Paul Bouchard
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Paul Bouchard (1908–1997) 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 ...
( Québécois) lawyer, right-wing politician, and journalist. Paul's parents were Bernadette Boulet Bouchard and Alfred Bouchard. He studied at the
Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: , ) is a Catholic Church, Catholic community of Secular clergy, diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is ...
from 1920 to 1928. A family friend,
Philippe-Auguste Choquette Philippe-Auguste Choquette (; January 6, 1854 – December 20, 1948) was a Canadian Member of Parliament and Senator. Biography He was born on January 6, 1854, in Beloeil, Canada East to Joseph Choquette and Thaïs Audet. He studied at U ...
, secured Paul a special pass to the
Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament () is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The library survived th ...
, where he attended lectures as a young man. In 1934, he opened a law firm with Roger Vézina. As editor of the journal '' La Nation'' (The Nation), he criticized the government of
R.B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in Ho ...
and argued that the
Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...
was bankrupt. As well as a
Quebec nationalist Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...
, Bouchard was also a militant
corporatist Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come together and negotiate contracts ...
tempted by
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. He was inspired by Mussolini's use of the
fasces A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...
and created a small militant far-right group called the Republican Fasces (or Separatist Fasces) associated with his journal ''La Nation''. Bouchard supported a secular form of Quebec nationalism, opposed to the clerico-nationalist movement represented by
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, ...
. In 1940s, Bouchard supported the government of
Quebec Premier The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following that ...
Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis, (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959) byname "Le Chef" (, "The Boss"), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A Conservatism in Canada, conservative, Quebec nationalism, ...
. He was one of the main journalists and propagandists of Duplessis' Union nationale political party, and the author of many official party publications. Starting in the 1960s, Bouchard became a professor at
Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...
and held diplomatic posts for some South American dictatorships. In 1980, he became the president of the Société des écrivains Canadiens (Society of French-Canadian Authors). Today, Bouchard is considered one of the leading thinkers 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, ...
. However, he was denounced by the controversial researcher
Esther Delisle Esther Delisle (born 1954) is a Canadian historian and author. Biography Born and raised in Quebec City, she completed her BA and MA in political science at Université Laval and taught political theory at a CEGEP, and also worked as a researc ...
for drifting into fascism. Robert Comeau, a now-retired professor of history at the
Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...
, dedicated a thesis to the newspaper ''La Nation'' in the 1970s.


Bibliography

*Comeau, Robert. Les indépendantistes québécois, 1936-1938. Mémoire de M.A. (Histoire), université de Montréal, 1971. 2 v. *Côté, Jean. Paul Bouchard : flamboyante figure de notre époque, 1908-1997. Outremont, Québécor, 1998. 240 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Paul Quebec sovereigntists Writers from Quebec Canadian non-fiction writers in French Politicians in Quebec Far-right politics in Canada 1908 births 1997 deaths Academic staff of Université Laval Université Laval alumni Canadian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian politicians