Mr. Bernard Landry
1937 - 2018
It is with great sorrow that his wife Chantal Renaud, his children Julie, Philippe and Pascale, their spouses Caroline, Josée and Maxime, his grandchildren Camille, Gabrielle, Médéric, Flavie, Elsie, Robin, Marguerite, Clementine and Jules, his great grandchildren Matéo and Sacha, his sister Céline Landry, and his sister-in-law Isabelle Laporte and her spouse Ron Levy, announce the death of Bernard Landry. After a devastating illness, Mr. Landry died peacefully on November 6, 2018 at the age of 81, surrounded by his family at home in Verchères by the shores of the St. Lawrence River he loved so much.
Bernard Landry made his mark on Quebec over the course of more than 65 years – and will continue to do so. He defined himself above all as "a patriot in the service of his people." That, he undoubtedly was.
From his student years at Université de Montreal, Mr. Landry distinguished himself as an orator and a leader who was a staunch defender of Quebec identity. Founder of the AGEUM (General Association of Students of UdeM) and of the AEQF (Association of Quebec Students in France), he went on to become a founding member of the Parti Québécois. He never gave up on his political family. He never hesitated to defend, promote and develop all the tools necessary for his people to grow and to enter into the company of free nations.
As minister of state for economic development in the governments of René Lévesque from 1976 to 1984, then as minister of foreign trade in 1984 and minister of finance under Pierre-Marc Johnson in 1985, Bernard Landry launched Quebec on the digital highway, anticipating paradigm shifts that would turn the world upside down in the 2000s. With his signature policies – from Bâtir le Québec and its follow-up, Le Virage technologique, to the OSE (Opération Solidarité Économique) – Mr. Landry gave new direction to the Quebec economy, guiding it towards the challenges of a new world.
Between 1986 and 1989, he won over his PQ party faithful and then his fellow citizens to the necessity of having free trade between Canada and the United States and, subsequently, Mexico. "In my political life it's the one thing, along with the [treaty with the Quebec Cree] La Paix des Braves in 2002, that I am most happy about," he said recently.
In 1989, Bernard Landry resumed his struggle to make Quebec a country. With his PQ colleagues, he had led the fight against the Meech Lake and Charlottetown constitutional accords. In 1994 he was re-elected as MNA for his beloved Verchères. As deputy premier and minister of immigration and international relations under Jacques Parizeau, he was on the front lines of the Quebec sovereignty referendum of 1995, the loss of which he much regretted. As deputy premier and minister of the economy and finance under Lucien Bouchard, he not only erased Quebec's deficit but also injected the necessary funds to create the province's first network of publicly subsidized daycare centres, as well as establish pay equity and forge ahead in many other fields, including culture, which he considered the soul of Quebec.
In 1999, with the death of his first wife, Lorraine Laporte, a lawyer, judge and administrator of great repute, Mr. Landry and his children went through a period of intense personal pain.
Less than two years later, unexpected circumstances propelled Mr. Landry into the position of head of state. He became the 28th premier of Quebec on March 2, 2001.
His legacy to his fellow citizens as premier was the establishment of a modern Quebec economy adapted to the 21st century and also the signing of La Paix des Braves, considered by the United Nations as an exemplary treaty for relations with indigenous peoples. Bernard Landry had only one obsession: to give his people all the necessary tools for liberation. Two years after his party's defeat in 2003, Mr. Landry stepped down as PQ leader and returned to what he considered the noblest of duties: teaching. Over the years, hundreds of students flocked to the classes he gave at Université du Québec à Montréal, right up until last May. Fluent in Spanish, he also taught in Mexico, as well as in France, in China and at universities throughout the Francophonie and in Africa, where he also felt at home. His knowledge of global affairs made him one of Quebec's top experts in international politics.
His wife Chantal, his family and his friends know how much this man loved Quebec and its people. An attentive and loving husband, a proud and stimulating father, a doting grandfather, Bernard Landry leaves behind him a message of perseverance, of hope, of conviction and of love.
Bernard Landry was a Knight of the Legion of Honor of the French Republic and a holder of the Order of the Pléiade, the Grand Cross of the Order of Bavaria and the Order of Merit of Quebec.
The general public is invited to pay their final respects at:
Lying in State, Quebec City
Date: November 10, 2018
Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: Parliament Building, 1045 Parliamentarians St., Quebec City
Lying in State, Montreal
Date: November 12, 2018
Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: Notre-Dame Basilica, 110 Notre-Dame St. W., Montreal
State Funeral
Date: November 13, 2018
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Notre-Dame Basilica, 110 Notre-Dame St. W., Montreal
Please do not send flowers. If you wish to express your support, donations to the UQAM Foundation's Bernard Landry Fund would be appreciated.
A registry of condolences has been set up online at protocole.gouv.qc.ca/registre. A book of condolences will also be available for the general public to sign on Friday, November 9, 2018, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., at 525 René-Lévesque Blvd. E., in Quebec City.
