Gérard Filion, (August 18, 1909 – March 26, 2005) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

businessman and journalist. Born in L'Isle-Verte,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, the youngest of 17 children, he received a Bachelor of Arts from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Mont ...

in 1931 and a diploma in 1934 from École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal. From 1935 until 1947 he worked for the l'Union catholique des cultivateurs, a group representing farmers. From 1947 until 1963 he was the publisher of ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large- ...

'', a French-language newspaper published in Montreal. He was one of the most vocal critics of

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

's government. He was Mayor of

Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River just east of Montreal. It lies on the west flank of Mont Saint-Bruno, one of the Monteregian Hills. T ...

from 1960-1968. In 1970 he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

. In 1989 he was made a Grand Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Govern ...

. He was married to Françoise Servêtre and had nine children. Born in L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, Gérard Filion’s journalism career began when he was 26. Working for the Terre de Chez Nous, a paper run by the Catholic Union of Farmers, Filion became a lifelong ally of many Quebec unions. In 1947 he began publishing Le Devoir and used the paper to rise to the unions’ defence against Maurice Duplessis, the province’s Premier. Duplessis was the leader of Quebec’s conservative Union Nationale government and Filion became one of his fiercest opponents. Decades later, Filion credited Duplessis as being a boon to his career. Without having the Premier as an opponent, Filion doubted he ever would have published such excellent work during his time with Le Devoir. After Duplessis’ death in 1959, Filion continued pushing to modernize Quebec. A member of many Crown commissions, he worked with the group that took control of French-Canadian schools away from the Catholic Church. Because of this work, he is considered a key player in Quebec’s Quiet Revolution. In 1970, he became a Companion of the Order of Canada. He died in 2005. He was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame in 1966.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Filion, Gerard 1909 births 2005 deaths Businesspeople from Quebec Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Université Laval alumni People from Bas-Saint-Laurent People from Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Mayors of places in Quebec Le Devoir people