Claude Wagner

Claude Wagner PC QC (April 4, 1925 – July 11, 1979) was a Canadian judge and politician in the province of Quebec, Canada. Throughout his career, he was a Crown prosecutor, professor of criminal law and judge.

The Honourable

Claude Wagner

PC QC
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Saint-Hyacinthe
In office
October 30, 1972 – April 20, 1978
Preceded byThéogène Ricard
Succeeded byMarcel Ostiguy
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Verdun
In office
December 31, 1968 – February 16, 1970
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byLucien Caron
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Montréal-Verdun
In office
October 5, 1964 – December 30, 1968
Preceded byGeorge O'Reilly
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
Senator for Kennebec, Quebec
In office
April 21, 1978 – July 11, 1979
Appointed byPierre Trudeau
Preceded byJean-Pierre Côté
Succeeded byGuy Charbonneau
Personal details
Born(1925-04-04)April 4, 1925
Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada
DiedJuly 11, 1979(1979-07-11) (aged 54)
Political partyProgressive Conservative (since 1972)
Other political
affiliations		Quebec Liberal Party (before 1972)
Spouse(s)Gisèle Normandeau[1]
ChildrenRichard Wagner
CabinetProvincial:
Solicitor General
Attorney General
Minister of Justice

Life and career

Wagner was born in Shawinigan, Quebec, as the son of Corona (née Saint-Arnaud) and Benjamin Wagner.[2] His father, a violinist, was a German Jewish immigrant from Bavaria.[3][4] His mother was French-Canadian.[5][6]

In 1963, Wagner was appointed as a Sessions Court judge. Subsequently, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in a by-election in Montréal-Verdun on October 5, 1964, and was re-elected in the 1966 general election in Verdun. He earned a "law and order" reputation when he served successively as Solicitor General, Attorney General, and Minister of Justice from its creation in 1965 to 1966 in the government of Quebec Premier Jean Lesage.

After losing the 1970 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election to Robert Bourassa, Wagner left politics to return to the bench, receiving appointment once more as a Sessions Court judge. He then entered federal politics, and was elected as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Saint-Hyacinthe in the 1972 federal election.[7] He was re-elected in the 1974 election, and stood as a candidate at the Progressive Conservative leadership convention of 1976.

Wagner attracted support from Tories who believed that having a leader from Quebec would enable the party to break the federal Liberal Party's stranglehold on the province and from right-wing Tories attracted by his law and order reputation. He was hurt by revelations of a slush fund that was funded by supporters so that he would be financially solvent if he lost in 1972. Wagner led on the first three ballots of the Convention but lost to Joe Clark by 65 votes out of 2,309 on the fourth ballot.

In 1978, he was elevated to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and sat as a Progressive Conservative.[8] One reason for his departure from the House of Commons was that he could not get along well with Clark.[9] He died of cancer the next year at the age of 54.[10]

His son, Richard, also pursued a career in the judiciary, eventually being nominated to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada in 2012, and who became Chief Justice of Canada in 2017.[11] On January 21, 2021, Richard Wagner assumed the role of Administrator of Canada, following a workplace review of Rideau Hall and the resignation of Julie Payette as Governor General of Canada, pending the appointment of a new Governor General.[12]


See also

References
  1. "Opening the Supreme Court". www.canadianlawyermag.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  2. http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/deputes/wagner-claude-5729/biographie.html
  3. "Archived copy". Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  6. Ian MacDonald (January 8, 1966). "Watch Quebec's Own Gangbuster". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  7. "Pepin's defeat, Wagner victory fail to stop Liberals from retaining majority in Quebec". The Globe and Mail, October 31, 1972.
  8. "Trudeau finds a Senate seat for Claude Wagner". The Globe and Mail, April 22, 1979.
  9. Sawatsky, Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition
  10. "Quebec senator was ex-Tory MP". The Globe and Mail, July 12, 1979.
  11. Sean Fine (12 December 2017). "Richard Wagner named new Supreme Court Chief Justice". The Globe and Mail.
  12. Graham Slaughter (January 21, 2021). "Canada's top judge is now Governor General, but expert urges speedy replacement". CTVNEWS.
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