Laurier L. LaPierre (21 November 1929 – 16 December 2012) was a Canadian

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, professor, broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

. Fluently bilingual, LaPierre was best known for having been co-host with Patrick Watson of the CBC's influential public affairs show '' This Hour Has Seven Days'' in the 1960s. After the show's much publicized cancellation, LaPierre moved to politics as a "

star candidate A star candidate () is high-profile individual who is entering or re-entering elected politics. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the recruitment of a star candidate often includes a guaranteed nomination in a winnable seat. Star candidates com ...

" for the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in the 1968 federal election. The party was hoping that he would help achieve an electoral breakthrough in

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, ...

, but he came second in the riding of Lachine with 19.5% of the vote. He returned to teaching, broadcasting and writing until his appointment to the Senate in June 2001. As a member of the Liberal

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

, LaPierre was an outspoken supporter of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

against supporters of rival

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

Early life and education

LaPierre was born in

Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Lac-Mégantic () is a town in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Lac Mégantic, a freshwater lake after which the town was named. Situated in the former Frontenac County in the historic Eastern Townships, Lac-Mégantic is the ...

, after which his family moved to

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

, Quebec, where he completed high school before entering the

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, as a novitiate. After four years, he moved to St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(1955) from the University of Toronto ( St. Michael's College),

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(1957) and Ph.D. in History (1962) from 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 ...

. During those university years he was a part-time teacher at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

in Toronto. He taught history at the College of Christ the King (now King's College),

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

(1959–61); Loyola College, Montreal (now part of Concordia University) (1961–63); and McGill University (1963–78). In 1978, he moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to work in television but also taught briefly at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

. In 1960, he married Paula (Jo) Armstrong and they had two sons: Dominic born 1962 and Thomas born 1965. They were divorced in 1982. He had five grandchildren - Paige, Alex, Georgia, Toby and Owen LaPierre. He moved to Ottawa in 1990, continued to work in broadcasting and writing, and lived there until his death, in the later years, with his partner Harvey Slack. He wrote several popular histories including ''Quebec: A Tale of Love''; ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Romance of Canada''; ''1759: The Battle for Canada''; ''Québec hier et aujourd'hui''; and, ''The Apprenticeship of Canada, 1876–1914''. He also wrote articles for '' The Financial Post'', ''International Review'', ''Canadian Forum'' and ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. He was an activist with EGALE, a lobby group for gay and lesbian rights, after coming out as gay in the late 1980s. He was Canada's first openly gay senator.

Death

Appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1994, he was cited as one of Canada's "most valuable political commentators and respected champions of social justice." He died on 16 December 2012, aged 83.Laurier LaPierre – Obituary
''Ottawa Citizen'', 21 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012. LaPierre's ashes were scattered off the coast of British Columbia, as his will requested. Later Harvey Slack financed the construction of a large memorial in LaPierre's name in the small

MacLaren Cemetery Maclaren Cemetery is a small cemetery in the town of Wakefield, Quebec and the final resting place for Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Established near the 1870s, the cemetery is located in the clearing below the hills bordering the Gatineau Ri ...

near

Wakefield, Quebec Wakefield is one of many villages of the municipality of La Pêche, Quebec, La Pêche, with the village centre on the western shore of the Gatineau River, at the confluence of the La Pêche River in the Outaouais (region), Outaouais region of the ...

, close to the grave of his ex-wife's uncle Hume Wrong and that of former prime minister

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

. The McGill University Archives holds an extensive collection of his papers, including documents that touch on four aspects of his career: academic, journalistic, political and entrepreneurial.

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapierre, Laurier 1929 births 2012 deaths Academics from Quebec 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian senators from Ontario Canadian television hosts CBC Television people Canadian non-fiction writers in French Canadian gay politicians Canadian gay writers LGBTQ historians Canadian LGBTQ senators Canadian LGBTQ rights activists Liberal Party of Canada senators New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1968 Canadian federal election Quebec candidates for Member of Parliament Officers of the Order of Canada People from Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Historians from Quebec University of Toronto alumni Writers from Quebec Canadian LGBTQ journalists Canadian LGBTQ broadcasters 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada Canadian Screen Award winning journalists 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian journalists