed of his recovery, ordered him to rest for two to four weeks.
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...
. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan, 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....
, Chrétien is a law graduate from 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...
. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in 1963. He served in various cabinet posts under prime minister 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,...
, most prominently as Minister of Justice
Minister of Justice (Canada)
The Minister of Justice is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice and is also Attorney General of Canada .This cabinet position is usually reserved for someone with formal legal training...
, Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (Canada)
The Minister of Finance is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget...
, and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He also served as deputy prime minister in John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
's short-lived government. He became leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
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...
in 1990, and led the party to a 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 1993 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
. He was re-elected with further majorities in 1997
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
and 2000
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
.
Chrétien was strongly opposed to the Quebec sovereignty movement
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
and supported official bilingualism and multiculturalism. He won a narrow victory as leader of the federalist camp in the 1995 Quebec Referendum
1995 Quebec referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:...
, and then pioneered the Clarity Act
Clarity Act
The Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following such a vote by one of the provinces. The Clarity Bill was tabled for first reading in the...
to avoid ambiguity in future referendum questions. He also advanced the Youth Criminal Justice Act
Youth Criminal Justice Act
Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act is a Canadian statute, which came into effect on April 1, 2003. It covers the prosecution of youths for criminal offences...
in Parliament. Although his popularity and that of the Liberal Party were seemingly unchallenged for three consecutive federal elections, he became subject to various political controversies in the later years of his premiership. He was accused of inappropriate behaviour in the Sponsorship Scandal
Sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
, although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He also became embroiled in a protracted inner-party struggle against long-time political rival Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
. He resigned as prime minister in December 2003, and left public life.
Early life
Chrétien was born on January 11, 1934, in ShawiniganShawinigan, Quebec
Shawinigan is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It has a population of approximately 51,904 people ....
, 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....
, as the 18th of 19 children (10 of whom did not survive infancy) to Wellie Chrétien and Marie (née Boisvert). As a young boy his father made him read the dictionary. Chrétien attended Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières
Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières
The Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières is a private scholar institution in the Quebec region of Mauricie. Located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, it is, within the unique Quebec education system, a secondary school...
and studied law at 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...
. He later made light of his humble origins, calling himself "le petit gars de Shawinigan", or the "little guy from Shawinigan". In his youth, he suffered an attack of Bell's palsy
Bell's palsy
Bell's palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the cranial nerve VII that results in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Several conditions can cause facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, and Lyme disease. However, if no specific cause...
, permanently leaving the left side of his face partially paralyzed. Chrétien used this in his first Liberal leadership campaign, saying that he was "One politician who didn't talk out of both sides of his mouth."
On September 10, 1957, he married Aline Chainé
Aline Chrétien
Aline Chrétien is the wife of Canada's twentieth Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien.Born Aline Chaîné in Saint-Boniface-de-Shawinigan, Quebec, she married lawyer Jean Chrétien on September 10, 1957...
. They have two sons (Hubert Chrétien and Michel
Michel Chrétien
Michel Chrétien is the youngest son of former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and his wife Aline. He was adopted as a Gwichʼin child from an Inuvik orphanage....
) and one daughter (France
France Chrétien Desmarais
France Chrétien Desmarais is a Canadian lawyer and businesswoman. She is the daughter of Jean Chrétien, twentieth Prime Minister of Canada. She is married to André Desmarais, president of the Montreal-based Power Corporation of Canada, and son of Paul Desmarais, a wealthy businessman. They have...
).
Early political career
Chrétien practised law at the Shawinigan firm of Alexandre GélinasAlexandre Gélinas
Alexandre Gélinas was a local politician in Shawinigan, Quebec. He was the tenth Mayor of Shawinigan from 1937 to 1938.He was born in 1894 in Saint-Barnabé, in the Mauricie region of the province of Québec, Canada, and was married to Laure Lautereur. Although they never had children of their own,...
and Joe Lafond until he was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as a Liberal from the riding of Saint-Maurice–Laflèche in the 1963 election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
. He represented this Shawinigan-based riding, renamed Saint-Maurice
Saint-Maurice (electoral district)
Saint-Maurice was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1892 and from 1968 to 2004....
in 1968, for all but eight of the next 41 years.
After re-election in the 1965 election
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
, he served as parliamentary secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
(junior minister) to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
(1965) and then to Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (Canada)
The Minister of Finance is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget...
, Mitchell Sharp
Mitchell Sharp
Mitchell William Sharp, PC, CC was a Canadian politician and a Companion of the Order of Canada, was most noted for his service as a Liberal Cabinet minister. He had, however, served in both private and public sectors during his long career.-Background:Sharp was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba...
(1966). He was selected for appointment as Minister of National Revenue
Minister of National Revenue (Canada)
The Minister of National Revenue is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency and the administration of taxation law and collection....
in 1968 by Prime Minister 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,...
.
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
, he was appointed Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)
The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads two different departments...
. His most notable achievement in this role was the 1969 White Paper
1969 White Paper
The 1969 White Paper was a Canadian policy document in which then Minister of Indian Affairs, Jean Chrétien, proposed the abolition of the Indian Act, the rejection of land claims, and the assimilation of First Nations people into the Canadian population with the status of other ethnic minorities...
, a proposal to abolish the Indian Act
Indian Act
The Indian Act , R.S., 1951, c. I-5, is a Canadian statute that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves...
. The paper was widely opposed by First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
groups, and later abandoned.
During the October Crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
, Chrétien told Trudeau to "act now, explain later", when Trudeau was hesitant to invoke the War Measures Act
War Measures Act
The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...
. 85% of Canadians agreed with the move. In 1974, he was appointed President of the Treasury Board; and beginning in 1976, he served as Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce
Minister of Industry (Canada)
The Minister of Industry is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's economic development and corporate affairs department, Industry Canada. The Minister of Industry is also the minister responsible for Statistics Canada...
. In 1977, following the resignation of Finance Minister John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
, Chrétien succeeded him. He was the first francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
Minister of Finance, and remains one of only three francophones to hold that post.
Early in his career, Chrétien was described by Dalton Camp
Dalton Camp
Dalton Kingsley Camp, PC, OC was a Canadian journalist, politician, political strategist and commentator and supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Despite having never been elected to a seat in the House of Commons, he was a prominent and influential politician and a popular...
as looking like the driver of the getaway car, a condescending assessment which stuck with him, and which was often cited by journalists and others throughout his career, and usually considering his eventual success.
Minister of Justice
The Liberals lost the federal election, of May, 1979Canadian federal election, 1979
The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...
to a minority Conservative government led by Joe Clark. When they regained power in February, 1980
Canadian federal election, 1980
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
, Chrétien was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Minister of Justice (Canada)
The Minister of Justice is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice and is also Attorney General of Canada .This cabinet position is usually reserved for someone with formal legal training...
of Canada. In this role, he was a major force in the 1980 Quebec referendum
1980 Quebec referendum
The 1980 Quebec referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois government, which strongly favoured secession from Canada...
, being one of the main federal representatives "on the ground" during the campaign. His fiery and emotional speeches would enthrall federalist crowds with his blunt warnings of the consequences of separation. He also served as Minister of State for Social Development and Minister Responsible for Constitutional Negotiations, playing a significant role in the patriation
Patriation
Patriation is a non-legal term used in Canada to describe a process of constitutional change also known as "homecoming" of the constitution. Up until 1982, Canada was governed by a constitution that was a British law and could be changed only by an Act of the British Parliament...
of the Constitution of Canada
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...
in 1982. He was the chief negotiator of what would be called the "Kitchen Accord", an agreement which led to the agreement of nine provinces to patriation. His role in the dealings, however, would forever follow him in his native Quebec, who did not ratify the Constitution (although the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
ruled that Quebec was bound by it). In 1982, Chrétien was appointed Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources
Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (Canada)
The Minister of Energy, Mines, and Resources was a member of the Cabinet of Canada from 1966 to 1995.-Ministers:The office of Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys was abolished and the office of the Ministers of Energy, Mines and Resources created by statute 14-15 Eliz. II, c...
.
Deputy Prime Minister
After Trudeau announced his retirement in early 1984 as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister, Chrétien sought the leadership of the Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal 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...
. The experience was a hard one for Chrétien, as many of his longtime Cabinet allies supported the bid of John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
. He was thought to be a dark horse
Dark horse
Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...
until the end, but lost on the second ballot to Turner at the leadership convention that June. Iona Campagnolo
Iona Campagnolo
Iona Campagnolo, is a Canadian politician, and was the first woman and 27th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Prior to becoming Lieutenant Governor she was a Canadian politician and cabinet member in the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.-Career:Born Iona Victoria Hardy...
would ominously introduce Chrétien as, "Second on the ballot, but first in our hearts."
Turner personally appointed him Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
The Deputy Prime Minister of Canada is an honorary position in the cabinet, conferred at the discretion of the prime minister. There is currently, , no deputy prime minister....
, and selected him for appointment by the Governor General as Secretary of State for External Affairs (foreign minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
). Relations between the two were strained, especially after the Liberals were severely defeated in the 1984 election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
. He was one of only 17 Liberal MPs elected from Quebec (the party had won 74 out of 75 seats in 1980). He was also one of only four MPs from the province elected from a riding outside 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...
.
Initial retirement from politics
In 1986, Chrétien resigned his seat and left public life for a time. Now working in the private sector again, Chrétien sat on the boards of several corporations, including the Power Corporation of CanadaPower Corporation of Canada
Power Corporation of Canada is a Canadian company with assets in North America and Europe in a number of industries. These industries include media, pulp and paper, and financial services....
subsidiary Consolidated Bathurst, the Toronto-Dominion Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank
The Toronto-Dominion Bank , is the second-largest bank in Canada by market capitalization and based on assets. It is also the sixth largest bank in North America. Commonly known as TD and operating as TD Bank Group, the bank was created in 1955 through the merger of the Bank of Toronto and the...
, and the Brick Warehouse Corporation.
Chrétien was a major focal point of dissatisfaction with Turner, with many polls showing his popularity. His 1985 book, Straight from the Heart, recounted his early life in Shawinigan, his years spent in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as both a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and Cabinet Minister, and his failed 1984 leadership bid. It was an instant best-seller.
Leader of the Official Opposition
After Turner's resignation as leader in 1990, Chrétien announced he would run for the party leadership at the June 1990 Liberal leadership convention in CalgaryCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
Chrétien's principal opponent, Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, was generally seen as the ideological heir to John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
, while Chrétien was the ideological heir to Trudeau. A key moment in that race took place at an all-candidates debate in Montreal, where the discussion quickly turned to the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
. Martin attempted to force Chrétien to abandon his nuanced position on the deal and declare for or against it. When Chrétien refused to endorse the deal, young Liberal delegates crowding the hall began to chant "vendu" ("sellout" in French) and "Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
" at Chrétien. Martin continues to state he had nothing to do with the response from the floor, or a similar outburst by his supporters at the convention, in which Chrétien defeated Martin on the first and only ballot. However, his reputation in his home province never recovered.
Despite his victory at the convention, Chrétien was criticized in the Quebec media for his opposition to Meech Lake. His leadership was also shaken by the defection from the caucus of francophone MPs (and Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
loyalists) 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...
and Gilles Rocheleau
Gilles Rocheleau
Gilles Rocheleau was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1993. He co-founded the Bloc Québécois with Lucien Bouchard in 1990....
. Chrétien seemed indecisive in the Oka standoff. The federal Liberals were disorganized and dropped in the polls from 50 to 32 per cent. In order to reinvigorate his leadership and reorganize his office which was in chaos, he hired an old friend and classmate, Jean Pelletier
Jean Pelletier
Jean Pelletier, was a Canadian politician, who served as the 37th mayor of Quebec City, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister's Office, and chairman of Via Rail...
, as his chief of staff.
In December 1990, Chrétien returned to the House of Commons after winning a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in the safe Liberal riding of Beauséjour, New Brunswick
Beauséjour (electoral district)
Beauséjour riding is a federal electoral district in eastern New Brunswick, Canada, which has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
. The incumbent, Fernand Robichaud
Fernand Robichaud
Fernand Robichaud, PC is a Canadian politician.He was born in Shippagan, New Brunswick and received a teaching certificate from the Moncton Technical Institute. Before entering politics, Robichaud was a teacher and businessman...
, stood down in Chrétien's favour, which is traditional practice when a newly elected party leader doesn't have a seat in Parliament.
Chrétien later revealed himself to be as staunchly federalist as Trudeau. However, he supported the Charlottetown Accord
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.-Background:...
while his mentor Trudeau opposed it. At the urging of Pelletier, Chrétien met secretly with Trudeau at the Royal York Hotel
Fairmont Royal York
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, formerly the Royal York Hotel and still often so called, is a large and historic hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 100 Front Street West. Opened on June 11, 1929, the Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway...
in Toronto where the two men argued about the meaning of “distinct society” for more than two hours. While the two did not resolve their differences, Trudeau promised to refrain from undermining Chrétien's authority in public. Trudeau denounced the Accord at the Maison Egg Roll in Montreal.
When Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
Prime Minister 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...
began to lose ground in the polls, Chrétien was the major beneficiary. In particular, Chrétien reaped a major windfall after Mulroney introduced an unpopular Goods and Services Tax
Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
The Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
(GST).
The 1993 election
Mulroney's approval ratings declined and by 1993 opinion polls showed that his Progressive Conservative Party would almost certainly be defeated by the Liberals under Chrétien in the election due that yearCanadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
. Mulroney announced his retirement in February, and was succeeded by Minister of National Defence Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
in June. Campbell managed to pull the PCs to within a few percentage points of the Liberals by the time the writs were dropped in September.
Campbell, however, had little luck overcoming the tremendous antipathy toward Mulroney, despite a substantial bounce from the leadership convention. Chrétien saw an opportunity, and on September 19, he dropped a bombshell by releasing the entire Liberal platform. The 112-page document, Creating Opportunity, quickly became known as the Red Book
Red Book (Liberal Party of Canada)
The Red Book, officially titled Creating Opportunity: The Liberal Plan for Canada was the platform of the Liberal Party of Canada in the 1993 federal election. It earned its name from its bright red cover, red being the official colour of the Liberals. It was a 112 page booklet; many thousands of...
because of its bright red cover. It was a very specific and detailed statement of exactly what a Chrétien government would do in office.
The Liberals did not promise to remove the GST altogether as a revenue producing agent. Instead, the Red Book pledged to replace the GST "with a system that generates equivalent revenues, is fairer to consumers and to small business, minimizes disruption to small business, and promotes federal-provincial fiscal cooperation and harmonization."
Chrétien promised to renegotiate of the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
, and reform to the unemployment insurance system. Above all, he promised to return Canada to fiscal solvency. As proof, the Red Book gave costs for each of the Liberals' policy goals the first time a Canadian party had gone to such lengths to prove that its proposals were fiscally responsible. In their first mandate in the 1993 election, they attempted to merge the GST with provincial retail sales taxes, but most provinces refused to accept this change after the election. The Progressive Conservatives put forward the idea that Chrétien had actually promised to "scrap the GST" leading to wide public misperception.
The Red Book gave the Liberals the reputation as the party with ideas, since none of the other parties had anything comparable. The Liberals quickly surged to a double-digit lead in most opinion polls. By October, it was obvious that the Liberals would win at least a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
. Even at this stage, however, Chrétien's personal approval ratings were far behind those of Campbell. Realizing this, the Tory campaign team released a series of ads attacking Chrétien
1993 Chrétien attack ad
During the 1993 Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservative Party produced a televised attack ad against Jean Chrétien, the Liberal leader. The ad was perceived by many as a focus on Chrétien's facial deformity, caused by Bell's palsy...
. The ads were viewed as a last-ditch effort to keep the Liberals from winning a majority. The second ad, released on October 14, appeared to mock Chrétien's facial paralysis, and generated a severe backlash from all sides. Even some Tory candidates called for the ad to be yanked. Campbell was not directly responsible for the ad, and ordered it off the air over her staff's objections. However, she didn't apologize and lost a chance to contain the fallout from the ad.
Chrétien, taking advantage of the furor, likened the Tories to the children who teased him when he was a boy in Shawinigan. "When I was a kid people were laughing at me," he said at an appearance in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. "But I accepted that because God gave me other qualities and I'm grateful." The speech, which one Tory described as one Chrétien had waited his whole life to deliver, moved many in the audience to tears. Chrétien's approval ratings shot up, nullifying the only advantage the Tories still had over him.
On October 25, the Liberals were elected to a strong majority government, winning 177 seats the third-best performance in the Liberals' history, and their most impressive win since their record of 190 seats in 1949
Canadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
. The Tories were nearly wiped out, winning only two seats in the worst defeat ever suffered by a governing party at the federal level. Chrétien himself yielded Beauséjour back to Robichaud in order to run in his old riding, Saint-Maurice. However, he was unable to lead the Liberals back to their traditional dominance in Quebec. He was one of only four Liberal MPs elected from that province outside 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...
area. With few exceptions, most of the support that had switched from the Liberals to the Tories nine years earlier flowed to the Bloc.
First parliament as prime minister
On November 4, 1993, Chrétien was appointed by Governor GeneralGovernor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Ray Hnatyshyn
Ray Hnatyshyn
Ramon John Hnatyshyn , commonly known as Ray Hnatyshyn, was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 24th since Canadian Confederation....
as prime minister. While Trudeau, Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
and Mulroney had been relative political outsiders prior to becoming prime minister, Chrétien had served in every Liberal cabinet since 1965. This experience gave him knowledge of the Canadian parliamentary system, and allowed Chrétien to establish a very centralized government that, although highly efficient, was also lambasted by critics and the media as being a "friendly dictatorship" and intolerant of internal dissent.
Chrétien turned most of his attention to reducing the large national debt he had inherited from the Trudeau and Mulroney eras. He was assisted by Martin. The government began a program of deep cuts to provincial transfers and other areas of government finance. During his tenure as prime minister a $42 billion deficit was eliminated, five consecutive budget surpluses were recorded (thanks in part to favorable economic times), $36 billion in debt was paid down, and taxes were cut by $100 billion (cumulatively) over five years. There were, however, undeniable costs associated with this endeavour. The cuts resulted in fewer government services, most noticeably in the health care sector, as major reductions in federal funding to the provinces meant significant cuts in service delivery. Moreover, the across-the-board cuts affected the operations and achievement of the mandate of most federal departments. Many of the cuts were restored in later years of Chrétien's period in office.
One of Chrétien's main focuses in office was preventing the separation of the province of Quebec, which was ruled by the sovereigntist
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
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...
for nearly the Prime Minister's entire term. After the 1995 referendum
1995 Quebec referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:...
very narrowly defeated a proposal on Quebec sovereignty, the government passed what became known as the Clarity Act
Clarity Act
The Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following such a vote by one of the provinces. The Clarity Bill was tabled for first reading in the...
, which said that no Canadian Government would acknowledge any province's declaration of independence unless a "clear majority" supported a "clear question" about sovereignty in a referendum, as defined by the Parliament of Canada
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
, and a constitutional amendment was passed. The size of a "clear majority" was left unspecified.
On November 5, 1995, Chrétien and his wife escaped injury when André Dallaire
André Dallaire
André Dallaire is a Canadian who attempted to assassinate Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 1995.Dallaire claimed that he heard voices that led him to break into the 24 Sussex Drive residence. At trial, Justice Paul Bélanger agreed with the diagnosis, and found Dallaire was guilty of...
, armed with a knife, broke in the Prime Minister's official residence at 24 Sussex Drive
24 Sussex Drive
24 Sussex Drive is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, located in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1866 and 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier, it has been the official home of the Canadian prime minister since 1951.-History:The house at 24 Sussex...
. Aline Chrétien shut and locked the bedroom door until security came. It is said Jean was ready to defend himself with a sharp-edged Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
carving.
Second parliament as prime minister
Chrétien called an early election in the spring of 1997, hoping to take advantage of his position in the public opinion polls and the continued division of the conservative vote between the PC Party and the upstart Reform Party of CanadaReform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
. However, the election call came during a major flooding emergency in Manitoba, which led to charges of insensitivity. The Progressive Conservatives had a popular new leader in Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
and the New Democrats
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
' Alexa McDonough
Alexa McDonough
Alexa Ann Shaw McDonough OC is a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Canada, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's leader in 1980...
led her party to a breakthrough in Atlantic Canada, where the Liberals had won all but one seat in 1993. In 1997, the Liberals lost all but a handful of seats in Atlantic Canada and Western Canada, but managed to retain a bare majority government due to their continued dominance of Ontario.
In 1999, Chrétien supported Canada's involvement in NATO's bombing campaign of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
over the issue of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. The 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was NATO's and Canada's first deliberate non-defensive aggression against another sovereign state.
The government under Chrétien's prime ministership also introduced a new and far-reaching Youth Criminal Justice Act
Youth Criminal Justice Act
Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act is a Canadian statute, which came into effect on April 1, 2003. It covers the prosecution of youths for criminal offences...
, which replaced the old Young Offenders Act
Young Offenders Act
The Young Offenders Act was an act of the Parliament of Canada, granted Royal Assent in 1984, that regulated the criminal prosecution of Canadian youths...
, and changed the way youths were prosecuted for crimes in Canada.
Chrétien was known to be friendly in foreign policy towards the People's Republic of China. He led four "Team Canada" trade missions to China, and sharply increased the amount of trade between the two countries during his tenure as Prime Minister. Under his leadership, China and Canada signed several bilateral relations agreements.
Third parliament as prime minister
Chrétien called another early election in the fall of 2000, again hoping to take advantage of the split in the Canadian right and catch the newly-formed Canadian AllianceCanadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
and its neophyte leader Stockwell Day
Stockwell Day
Stockwell Burt Day, Jr., PC, MP is a former Canadian politician, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is a former cabinet minister in Alberta, and a former leader of the Canadian Alliance. Day was MP for the riding of Okanagan—Coquihalla in British Columbia and the president of...
off guard. Finance Minister Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
released a 'mini-budget' just before the election call that included significant tax cuts, a move aimed at undermining the Alliance position going into the campaign. Day turned in a generally weak performance during the campaign that did little to allay media concerns about his socially-conservative views. The New Democrats and Bloc Québécois also ran lacklustre campaigns, while the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
, led by former Prime Minister Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
, struggled to retain official party status. The Liberals secured a strong majority mandate, winning nearly as many seats as they had in 1993, largely thanks to significant gains in Quebec.
Following the September 11 attacks, Canadian forces joined with multinational forces that invaded Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to pursue al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
forces. He had also commended how Canada responded to the crisis. Among them included Operation Yellow Ribbon
Operation Yellow Ribbon
Operation Yellow Ribbon was commenced by Transport Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. Canada’s goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from U.S. airspace as quickly as possible, and away from...
and the memorial service on Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
three days after 9/11.
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. His reasoning was that the war lacked UN Security Council sanction; while not a member of the Security Council, Canada nevertheless attempted to build a consensus for a resolution authorizing the use of force after a short (two to three month) extension to UN weapon inspections in Iraq. (Critics also noted that, while in opposition, he had also opposed the first US-led Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
.) In December 2003, it emerged that the government had prepared plans for Canada to send as many as 800 Canadian troops to Iraq if the UN Security Council had authorized it; however, a UN request for an increased deployment of Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan removed this option from the table. This led some of Chrétien's anti-war critics on the left to accuse the Prime Minister of never really being fully opposed to the war. Nonetheless, Canada was the first non-member of the US-led coalition to provide significant financial aid to the post-war reconstruction effort, relative to Canada's size. This move allowed Canadian companies to bid on reconstruction contracts.
Appointments to the Senate
Chrétien advised 75 appointments to the Senate.| Senator | Region | Date appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Doris Margaret Anderson Doris Margaret Anderson Doris Margaret Anderson, CM is a Canadian nutritionist and retired senator.Born in St. Peter's, Prince Edward Island, she was a nutritionist before being appointed to the Senate representing the senatorial division of St. Peter's, Kings County, Prince Edward Island in 1995. She retired at the... |
(Prince Edward Island) | 1995-09-21 |
| George Baker George Baker (politician) George S. Baker, PC is a Canadian politician and member of the Senate of Canada.Baker was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1974 election as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Gander—Twillingate, in Newfoundland and Labrador... |
(Newfoundland and Labrador) | 2002-03-26 |
| Tommy Banks Tommy Banks Thomas Benjamin "Tommy" Banks, OC, AOE is a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and Senator.... |
(Alberta) | 2000-04-07 |
| Michel Biron Michel Biron Michel Biron, CM was a Canadian Senator. He was appointed by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, to represent the Canadian senatorial division of Mille Isles, Quebec as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, on October 4, 2001. Biron was appointed a... |
(Quebec) | 2001-10-04 |
| James Bernard (Bernie) Boudreau | (Nova Scotia) | 1999-10-04 |
| John G. Bryden John G. Bryden John G. Bryden is a former Canadian Senator.A lawyer, former public servant and businessman, Bryden was summoned to the Senate as a Liberal by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, on November 23, 1994. He represented the province of New Brunswick until his... |
(New Brunswick) | 1994-11-23 |
| Catherine S. Callbeck | (Prince Edward Island) | 1997-09-22 |
| Sharon Carstairs Sharon Carstairs Sharon Carstairs, PC is a Canadian politician and former Senator.-Early life:Carstairs was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the daughter of former Nova Scotia Premier Harold Connolly and his wife Vivian... |
(Manitoba) | 1994-09-15 |
| Maria Chaput Maria Chaput Maria Chaput is a current member of the Canadian Senate representing the Senatorial Division of Manitoba. She is the first franco-Manitoban woman to be appointed to the upper house of the Parliament of Canada.-External links:* *... |
(Manitoba) | 2002-12-12 |
| Jane Cordy | (Nova Scotia) | 2000-06-09 |
| Joseph A. Day Joseph A. Day Joseph A. Day is a Canadian politician. He has been a Canadian Senator since October 4, 2001.Day studied at College Militaire Royal Saint-Jean in 1963. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario in 1968. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1963 to 1968... |
(Saint John-Kennebecasis) | 2001-10-04 |
| Percy Downe Percy Downe Percy E. Downe is a Canadian Senator and former political aide.Since graduating from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1977, Downe has had the opportunity to serve at the provincial and federal levels of Canadian Government. From 1986 to 1993, Downe was executive assistant to the Premier... |
(Charlottetown, PEI) | 2003-06-26 |
| Joan Fraser | (De Lorimier - Québec) | 1998-09-17 |
| George Furey George Furey George Furey, QC is a Canadian Senator representing Newfoundland and Labrador.Furey worked as a teacher for the Roman Catholic School Board in St. John's from 1969 to 1972. From 1972 to 1978, he was a Supervising Vice Principal with the Port-au-Port Roman Catholic School Board and from 1978-80... |
(Newfoundland and Labrador) | 1999-08-11 |
| Mac Harb Mac Harb Mac Harb is a Canadian Senator and former Member of the House of Commons.-Life and career:Harb was born in Chaat, Lebanon and immigrated to Canada to study at the University of Ottawa. He subsequently worked as an engineer at Northern Telecom and a professor at Algonquin College in Ottawa... |
(Ontario) | 2003-09-09 |
| Céline Hervieux-Payette Céline Hervieux-Payette Céline Hervieux-Payette, PC is the former Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate, and the first woman ever to hold this position.... |
Québec (Bedford) | 1995-03-21 |
| Elizabeth Hubley | (Prince Edward Island) | 2001-03-08 |
| Mobina S. B. Jaffer | (British Columbia) | 2001-06-13 |
| Serge Joyal Serge Joyal Serge Joyal, PC, OC, OQ is a Canadian Senator. A lawyer by profession, Joyal served as vice-president of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada... |
(Kennebec, Québec) | 1997-11-26 |
| Raymond Lavigne Raymond Lavigne Raymond Lavigne was a Canadian senator and businessman, and a former Member of Parliament .Lavigne first ran as a Liberal candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in the Quebec riding of Verdun—Saint-Paul at the 1988 election but was unsuccessful. He successfully contested the riding in the... |
(Montarville, Québec) | 2002-03-26 |
| Rose-Marie Losier-Cool Rose-Marie Losier-Cool Rose-Marie Losier-Cool is a Canadian Senator for New Brunswick.A member of New Brunswick's Acadian community, Losier-Cool worked as a teacher for thirty-three years, two decades of which were spent at École secondaire Népisiguit in Bathurst, New Brunswick.She was elected the first woman president... |
(Tracadie, N.B.) | 1995-03-21 |
| Frank W. Mahovlich | (Toronto, Ontario) | 1998-06-11 |
| Paul J. Massicotte | (De Lanaudière - Québec) | 2003-06-26 |
| Terry M. Mercer | (Northend Halifax, Nova Scotia) | 2003-11-07 |
| Pana Merchant Pana Merchant Pana Pappas Merchant is a Liberal Senator from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. A teacher and business woman, Mrs. Merchant has played an active role in cultural, political, and advocacy groups in Saskatchewan. Her charitable and volunteer work has been with Canadian Parents for French,... |
(Saskatchewan) | 2002-12-12 |
| Wilfred P. Moore | (Stanhope St. / South Shore, Nova Scotia) | 1996-09-26 |
| Jim Munson Jim Munson Jim Munson is a Canadian Senator and retired journalist.Munson spent most of his journalism career with CTV, which he joined in 1979 after working for Broadcast News for several years. He served as the network's correspondent in Ottawa and then London, England... |
(Ottawa / Rideau Canal, Ontario) | 2003-12-10 |
| Lucie Pépin Lucie Pépin Lucie Pépin is a former Canadian politician, who served in both the House of Commons and Senate.-Career:A Registered Nurse by profession, in the 1960s, Pépin served as head nurse in the gynecology department and then at the family planning clinic of Notre-Dame Hospital in Montreal, and was... |
(Shawinegan, Québec) | 1997-04-08 |
| Marie-P. Poulin (Charette) | (Northern Ontario) | 1995-09-21 |
| Vivienne Poy Vivienne Poy Vivienne Poy was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1998. Poy came to Canada as a university student in 1959. She is the first Canadian senator of Asian ancestry. She graduated from St... |
(Toronto, Ontario) | 1998-09-17 |
| Pierrette Ringuette | (New Brunswick) | 2002-12-12 |
| Fernand Robichaud Fernand Robichaud Fernand Robichaud, PC is a Canadian politician.He was born in Shippagan, New Brunswick and received a teaching certificate from the Moncton Technical Institute. Before entering politics, Robichaud was a teacher and businessman... |
(New Brunswick) | 1997-09-22 |
| Bill Rompkey Bill Rompkey William Hubert Rompkey, PC is a Canadian educator who served as Member of Parliament from 1972 to 1995 and a senator from 1995 to 2011.-Early life and education:... |
(Newfoundland and Labrador) | 1995-09-21 |
| Nick G. Sibbeston | (Northwest Territories) | 1999-09-02 |
| David P. Smith | (Cobourg, Ontario) | 2002-06-25 |
Controversies
From first holding political office in 1963 to becoming Prime Minister in 1993, Chrétien had never been under scrutiny or suspicion of wrongdoing. Chrétien's ten-year term as Prime Minister was marked by several major scandals.Sea King helicopters
During the 1993 election campaign, Chrétien criticized the Conservative government for planning to spend $5.8 billion to replace the Canadian ForcesCanadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
' aging fleet of Labrador and Sea King helicopters. The aircraft were used for maritime surveillance
Surveillance aircraft
A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance — collecting information over time. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, observation , border patrol and fishery...
, search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
and anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
operations. The helicopters were 20 to 30 years old, typically required 30 hours of maintenance for every hour in the air, were frequently grounded for repairs and required many expensive custom-made parts for their obsolete machinery. The government's announced choice of the EH-101 was derided by Chrétien as an overly-expensive "Cadillac" aircraft. Immediately upon taking office, he cancelled the contract and paid a $500 million termination fee
Termination fee
A termination fee is a charge levied when a party wants to break the term of an agreement or long-term contract. They are stipulated in the contract or agreement itself, and provide an incentive for the party subject to them to abide by the agreement....
to AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland is an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company. It was formed in July 2000 when Finmeccanica S.p.A. and GKN plc agreed to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries to form AgustaWestland with Finmeccanica and GKN each holding a 50% share.AgustaWestland is now a...
. In 1998 however, his government announced that the CH-113s would be replaced by a scaled down search-and-rescue variant of the EH101, carrying the designation CH-149 Cormorant
CH-149 Cormorant
The AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the Canadian Forces designation for the AgustaWestland AW101 , a helicopter used for air-sea rescue in Canada...
. Unlike the Petrel/Chimo contract, these 15 aircraft were to be built entirely in Europe with no Canadian participation or industrial incentives. The first two aircraft arrived in Canada in September 2001 and entered service the following year. His Maritime Helicopter Project was supposed to find a low-cost replacement aircraft. The candidates were the Sikorsky S-92
Sikorsky S-92
The Sikorsky S-92 is a four-bladed twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter market. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight control and rotor systems.The H-92 Superhawk is a military...
, the NHIndustries NH90 and the EH-101, although critics accused the government of designing the Project so as to prevent AgustaWestland from winning the contract. A winner, the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, would not be announced until after Chrétien retired.
Grand-Mère Inn
In 2000, after initial denials, he acknowledged having lobbied the Business Development Bank of CanadaBusiness Development Bank of Canada
The Business Development Bank of Canada is a crown corporation financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Canada. BDC plays a leadership role in delivering financial and consulting services to Canadian small business, with a particular focus on technology and exporting.BDC's debt...
, owned by the Government of Canada, to grant a $2 million loan to Yvon Duhaime. Duhaime was a friend and constituent to whom the Prime Minister stated that he had sold his interest in the Grand-Mère Inn, a local Shawinigan-area hotel and golf resort, eventually providing evidence of the sale - a contract written on a cocktail napkin. The Business Development Bank had turned down the initial loan application, but later approved a $615,000 loan following further lobbying by Chrétien. It was revealed that Chrétien had never been paid for his share in the sale of the adjoining golf course, and criminal charges were laid against Duhaime. The Prime Minister's ethics counselor, who was appointed by and reported to the Prime Minister, determined that Prime Minister Chrétien had not violated any conflict-of-interest rules, noting that there were no clear rules. There was no comment on ethics by the ethics counsellor.
Sponsorship Scandal
The other major controversy of the Chrétien years was the Sponsorship ScandalSponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
, which involved more than $100 million distributed from the Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister's Office
The Prime Minister's Office is a small department which provides advice to a Prime Minister in some countries:* Office of the Prime Minister * Office of the Prime Minister * British Prime Minister's Office...
to Quebec's federalist and Liberal Party interests without much accountability. The lingering repercussions of the scandal reduced the Liberal Party to a minority in the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, and may have strengthened the separatist case, and contributed to the government's defeat in the 2006 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:...
. The scandal led to long-running, deep investigations by the 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,...
, a federal inquiry, the Gomery Commission
Gomery Commission
The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...
, chaired by Justice John Gomery
John Gomery
John H. Gomery, BCL, BA, QC is a retired Canadian jurist. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Personal life:Gomery has a daughter, Cym Gomery, who is a partisan and candidate of municipal party Projet Montreal. Gomery is fluently bilingual, as is his daughter...
(called by Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2005), and several prosecutions and convictions; the legal process was still ongoing in late 2009, more than a decade after the scandal began.
Goods and Services Tax
Chrétien came under fire for failing to accomplish some of the Liberal goals outlined in the Red Book, most notably the retooling of the Goods and Services TaxGoods and Services Tax (Canada)
The Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
(GST). It was eventually replaced with the Harmonized Sales Tax
Harmonized Sales Tax
The Harmonized Sales Tax is the name used in Canada to describe the combination of the federal Goods and Services Tax and the regional Provincial Sales Tax into a single value added sales tax in five of the ten Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, British...
in three Atlantic provinces
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
. Chrétien claimed that the fiscal situation was far worse than expected. Despite slipping poll numbers, he advised the Governor General to call an election in 1997
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, a year ahead of schedule. Many of his own MPs criticized him for this move, especially in light of the devastating Red River Flood
Red River Flood, 1997
The Red River Flood of 1997 was a major flood that occurred in April and May 1997, along the Red River of the North in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826...
. He was reelected with a considerably reduced mandate. However, they still finished with 95 more seats than the next-largest party. The Liberals rebounded in the 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, nearly tying their 1993 total.
Confrontation with protester
In 1996, Chrétien was confronted by a protester, Bill Clennett, during a walkabout in Hull, Quebec. The prime minister responded with a choke-hold. The press referred to it as the "Shawinigan HandshakeShawinigan Handshake
Shawinigan Handshake is the epithet given to a chokehold executed on February 15, 1996 by Jean Chrétien, then Prime Minister of Canada, on anti-poverty protester Bill Clennett...
" (from the name of his home town).
APEC confrontation
Chrétien was involved in a controversy again in November 1997, when the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit was held on the University of British ColumbiaUniversity of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
campus in Vancouver. The APEC summit was a summit of many Asian and Pacific countries, and students on UBC's campus protested the meeting of some of these leaders because of their poor human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
practices. One of the leaders most criticized was then Indonesian President Suharto. Demonstrators tore down a barrier and were pepper-sprayed by the RCMP. Other peaceful demonstrators were subsequently pepper-sprayed as well. There was debate over whether the action was necessary. Chrétien responded to the media's questions about the incident at a press conference. He was asked about the pepper spraying by a Vancouver-based comedic reporter known as "Nardwuar the Human Serviette
Nardwuar the Human Serviette
Nardwuar the Human Serviette is a Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is the lead singer and keyboardist for The Evaporators and plays in Thee Goblins....
", a frequent contributor to Canada's MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
network, known for his high pitched voice and odd attire, who told Chrétien that there was a song released by a punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band called "The Nomads" (a fictitious band Nardwuar had made up) called "The Suharto Stomp". Nardwuar then asked Chrétien "Do you think, if you were say 40-years younger, that you too would be writing punk songs about Suharto and protesting against APEC?" Chrétien replied that he himself had protested as a student, and that in a democracy, protests were to be expected. Nardwuar followed up by telling the Prime Minister that "Some of the protesters were maced
Mace (spray)
Chemical Mace is a tear gas in the form of an aerosol spray which propels a lachrymatory agent mixed with a volatile solvent. It is sometimes used as a self-defense device...
." Chrétien asked "what do you mean by that?" Nardwuar then clarified "Mace? Pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
?" Chrétien then stated abrubtly "I don't know, these techniques did not exist in those days", which received big laughs from everyone in the room. Nardwuar simply smiled at Chrétien's joke, and the Prime Minister concluded his answer by adding "For me, pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, I put it on my plate", with a smile while pantomiming shaking pepper onto a plate. This line also received laughter. However, allegations soon arose that someone in the Prime Minister's Office or Chrétien himself gave the go-ahead for the pepper spraying of protestors. Chrétien denied any involvement, and it has never been proven.
Retirement
Chrétien maintained a high approval rating near the end of his term thanks to several developments. The cooperation of federal, provincial, and municipal governments enabled Vancouver to win the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
. The election victory
Quebec general election, 2003
The Quebec general election of 2003 was held on April 14, 2003, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec . The Parti libéral du Québec , led by Jean Charest, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Bernard Landry.-Unfolding:...
of the federalist Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
in Quebec was largely seen by the rest of the provinces as a vote of confidence in Chrétien's unity efforts. His decision not to participate in the Iraq war
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
was popular with a large majority of Canadians but was also criticized as potentially hurting Canadian business interests with the US.
Chrétien's final sitting in the House of Commons took place November 6, 2003. He made an emotional farewell to the party on November 13 at the 2003 Liberal leadership convention. The following day his rival Martin was elected his successor. U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
lead singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
attended the convention and made a speech, joking "I'm the only thing these two can agree upon."
On December 12, 2003, Chrétien formally resigned as prime minister, handing power over to Paul Martin. According to Canadian protocol, as a former prime minister, he is styled "The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
" for life. Mr. Chrétien joined the law firm of Heenan Blaikie
Heenan Blaikie
Heenan Blaikie LLP is a full service Canadian law firm. It practices in the areas of business, labour and employment, litigation, taxation, entertainment law and intellectual property law. The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, and Peter Blaikie...
on January 5, 2004, as counsel. The firm announced he would work out of its Ottawa offices four days per week and make a weekly visit to the Montreal office.
Jean Chrétien testified for the Gomery commission
Gomery Commission
The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...
regarding the sponsorship scandal
Sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
in 2005. Earlier that year his lawyers tried, but failed, to have Justice John Gomery
John Gomery
John H. Gomery, BCL, BA, QC is a retired Canadian jurist. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Personal life:Gomery has a daughter, Cym Gomery, who is a partisan and candidate of municipal party Projet Montreal. Gomery is fluently bilingual, as is his daughter...
removed from the commission, arguing that he lacked objectivity. Chrétien contends that the Gomery commission was set up to make him look bad, and that it was not a fair investigation. He cites comments Gomery made calling him "small town cheap", referring to the management of the sponsorship program as "catastrophically bad", and calling Chuck Guité, a "charming scamp". Subsequent to the release of the first report, Chrétien has decided to take an action in Federal Court to review the commission report on the grounds that Gomery showed a "reasonable apprehension of bias", and that some conclusions didn't have an "evidentiary" basis. Chrétien believes that the appointment of Bernard Roy
Bernard Roy
Bernard Roy , is an emeritus professor at the Université Paris-Dauphine. In 1974 he founded the "Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Modélisation des Systèmes pour l'Aide à la Décision" . He has worked on graph theory and on multi-criteria decision analysis , having created the ELECTRE family of methods...
, a former chief of staff to former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, as chief counsel for the commission was a mistake, as he failed to call some relevant witnesses such as Don Boudria
Don Boudria
Donald "Don" Boudria, PC is a former Canadian politician. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 2005 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien....
and Ralph Goodale
Ralph Goodale
Ralph Edward Goodale, PC, MP was Canada's Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006 and continues to be a Liberal Member of Parliament...
.
In November 2008, Chrétien and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent
Ed Broadbent
John Edward "Ed" Broadbent, is a Canadian social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election, he returned to Parliament for one additional term as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre.-Life...
came out of retirement to negotiate a formal coalition agreement between the Liberals, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois, the first power-sharing coalition since World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in a bid to form a new government to replace the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
. Harper's request to prorogue parliament was granted by Governor General Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation, from 2005 to 2010....
, staving off the opposition's scheduled motion of non-confidence.
Supreme Court appointments
Chrétien chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of CanadaSupreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
by the governor general
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
:
- Michel BastaracheMichel BastaracheJ. E. Michel Bastarache is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and retired puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada....
(September 30, 1997 – June 30, 2008) - William Ian Corneil Binnie (January 8, 1998 – October 21, 2011)
- Louise ArbourLouise ArbourLouise Arbour, is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda...
(September 15, 1999 – June 30, 2004) - Louis LeBelLouis LeBelLouis LeBel is a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.LeBel was born in Quebec City. He was the son of lawyer Paul LeBel, Q.C. He went to school at the Collège des Jésuites, graduating with a BA in 1958 from College des Jesuites. He earned his law degree at Université Laval in 1962 and...
(January 7, 2000–present) - Beverly McLachlin (as Chief Justice, July 7, 2000 – present; appointed a Puisne JusticePuisne JusticeA Puisne Justice or Puisne Judge is the title for a regular member of a Court. This is distinguished from the head of the Court who is known as the Chief Justice or Chief Judge. The term is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions such as England, Australia, Kenya, Canada, Sri Lanka,...
under Prime Minister Mulroney, March 30, 1989) - Marie DeschampsMarie DeschampsMarie Deschamps is a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.-Education:She studied law at the Université de Montréal, graduating in 1974 and completing a Masters in 1983 at McGill.-Career:...
(August 7, 2002 – present) - Morris J. Fish (August 5, 2003 – present)
Legacy
In general, Chrétien supported Pierre TrudeauPierre 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 ideals of official bilingualism
Official bilingualism
Official bilingualism refers to the policy adopted by some states of recognizing two languages as official and producing all official documents, and handling all correspondence and official dealings, including Court procedure, in the two said languages...
and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, but his government oversaw the erosion of the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
established, and built, under William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
, Louis St. Laurent
Louis St. Laurent
Louis Stephen St. Laurent, PC, CC, QC , was the 12th Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948, to 21 June 1957....
, Lester Pearson and 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,...
. His government advocated neo-liberal policies on a number of economic fronts, cutting transfer payments to the provinces and social programs, supporting globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and implementing large personal and corporate tax cuts. However, in 1999 his government negotiated the Social Union Framework Agreement
Social Union Framework Agreement
The Social Union Framework Agreement, or SUFA, was an agreement made in Canada in 1999 between Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and the premiers of the provinces and territories of Canada, save Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard...
, which promoted common standards for social programs across Canada.
Chrétien was repeatedly attacked by both his opponents and supporters for failing to live up to key election promises, such as eliminating the so-called "golden handshake" by which politicians receive a substantial life-time pension after serving a mere five years in elected office. Other unkept election promises included replacing the GST and renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA). Some point to the "No" result of the 1995 Quebec referendum
1995 Quebec referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:...
on separation as a political victory for Chrétien, while others interpret the extremely slim margin as a near-disaster for which Chrétien, as de facto leader of the "No" campaign, was responsible. However, some argue that his post-referendum efforts at addressing the separatist issue, notably through the Clarity Act
Clarity Act
The Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following such a vote by one of the provinces. The Clarity Bill was tabled for first reading in the...
, will cement his legacy as a staunchly federalist prime minister.
One of the most pressing issues in Chrétien's final years in office was Canada's relationship with the United States. Chrétien had a close relationship with President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, after attacking 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...
for being too friendly with both Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, but when George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
took office in the United States, relations began to cool.
Very soon after his retirement, Chrétien's legacy was marred by the sponsorship scandal. Nevertheless, many of his closest and longtime political allies were fired from government jobs by his successor Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, with whom he had fought a bitter leadership battle. The scandal also put a question mark over Chrétien's preferred style of governance, which had been in question long before his retirement due to various scandals, particularly involving cabinet minister Alfonso Gagliano
Alfonso Gagliano
Alfonso Gagliano, PC, FCGA is a Canadian accountant and a former Liberal Party politician.Born in Siculiana, Italy, his political career began in 1977 when he ran for a seat on the Montreal school board. In the 1984 federal election, he ran for Parliament for Saint-Léonard—Anjou narrowly...
.
Martin, who was cleared by Justice Gomery, moved to sharply distance himself from the Chrétien legacy, although this was also due to the at times bitter political rivalry
2004 Liberal Party of Canada infighting
The period between Paul Martin's assumption of the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada on November 14, 2003, and the 2004 federal election being called on May 23, 2004, saw a considerable amount of infighting within the party...
between the two men. Chrétien's supporters have accused Martin of trying to elude responsibility by blaming the scandal on the former. In an unprecedented move, many of Chrétien's most loyal ministers were not included in Martin's cabinet and many of those were also forced to contest their nominations in uphill contests against Martin's appointed candidates. As a result, most of them were forced to retire, although Sheila Copps
Sheila Copps
Sheila Maureen Copps, PC is a former Canadian politician who also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to April 30, 1996 and June 19, 1996 to June 11, 1997....
contested and lost the Liberal nomination in her riding. The Chrétien-Martin rift has also divided the Liberals in the 2004 and 2006 elections, with some Chrétien supporters complaining of being sidelined despite their extensive campaign expertise.
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Chrétien was active on the world stage and formed close relationships with world leaders such as Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. His name was rumoured as a replacement for Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
as Secretary General of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
He was appointed to the Order of Merit
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
by Queen Elizabeth II in July 2009, and received the insignia of the order from the Queen on October 20, 2009.
Jean Chrétien is an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Chrétien was ranked #9 greatest Prime Minister in a survey of Canadian historians in 1999 that ranked them all through his time in office. The survey appeared in Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer
Norman Hillmer
George Norman Hillmer is a leading Canadian historian and teacher and is among the leading scholars on Canada-US relations....
.
Order of Canada Citation
Chrétien was appointed a Companion of the Order of CanadaOrder of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
on June 29, 2007. His citation reads:
Before becoming Canada's 20th prime minister, Jean Chrétien had an active political career, holding a dozen ministerial portfolios. As justice minister, he was instrumental in repatriating the Constitution and adopting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As prime minister, he led the Liberal Party during three consecutive majority governments that stressed balanced budgets, national unity and Canada's place in the world. His government's legacy includes a number of social reform and humanitarian initiatives, such as recognition of same-sex unions and the abolition of landmines.
Honorary degrees
- Wilfrid Laurier UniversityWilfrid Laurier UniversityWilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....
in Waterloo, OntarioWaterloo, OntarioWaterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
, 1981 (LL.D.) - Laurentian UniversityLaurentian UniversityLaurentian University , was incorporated on March 28, 1960, is a mid-sized bilingual university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada....
in Sudbury, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, 1982 (LL.D.) - York UniversityYork UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
in Toronto, 1987 (LL.D.) - University of AlbertaUniversity of AlbertaThe University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
in EdmontonEdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, 1988 (LL.D.) - Lakehead UniversityLakehead UniversityLakehead University is a public research university in Thunder Bay, and Orillia, Ontario, Canada.Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', or 'LU', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate and graduate programs and a medical school.The school has more than 45,000...
in Thunder BayThunder Bay-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... - University of OttawaUniversity of OttawaThe 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...
, 1994 - University of Moncton, 1994
- Meiji UniversityMeiji Universityis a private university in Tokyo and Kawasaki, founded in 1881 by three lawyers of the Meiji era, Kishimoto Tatsuo, Miyagi Kōzō, and Yashiro Misao. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Japanese universities in Tokyo, Japan....
in Tokyo, Japan, 1996 - Warsaw School of EconomicsWarsaw School of EconomicsWarsaw School of Economics is the oldest economic university in Poland.The Warsaw School of Economics was founded in 1906 as a private school under the name August Zieliński Private Trade Courses for Men. On 30 July 1919 it became a separate legal entity and was granted the status of an...
in Poland, 1999 - Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, 1999 - Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, 2000 - Memorial University of NewfoundlandMemorial University of NewfoundlandMemorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
in St. John'sSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, 2000 - Queen's UniversityQueen's UniversityQueen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
in Kingston, OntarioKingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, 2004 (LL.D.) - McMaster UniversityMcMaster UniversityMcMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, 2005 - University of Western OntarioUniversity of Western OntarioThe University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
, 2008 (LL.D.) - Université du Québec à Trois-RivièresUniversité du Québec à Trois-RivièresThe Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières , established in 1969 is a campus of the Université du Québec, located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The university has 12,500 students in 8 different campuses, including the main one in Trois-Rivières. About 1000 of them come from overseas, from 60...
, 2008
Personal life
France Chrétien Desmarais
France Chrétien Desmarais is a Canadian lawyer and businesswoman. She is the daughter of Jean Chrétien, twentieth Prime Minister of Canada. She is married to André Desmarais, president of the Montreal-based Power Corporation of Canada, and son of Paul Desmarais, a wealthy businessman. They have...
(b. 1958), who is a lawyer, and is married to André Desmarais
André Desmarais
André Desmarais, OC, OQ is a Canadian businessman, whose hometown is Montreal, Quebec.He is one of two sons of Paul Desmarais, Sr. He is currently the president and co-chief executive officer of his father's founding company the Power Corporation, based in Montreal, Canada...
, the son of Paul Desmarais, Sr., and the President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of his father's founding company the Power Corporation, based in Montreal, Canada. France and André have four children.
Jean and Aline Chrétien also have two sons: Hubert (b. 1965) and Michel Chrétien
Michel Chrétien
Michel Chrétien is the youngest son of former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and his wife Aline. He was adopted as a Gwichʼin child from an Inuvik orphanage....
(b. 1968).
Hubert is a scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
instructor and a pioneer in teaching scuba diving to people with disabilities.
Michel, Chrétien's youngest child, was adopted as a Gwichʼin child from an Inuvik orphanage by Jean and Aline in 1970. At the time, Jean Chrétien was the Minister of Indian Affairs. He was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects that can develop in a fetus in association with high levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Current research also implicates other lifestyle choices made by the prospective mother...
. In addition to past heroin and cocaine addictions, Michel is an admitted alcoholic and was arrested for drinking and driving in 1988 and 1998. He received a nine-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to assault after throwing an object at a former girlfriend's six-year-old son in 1998. In the 1990s, he was sentenced to three years in prison for sexually assaulting a 27-year-old Montreal woman. He spent the three years between trial and incarceration with his birth mother, Anne Kendi, a counsellor at a Yellowknife detox centre. She had recognised her son, then 23, from pictures in a newspaper during his trial. Michel is a talented graphic artist and has worked as a furniture designer.
Former Premier of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and Canadian Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States, Frank McKenna
Frank McKenna
Francis Joseph "Frank" McKenna, PC, OC, ONB, QC is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006...
said "In terms of the personality of Jean Chrétien, what you see is what you get, with few surprises. As a political leader, what you need to know about him is that, more than anything else, he is a pragmatist."
Chrétien would often make light of his humble, small-town origins, calling himself “le petit gars de Shawinigan”, or the “little guy from Shawinigan”.
Upon his first election in 1962, Chrétien did not speak English. While in parliament, he found two mentors who were anglophone: Mitchell Sharp
Mitchell Sharp
Mitchell William Sharp, PC, CC was a Canadian politician and a Companion of the Order of Canada, was most noted for his service as a Liberal Cabinet minister. He had, however, served in both private and public sectors during his long career.-Background:Sharp was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba...
and Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
. He didn't learn to speak English until age 30.
His nephew, Raymond Chrétien
Raymond Chrétien
Raymond Chrétien, OC is the nephew of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and was an ambassador from Canada:* France 2000–2003* United States 1994–2000* Belgium 1991–1994* Mexico 1985–1988* Congo 1978–1981...
, was appointed by his uncle as the Ambassador to the United States.
Memoirs
In April 2007, Chrétien and Canadian book publishers Knopf Canada and Éditions du Boréal announced they would be publishing his memoirs, My Years As Prime Minister, which will recount Chrétien's years as Prime Minister. The book was announced under the title of A Passion for Politics. It arrived in bookstores in October 2007, in both English and French, but the promotional tour was delayed due to heart surgery. As well Straight From the Heart was republished with a new preface and two additional chapters detailing his return to politics as the leader of the Liberal Party and his victory in the election of 1993. Publisher Key Porter BooksKey Porter Books
Key Porter Books is a Canadian book publishing company. Founded in 1979 by Canadian publisher Anna Porter and Key Publishers Limited of Toronto, the company specializes in Canadian non-fiction, although it has published some fiction titles as well. A controlling share of the company was purchased...
timed the re-issuing to coincide with the publication of My Years As Prime Minister.
Health
On October 1, 2007, Chrétien was playing at the Royal Montreal Golf ClubRoyal Montreal Golf Club
The Royal Montreal Golf Club is the oldest golf club in the Americas, having been founded in 1873. In that year, a small group of eight gentlemen sat in a dockside office and formed the Montreal Golf Club...
, north of Montreal, at a charity golf event. Playing alongside a cardiologist, he mentioned his discomfort, saying he "had been suffering some symptoms for some time" and the doctor advised he come for a check up. After examination, Chrétien was hospitalized at the Montreal Heart Institute
Montreal Heart Institute
The Montreal Heart Institute , in Montreal, Quebec, is a specialty hospital dedicated to the development of cardiology. Founded in 1954 by Paul David, it is currently affiliated with the Université de Montréal....
, with unstable angina
Unstable angina
Unstable angina is a type of angina pectoris that is irregular. It is a type of acute coronary syndrome.It can be difficult to distinguish from non–Q-wave myocardial infarction.-Definition:...
, a sign a heart attack might be imminent. He underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery as a result on the morning of October 3, 2007. The operation forced Chrétien to delay a promotional tour for his book. He was "expected to have a full and complete recovery".
On August 5, 2010, Chrétien complained of experiencing difficulty walking, and was admitted to a hospital. A brain scan was conducted the next day, and it revealed that a 3 centimeter wide subdural hematoma
Subdural hematoma
A subdural hematoma or subdural haematoma , also known as a subdural haemorrhage , is a type of haematoma, a form of traumatic brain injury. Blood gathers within the outermost meningeal layer, between the dura mater, which adheres to the skull, and the arachnoid mater, which envelops the brain...
was pushing 1.5 centimeters into his brain. Emergency surgery was then performed that afternoon, and the blood was successfully drained. He was released from hospital, on August 9, 2010. Doctors, who were impressed with the speed of his recovery, ordered him to rest for two to four weeks.
Further reading
- Double Vision: The Inside Story of the Liberals in Power, by Edward GreensponEdward GreensponEdward Greenspon is vice president, business development for Star Media Group, a division of Torstar Corp. Before that, he was the editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for seven years...
and Anthony Wilson-Smith, Toronto 1996, Doubleday Canada publishers, ISBN 0-385-25613-2. - One-Eyed Kings, by Ron Graham, Toronto 1986, Collins Publishers, ISBN 0-00-217749-8.
- Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Normal Hillmer, Toronto, HarperCollinsPublishersLtd., 1999, ISBN 0-00-200027-X.