Jacques Parizeau, Former Quebec Premier, Dead At Age 84

Jacques Parizeau, former Quebec premier and well-known sovereignist, died at the age of 84 on Monday.

His wife, Lisette Lapointe, wrote on her Facebook about Jacques Pairzeau’s passing.

“The man of my life has gone… He was surrounded by love. After a titanic fight, hospitalized for five months, facing challenges one after the other with extraordinary courage and determination, he passed away… We are devastated. We love him and will love him forever.”

Jacques Pairzeau was best known for his role in the 1995 referendum, where 50.6 percent of citizens voted no and 49.4 percent voted yes.

On referendum night, Jacques Pairzeau made a statement about the vote that resulted in heavy criticism and would lead to his resignation just one day later.

“We are beaten, it is true. But by what, basically? By money and ethnic votes.”

Years later in 2013, Jacques Parizeau denounced that statement that was made almost 20 years ago and also spoke out about the Quebec Charter of Values, which would ban workers in the public sector from displaying religious symbols.

“Federalism is turning into true defenders of minorities in Quebec. We can’t put ourselves in a situation like that.”

Jacques Parizeau was first elected to the National Assembly in 1976. Parizeau served as finance minister, treasury board president, and several other cabinet positions.

Quebecers took to the polls in 1980 the province’s first referendum on sovereignty, prompted by the Parti Québécois government, of which Jacques Parizeau was an active member. In that poll, nearly 60 percent of respondents voted no.

Jacques Parizeau would leave the cabinet and revoke his membership of the National Assembly after René Lévesque, who began the Parti Québécois, no longer made sovereignty a primary issue.

Jacques Parizeau later returned to the Parti Québécois as the leader of the party, and it swept to power in 1994.

It was promised by Jacques Parizeau that there would be another referendum, and the following year the vote took place again on October 30.

Though the difference in numbers from each sides was small, it would not be enough for those who voted Yes to take a majority, which resulted in the infamous comments Jacques Parizeau made.

Jacques Parizeau was a major player in the creation of Quebec’s pension plan and the nationalization of hydroelectricity, of which both have been considered turning points in Quebec’s Quiet Revolution.

During an hour-long interview in February, Jacques Parizeau said that it would be up to the next generation to decide about Quebec sovereignty because his generation had already been clear about what they wanted.

[Photo By Pierre Roussel / Getty Images]