Camille Laurin ( ; May 6, 1922 – March 11, 1999) was a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

and ''

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...

'' (PQ)

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. A MNA member for the riding of Bourget, he is considered the father of Quebec's language law known informally as "

Bill 101 The ''Charter of the French Language'' (, ), also known as Bill 101 (, ), is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is th ...

Biography

Born in

Charlemagne, Quebec Charlemagne () is a city in the Canadian province of Québec on the north shore of the Rivière des Prairies, northeast of the city of Montréal’s downtown core. As of 2021, the population was 6,302. Charlemagne is the birthplace and child ...

, Laurin obtained a degree in

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

where he came under the influence of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest,

Lionel Groulx Lionel Groulx (; 13 January 1878 – 23 May 1967) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, historian, professor, public intellectual and Quebec nationalist. Biography Early life and ordination Lionel Groulx, né Joseph Adolphe Lyonel Groulx, ...

. After earning his degree, Laurin went to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he worked at the Psychopathic Department of Boston State Hospital. Following a stint in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1957, he returned to practice in Quebec. In 1961, he authored the preface of the book ''Les fous crient au secours'', which described the conditions of psychiatric hospitals of the time. He was one of the early founders of the

Quebec sovereignty movement The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...

. As a senior cabinet minister in the first PQ government elected in the 1976 Quebec election, he was the guiding force behind

, the legislation that placed restrictions on the use of English on public signs and in the workplace of large companies, and strengthened the position of French as the only

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

in Quebec. Laurin resigned from his cabinet position on November 26, 1984 because of a disagreement with Lévesque on the future of the sovereignty movement. He resigned from his seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

on January 25, 1985. He was elected once again to the Assembly on September 12, 1994 but did not run in the 1998 election for health reasons. He died in 1999 after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

Bibliography

* ''Les fous crient au secours (1961)''

External links

*
Biography on Vigile.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurin, Camille 1922 births 1999 deaths Canadian psychiatrists Parti Québécois MNAs Université de Montréal alumni Canadian Roman Catholics Deputy premiers of Quebec People from Charlemagne, Quebec Politicians from Montreal Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian expatriates in France Boston State Hospital physicians 20th-century Canadian physicians 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec

Biography

Bibliography

See also

External links