1. Jean Lesage served as the 19th premier of Quebec from July 5,1960, to June 16,1966.
27 Facts About Jean Lesage
1. 2.
Jean Lesage is the namesake of the Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport, the main sections of Quebec's longest Autoroute highway Autoroute 20, and the provincial electoral district within Quebec City named Jean-Lesage.
3.
In 1921, the family relocated to Quebec City, where Xaveri Jean Lesage was appointed as assistant manager by his brother Antoni in the headquarters office.
4.
Jean Lesage enrolled as a day student in the private boarding school Ecole Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague and, in 1923, he was admitted to the Petit Seminaire de Quebec for an eight-year program which eventually led to the baccalaureate.
5.
Jean Lesage was a talented and bright student who ranked highly in courses, especially in religion, French, Latin, Greek and philosophy.
6.
Jean Lesage enrolled in the Faculte de droit de l'Universite Laval, where his natural quick wit, his facility in expressing himself, and his argumentative nature assured him success in the field of law.
7.
Jean Lesage was a student and a supporter of the New Left movement of the 1960s and his education was strongly influenced by figures such as Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche.
8.
Jean Lesage practised law in Quebec City with Paul Lesage in 1934, then with Charles Gavan Power, Valmore Bienvenue, Paul Lesage, and Jean Turgeon.
9.
Jean Lesage married Corinne Lagarde, a singer and the daughter of Alexandre Lagarde and Valeria Matte.
10.
Jean Lesage was made a Crown attorney for the Wartime Prices and Trade Board from 1939 to 1944.
11.
Jean Lesage served in the Canadian Army Reserve from 1939 to 1945.
12.
Jean Lesage was elected as a federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Montmagny-L'Islet as a Liberal for the first time in the 1945 general election.
13.
Jean Lesage was then named Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Finance from January 1,1953, to June 13,1953.
14.
Jean Lesage survived the Progressive Conservative ascendancy and was re-elected in both 1957 and 1958.
15.
Jean Lesage was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec with the slogans l'equipe de tonnerre and C'est le temps que ca change.
16.
Jean Lesage became Premier, President of the Executive Council, and Minister of Finance from July 5,1960, to June 16,1966.
17.
Jean Lesage was Minister of Federal-Provincial Affairs from March 28,1961, to June 16,1966, and Minister of Revenue from May 30,1963, to August 8,1963.
18.
Jean Lesage's election ushered in the Quiet Revolution, which was the rapid and drastic change of values, attitudes, and behaviours in Quebec society characterized by a surge in Quebec nationalism.
19.
Jean Lesage believed that French Canadians could very well develop as a modern people within Canada without losing their identity.
20.
One of the major and most successful changes made by the Jean Lesage government was the secularization of Quebec from the Catholic Church.
21.
Jean Lesage rejected the role of the Catholic Church, which had previously controlled the school system, and modernized it.
22.
Jean Lesage wanted the Quebec provincial government to provide education for everyone and instill in them Quebecois values as well as produce a better skilled labour force.
23.
Jean Lesage remained Liberal leader for several years until he announced his resignation in August 1969, even though his party held a big lead over the governing Union Nationale in polls.
24.
Jean Lesage continued on as Leader of the Opposition until January 1970, when Robert Bourassa became the new Liberal leader.
25.
Jean Lesage had throat cancer at the end of his life, and died from heart failure at his home on December 12,1980, at the age of 68.
26.
Jean Lesage's funeral was held at Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Quebec.
27.
Jean Lesage is buried at Cimetiere Notre-Dame-de-Belmont in Quebec City.