Jean René Allard is a former politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1969 as a New Democrat

New Democratic Party of Manitoba

The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...

, but subsequently left to sit as an Independent MLA.

Allard was educated at the University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

. He fathered six children, Sylvette, Paul, Pierre, Luc, Marika and Marc. He worked as a lawyer, served as leader of the Union Nationale Metisse, and was a member of the Louis Riel

Louis Riel

Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....

 Society and the St. Boniface Historical Society.

In 1966, he proposed that a statue of Louis Riel to be erected beside that of Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 at the Manitoba legislature. This idea was approved, and the statue was unveiled in 1971. The statue depicted a corpus in the nude and was not supported by all Métis. Allard, however, was one of its strongest defenders.http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-1482-9897/politics_economy/louis_riel/clip4

He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1966 election

Manitoba general election, 1966

The Manitoba general election held on June 23, 1966, was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a third consecutive majority win for the Progressive Conservative Party led by Dufferin Roblin...

, as a Liberal

Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...

, and finished second to Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...

 incumbent Joseph Jeannotte

Joseph Jeannotte

Joseph Jeannotte was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1958 to 1969....

 in the northern riding

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 of Rupertsland.

Allard subsequently aligned himself with the social-democratic NDP for the 1969 election

Manitoba general election, 1969

The Manitoba General Election of June 25, 1969 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was a watershed moment in the province's political history. The social-democratic New Democratic Party emerged for the first time as the largest party in...

, and was elected for Rupertsland in a close three-way race. His loyalty to the NDP was tenuous. He was an opponent of socialism

Socialism

Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

, and later claimed that he only joined the NDP because of party leader Edward Schreyer

Edward Schreyer

Edward Richard Schreyer , commonly known as Ed Schreyer, is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation....

's populism

Populism

Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...

. He was also a social conservative

Social conservatism

Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...

, and strongly opposed to abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

. Allard was an unpopular figure in caucus, and was described by some as difficult to work with.

Allard continued to attend meetings 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...

 even after being elected as a New Democrat, and openly considered running for the Liberals at the federal level. He left the NDP to sit as an Independent on April 7, 1972, claiming that "left-wing radicals" had taken over the party. He did not run for re-election in 1973.

In the 1974 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1974

The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...

, Allard ran as a Liberal in the northern constituency of Churchill

Churchill (electoral district)

Churchill is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. It covers northern Manitoba, a vast wilderness area dotted with small municipalities and First Nations reserves...

, but finished third. He did not return to politics after this.

Allard chained himself to the Manitoba Legislature's statue of Louis Riel in 1994, protesting a government decision to have it demolished and replaced with a more formalized statue. "It would hurt me if they tear it down", he was quoted as saying. The protest was unsuccessful, however, and the original statue was removed to the grounds of College St. Boniface.

In 2002, Allard printed an article in the Queen's University journal Inroads, which called for a radical shift in funding to Canada's aboriginal communities. Arguing that the current aboriginal leadership is unresponsive to the needs of its people, Allard argues that the federal government should pay every native citizen $300 per month, bypassing bands and councils entirely. He frequently referenced the spiritual legacy of Big Bear

Big Bear

Big Bear or Mistahi-maskwa was a Cree leader notable for his involvement in the North-West Rebellion and his subsequent imprisonment.-Early life and leadership:...

in this article, claiming that the 19th-century chief's methods point the way to renewed accountability and personal choice.

Jean Allard's website: Big Bear's Treaty