Robert LeSage

Robert LeSage (born February 15, 1937) is a Canadian retired politician and civil servant. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1989 to 1998 as a member of the Liberal Party. His name is sometimes given as Lesage.

Early life and career

LeSage was born in Hull (Gatineau), Quebec, and studied legislation and administration at the École des hautes études commerciales at Carleton University in Ottawa. He became a civil servant in Hull in 1961 and served for nineteen years as the city's clerk. He was president of the Liberal Party association in Hull from 1979 to 1981.[1]

Legislator

LeSage entered political life in 1989, winning the Liberal nomination for a provincial by-election in Hull.[2] While seeking the nomination, he championed a four-lane highway extension from Hull to Aylmer through the southern end of Gatineau Park and dismissed concerns from environmentalists that it would jeopardize the area's wildlife.[3] He was elected without difficulty in the by-election and was returned again in the 1989 general election a few months later. The Liberal Party had a majority government in this period, and LeSage served as a backbench supporter of Robert Bourassa's administration. He supported Bourassa's compromise language legislation, which required that outdoor commercial signs be in the French language while indoor signs were allowed to be bilingual.[4] He was also a supporter of the Meech Lake Accord, which was designed to recognize Quebec as a "distinct society" within the Canadian constitution.

The Meech Lake Accord was rejected in June 1990. LeSage was critical of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Hull shortly thereafter, saying "Perhaps the queen wants to celebrate the grand Canadian unity, but it doesn't exist."[5]

A Canadian federalist, LeSage was appointed to a legislative committee to study the costs of Quebec sovereigntism in 1991.[6] In 1993, he suggested that the Outaouais region would separate from Quebec (and remain a part of Canada) if Quebec ever chose to separate from Canada.[7] He was quoted as saying, "it's almost criminal to promote Quebec sovereignty in the Outaouais because the federal government is so important to the area's survival.[8]

As a backbencher, LeSage was a vocal proponent of building the Casino du Hull. The casino was eventually constructed in 1996, two years after its approval by the Liberal government.[9]

LeSage was re-elected in the 1994 provincial election, defeating former mayor Michel Légère. The Liberals lost power to the Parti Québécois, and LeSage served as his party's critic for Revenue in the official opposition.[10] He campaigned for the "Non" side in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.

LeSage offered to resign his seat in 1998 to allow Jean Charest to enter the National Assembly (he made this offer when Charest was being encouraged to seek the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party, but before he had decided to leave federal politics).[11] Charest ultimately did not take up LeSage's offer and instead ran in Sherbrooke in the 1998 provincial election. LeSage did not seek re-election in this campaign.

Electoral record

1994 Quebec general election: Hull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Robert LeSage	19,184	56.56
	Parti Québécois	Michel Légère	13,947	41.12
	Lemon	Denis Patenaude	452	1.33
	Natural Law	Michel Dubois	231	0.68
	Commonwealth of Canada	Harold Quesnel	56	0.17
	Marxist–Leninist	Françoise Roy	46	0.14
Total valid votes			33,916
Rejected and declined votes			291
Turnout			34,207	78.33
Electors on the lists			43,670

1989 Quebec general election: Hull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Robert LeSage	13,980	55.25
	Parti Québécois	Marcel Villeneuve	9,434	37.29
	Unity	Glen E.P. Kealey	751	2.97
	New Democratic	Charles Rheault	673	2.66
	Lemon	Denis Patenaude	391	1.55
	Marxist–Leninist	Pierre Soublière	72	0.28
Total valid votes			25,301	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			279
Turnout			25,580	62.23
Electors on the lists			41,107

Quebec provincial by-election, May 29, 1989: Hull
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert LeSage	9,223	67.16
	Parti Québécois	Paul Lemaire	4,510	32.84
Total valid votes			13,733	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			291
Turnout			14,024	35.46
Electors on the lists			39,544
Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec

References

1. "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
2. "Two seek Liberal nod in byelection," Ottawa Citizen, 20 February 1989, C2; "Liberals choose municipal clerk," Ottawa Citizen, 2 March 1989, C3. The nomination vote was 456 to 167 for LeSage over rival candidate Pierre-Louis Lapointe.
3. He was quoted as saying, "Do we want to put development of the region in jeopardy for the sake of frogs and birds?" See "Hull city clerk is seeking Liberal nomination in Hull," Ottawa Citizen, 9 December 1988, C1.
4. George Kalogerakis, "Grits hope to repeat landslide," Ottawa Citizen, 19 September 1989, C3.
5. Christine Tierney, "DISGRUNTLED QUEBECERS BAULK AT QUEEN'S VISIT," Reuters News, 29 June 1990.
6. "MNA Williams not included on constitutional committees," Montreal Gazette, 5 June 1991, A5.
7. Howard Williams, "If Quebec secedes from Canada, some want Hull to secede from Quebec," Agence France-Presse, 11 August 1994.
8. "Outaouais will leave sovereign Quebec, LeSage cautions," Ottawa Citizen, 8 November 1993, A3.
9. Mike Shahin, "Premier hints casino safe bet," Ottawa Citizen, 4 March 1994, B1; Daniel Drolet, "PQ win leaves Outaouais casino in limbo," Ottawa Citizen, 15 September 1994, B5.
10. Philip Authier, "Less-critical portfolios given to anglo MNAs in shadow cabinet," Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1994, A7.
11. "Charest likely to go to Quebec, Tory House leader predicts," Ottawa Citizen, 15 March 1998, A1.