Joseph Gérard Léonce Bernard, (May 23, 1943 in Abram Village, Prince Edward Island – March 25, 2013 in Prince Edward Island) was an

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

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 ...

politician, who was the

26th 26 (twenty-six) is the natural number following 25 and preceding 27. In mathematics *26 is the seventh discrete semiprime (2 \times 13) and the fifth with 2 as the lowest non-unitary factor thus of the form (2.q), where q is a higher prime. ...

Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island The lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island () is the representative in Prince Edward Island of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieutenant go ...

, the third Island Acadian to hold this position. Born in Abram Village,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, he received his early education at Evangeline School in Abram Village, becoming a member of the first class to graduate from the school after the completion of its construction, in 1962. He then went on to take courses in

bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. T ...

and

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

while a member of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. Soon after, he married Florence Gallant of Cap-Egmont, located in the same area as Abram-Village. Together, they have four children, Michel, Pierre, Francine, and Charles, as well as two grandchildren. Before entering politics, Bernard served as office manager with McGowan Motors in Montague and as general manager of the Evangeline Credit Union in Wellington, Prince Edward Island. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly, as a member of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island, representing the district of 3rd Prince in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 1975, and was re-elected in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, and

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 ...

, serving as a member of the Official Opposition from 1979 to 1986. He was Minister of Industry and Chairman of the P.E.I. Development Agency from 1986 to 1989, and from 1989 to 1991 was Minister of Fisheries and Community Affairs. Bernard was always a strong supporter of the co-operative movement, both provincially and nationally, having served as President of the ''Conseil de la coopération de l'Î.P.É'' as well as vice-president and Treasurer of the ''Conseil Canadien de la coopération''. Among other positions, he also served on the Advisory Committee of the Federal Minister responsible for co-operatives. He was also very active in community affairs, having held executive positions throughout the years with such organizations as the Federation of Prince Edward Island Municipalities, the French Language School Board, the Wellington Boys and Girls Club, and the Evangeline Tourism Association. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor on May 28, 2001. His term ended in 2006.

Coat of arms

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Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, J. Leonce 1943 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Prince County, Prince Edward Island Lieutenant governors of Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Members of the Order of Prince Edward Island Members of the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island