Paul Joseph Chartier (August 5, 1921 – May 18, 1966) was a Canadian man who died when a bomb he was preparing exploded in a washroom of the Parliament of Canada. It is believed that he was preparing to bomb the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

Early life

Born in rural Alberta to parents who owned a small hotel, Chartier became a trucker at age 20. However, in 1960, he ran into financial trouble and was forced to declare bankruptcy and sell his truck. He was also investigated for fraud and his marriage failed. Moving to Toronto, he settled in a rooming house on Major Street.

Bomb plot

Before the attempted attack, Chartier had purchased ten sticks of dynamite in

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket ( 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The name stems from th ...

. After assembling a bomb, he travelled to Ottawa and entered the gallery of the House of Commons. At the time, visitors to Parliament were not searched. He watched the proceedings for a time, and then departed for a nearby washroom. There he lit the fuse of his dynamite-based bomb, likely intending to return to the gallery and throw it upon the

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

below. However, the bomb exploded as Chartier exited the washroom. He was carrying it in his right hand, and it blew off his arm and tore open his torso, killing him instantly, but harming no one else. The washroom was heavily damaged, but the thick wooden door contained the blast in that room. No other part of the

Centre Block The Centre Block (french: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members ...

itself was seriously damaged. After his death, police found a number of writings and letters earlier sent to newspapers were uncovered. He stated that because of government actions, no one could afford to live and that politicians were rich and greedy. He attacked politicians and homosexuals in his writings. He wrote that his plan was to "exterminate as many members as possible," and that he was prepared to die in the process. He declared his desire to become " President icof Canada", and stated that he would appoint Toronto alderman

June Marks (Florence) June Marks, née Pacey (1923–2008) was a Toronto community activist and politician. She first ran for city council in 1962 in Ward 2 but was defeated. She was elected on her second attempt in 1964 and, in 1966, won citywide election t ...

as his Vice President. When police raided his apartment, they found several other sticks of dynamite.

References

*"Chartier Wanted Presidency with June Marks as his Deputy." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' May 21, 1966, pg. 10 *"MPs Say Explosion Premature, Man's Bomb Meant for Chamber." ''The Globe and Mail'' May 19, 1966, pg. 10

Early life

Bomb plot

See also

References

Further reading