Jacques Léonard (; born December 2, 1936) is a Canadian accountant, educator, and politician in the province of Quebec. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1976 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 2001 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque, Jacques Parizeau, and Lucien Bouchard. Léonard is a Quebec sovereigntist and a member of the Parti Québécois (PQ) and Bloc Québécois (BQ).
Early life and career Léonard was born in Saint-Jovite, in the Laurentides region of Quebec. He received a diploma in accountancy in 1959 and a master's degree in commercial sciences from the Université Laval in 1962. After working for two years in the Montreal firm of Clarkson and Gordon, he continued his studies in Paris, France, from 1964 to 1966. Léonard taught at the École des hautes études commerciales and the Université national du Rwanda from 1966 to 1968, at which time he returned to Quebec. From 1968 to 1976, he was a professor and vice-dean of education at the Université de Montréal.
Léonard became a member of the sovereigntist Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale in 1962 and joined the Parti Québécois after the former party wound down in 1968.Jennifer Robinson, "Leonard quits political life for university post," Montreal Gazette, May 2, 1985, A6; Robert McKenzie, "Queen's last Quebec visit spawned tensions," Toronto Star, October 19, 1987, A8. He ran unsuccessfully as a PQ candidate in Labelle in the 1970 and 1973 provincial elections. The PQ won a historic majority government in the 1976 provincial election, and Léonard was elected on his third attempt in Labelle over one-term Liberal incumbent Roger Lapointe.
Legislator (1976–85)
Cabinet minister (1976–84) Planning Léonard was named to René Lévesque's first cabinet on November 26, 1976, as the minister of state responsible for planning.Graham Fraser indicates that Léonard's office was restructured as the ministry responsible for the Quebec Planning and Development Bureau on February 2, 1977, after enabling legislation was passed. Graham Fraser, PQ: René Lévesque & the Parti Québécois in Power, (Toronto: MacMillan of Canada), 1984, p. 380. Other sources do not mention this, and Léonard was still generally described as the minister of planning after this time. This was intended as one of five "superministry" portfolios in the cabinet; Léonard was entrusted with working on long-term strategy for land use rather than having the day-to-day administrative duties of a department. On March 2, 1978, he was also named as vice-president of the treasury board."Leonard selected as vice-president of Quebec's Treasury Board," Globe and Mail, March 3, 1978, p. 9.
In May 1979, Léonard was a signatory to a deal that saw the governments of Quebec and Canada invest one hundred and fifty million dollars in Quebec's pulp and paper industry."Quebec agreement," Globe and Mail, May 16, 1979, B6. See also "New pulp mill," Globe and Mail, January 26, 1980, p. 2. Municipal affairs Léonard was reassigned as municipal affairs minister on November 6, 1980, exchanging portfolios with Guy Tardif.William Johnson, "Cautious Cabinet moves pick up a good pair," Globe and Mail, November 7, 1980, p. 8. Shortly after his appointment, he ordered the municipal government of Aylmer to focus on basic administration after receiving a troubling audit of the city's finances."Aylmer probe triggers call for details of civic spending," Globe and Mail, December 22, 1980, p. 4; "Aylmer group seeking probe of city finances," Globe and Mail, April 29, 1981, p. 11; "Get mayor a job or he'll never quit, council counselled," Globe and Mail, July 4, 1981, p. 13.
In 1981, a representative of Montreal's municipal government requested that the Lévesque government impose a freeze on the construction of shopping centres, arguing that they often destroy traditional city centres. Léonard responded that he was reluctant to intervene, particularly as municipalities already had the power to impose a freeze themselves.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Halt shopping centres to prop up city cores, politician-retailer says," Globe and Mail, April 24, 1981, p. 9.
Léonard was re-elected in the 1981 general election, in which the Lévesque government was returned with a second consecutive majority, and was kept in the municipal affairs portfolio."Levesque ignores two anglophones in Cabinet shuffle," Globe and Mail, May 1, 1981, p. 8. He sought to restructure Montreal's municipal government in 1982, giving the smaller suburban communities more power in relation to the city. He faced opposition to this measure from long-standing Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, whose power was threatened by the reform.John Cruickshank, "Drapeau fights to contain suburban role on council," Montreal Gazette, p. 11.
In 1983, Léonard attempted to pass legislation permitting the Quebec government to withhold funds from municipalities that accept federal money for job creation purposes.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Liberals in scramble to block PQ control over federal grants," Globe and Mail, December 21, 1983, p. 10. This bill was blocked in the legislature in December 1983, after the opposition Liberal Party threatened a filibuster.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Error in Quebec House leaves Liberals gleeful," Globe and Mail, December 21, 1983, p. 10; Margot Gibb-Clark, "Quebec Liberals force delay in bill against federal grants," Globe and Mail, December 22, 1983, p. 14. The Union des Municipalités du Québec also strongly opposed the measure, and discussions between the two levels of government reached an impasse in early 1984.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Musical chairs deftly played," Globe and Mail, March 12, 1984, p. 4. After Léonard was moved to a different portfolio, the Lévesque government abandoned the legislation.Fraser, PQ, p. 345. Transport Léonard was shifted to the position of transport minister on March 5, 1984.Margot Gibb-Clark, "Quebec deputy premier resigns before major Cabinet shuffle," Globe and Mail, March 6, 1984, p. 4. Two months later, he said that the Quebec government would not make a bid for Nordair (which was then being sold by the federal government) but would oppose any deal under which the company would leave the province."Quebec plans no Nordair bid," Globe and Mail, May 8, 1984, B4; "Quebec reaction," Globe and Mail, May 31, 1984, B5.
Opposition member (1984–85) In late 1984, the Parti Québécois went through an internal crisis over Premier Lévesque's intention to de-emphasize Quebec sovereignty in the next provincial election. Léonard sided with the hardline indépendantiste wing of the party and resigned from cabinet on November 22.Margot Gibb-Clark, "2 Levesque ministers quit, 3 more may go," Globe and Mail, November 23, 1984, p. 1. Léonard was the second cabinet minister to quit, following Jacques Parizeau. Five days later, he left the PQ caucus to sit as an independent member of the assembly."Changes in PQ Government," Globe and Mail, November 28, 1984, p. 4. From the opposition benches, he demanded that Lévesque not make any constitutional agreement with Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney that would result in a weakening of Quebec's Charter of the French Language.Graham Fraser, "Levesque takes role in constitutional talks," Globe and Mail, March 13, 1985, p. 3.
In early 1985, Léonard joined an informal grouping of former PQ MNAs centered around the newly formed Rassemblement démocratique pour l'indépendance."Quebec movement using caution," Globe and Mail, May 7, 1985, p. 4. He resigned his seat on May 23, 1985, to become dean of the faculty of education at the Université de Montréal, a position he held until his return to politics in 1989."Left PQ last year, Leonard quits seat," Globe and Mail, May 24, 1985, p. 3
Legislator (1989–2001)
Opposition member (1989–94) Léonard returned to the Parti Québécois after Jacques Parizeau, a fellow indépendantiste and former cabinet colleague, became party leader in 1988. He was re-elected to the Quebec legislature in the 1989 provincial election over Liberal incumbent Damien Hétu, who had been elected in Labelle in 1985.Robert McKenzie, "Bourassa wins in Quebec PQ, anglophones cut in to Liberal majority," Toronto Star, September 26, 1989, A1. The Liberals won a majority government provincially under Robert Bourassa's leadership, and Léonard re-entered the legislature as a member of the official opposition. For the next five years, he served as his party's finance critic. In 1993, he accused the Bourassa government of taking a laissez-faire approach to the economy and of having no overall vision.Rheal Seguin, "Quebec forecasts tiny increase in spending for 1993-1994," Globe and Mail, March 25, 1993, A2.
Cabinet minister (1994–2001) Transport minister The Parti Québécois won a majority government under Parizeau's leadership in the 1994 general election. Léonard was re-elected to the legislature and rejoined cabinet on September 26, 1994, as minister of transport, ironically the same position he had resigned from ten years earlier.Kevin Dougherty, "Former Caisse executives get plum PQ cabinet posts," Financial Post, September 27, 1994, p. 10. He was also appointed to a second term as vice-president of the treasury board.
After his appointment, Léonard argued that highways are an exclusively provincial jurisdiction and tried to postpone the government of Canada's planned national highway program."9 provinces agree to help fix highways," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, October 6, 1994, B5. He announced increased penalties for persons driving under the influence of alcohol in 1995 and introduced legislation to require photographs on Quebec driving licenses."Compendium Drunk drivers beware," Globe and Mail, April 21, 1995, A2; Andy Riga, "Quebec driver's licenses to get photos next year," Montreal Gazette, December 20, 1994, A1. He also expressed scepticism about mandatory helmet laws for cyclists, saying that safety education was a better approach.James Mennie, "Minister cool to mandatory-helmet law," Montreal Gazette, June 9, 1995, A3.
In early 1995, Léonard and industry minister Daniel Paillé announced a proposal to save the financially troubled MIL Davie Inc. shipyard with a ferry construction contract. Later in the year, he announced that the Parizeau government had no choice but to drop the plan on the grounds it had become too expensive and complex."Quebec drops plan to help MIL Davie," Globe and Mail, July 6, 1995, B3. Following protests from the shipyard workers, the government reversed itself a second time and agreed to a modified sixty-six million dollar construction program over two years.Ann Gibbon, "Quebec throws MIL Davie $66-million rescue line," Globe and Mail, July 21, 1995, B1. Treasury Board president Parizeau announced his resignation as premier after the sovereignty option's narrow defeat in the 1995 Quebec referendum. On November 3, 1995, while still leading a caretaker administration, he shuffled his cabinet and named Léonard as president of the treasury board and minister responsible for administration and the public service.Rheal Seguin, "Parizeau rearranges Quebec," Globe and Mail, November 4, 1995, A11. In the following months, Parizeau, Léonard, and finance minister Pauline Marois worked in committee reviewing government expenses and revenues in a bid to reduce public spending."Quebecers told to brace for 'painful sacrifices'," Hamilton Spectator, November 25, 1995, A4.
Léonard was kept in the treasury board portfolio when Lucien Bouchard succeeded Parizeau as premier on January 29, 1996. He was also named to the priorities committee, an "inner cabinet" with significant control over the government's direction, and was named as minister responsible for the Laurentides.Philip Authier, "Bouchard's super-ministry system raises some eyebrows," Montreal Gazette, February 24, 1996, B3. Over the next two years, he played a central role in the Bouchard government's ultimately successful effort to eliminate the provincial deficit.