Denis Lazure (October 12, 1925 – February 23, 2008) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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

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 ...

. Lazure was a Member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

(MNA) from 1976 to 1984 and from 1989 to 1996. He is the father of actress Gabrielle Lazure.

Background

Lazure was born on October 12, 1925, in

Napierville, Quebec Napierville () is a municipality in the Jardins de Napierville Regional County Municipality in Quebec, Canada, situated in the Montérégie administrative region. The population as of the 2021 Canadian Census was 4,020. It is the location of t ...

. Lazure attended

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 ...

and was a doctorate in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. He also attended the

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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. ...

as well as the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in which he was bachelor in hospital administration. Lazure was the founder of the infant psychiatry department of Saint-Justine Hospital in 1957. He was also the director of this hospital as well as those of Riviere-des-Prairies and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine all in the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

region. He would later be the director in 1974 of the first psychiatric hospital in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. He was also a teacher at Université de Montréal and was the President of the Canadian Association of Psychiatrists.

Federal politics

Before being a Quebec MNA, Lazure ran twice for a seat in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

as a candidate for the

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. He finished second in a

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in the district of Outremont—Saint-Jean in 1967 and finished third in the district of

Gamelin Gamelin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Gamelin (bishop) (died 1271), Scottish bishop * Alexander Gamelin (born 1993), American ice dancer *Émilie Gamelin (1800–1851), Canadian social worker * Jacques Gamelin (1738� ...

in the 1968 federal election.

Member of the National Assembly

He was first elected to the Quebec provincial legislature in the Chambly riding as a member of the

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 ...

in the 1976 elections and was re-elected in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

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. During his first mandate he was appointed to the

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René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...

. Lazure served as Minister of Social Affairs and, after his re-election, as State Minister of Social Development. During the Parti Québécois Crisis of 1984, Lazure, who is identified with the purs et durs faction of his party, resigned from the Cabinet and from the legislature. He eventually supported the return of

Jacques Parizeau Jacques Parizeau (; August 9, 1930June 1, 2015) was a Canadian politician and economist who served as the 26th premier of Quebec from September 26, 1994, to January 29, 1996. Early life and career Parizeau was born in Montreal, Quebec, the s ...

as party leader.

Political comeback

He would become a psychiatrist at the Greenfield hospital until he ran again in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, where he was elected in La Prairie. He was re-elected in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

but resigned in 1996. He returned to his professional career after. His work contribution was rewarded with an award given by the Psychiatric Doctors Association of Quebec in 2004.

Death

Lazure died on February 23, 2008. Mort de Denis Lazure, La Presse, Montreal, February 24, 2008
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Background

Federal politics

Member of the National Assembly

Political comeback

Death

Footnotes

See also