René Joseph Napoléon Brunelle (January 22, 1920 – April 14, 2010) 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 ...

politician, who represented

Cochrane North Cochrane may refer to: Places Australia *Cochrane railway station, Sydney, a railway station on the closed Ropes Creek railway line Canada * Cochrane, Alberta * Cochrane Lake, Alberta * Cochrane District, Ontario ** Cochrane, Ontario, a town wit ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1958 to 1981 as a Progressive Conservative member.

Background

Brunelle was born in

Penetanguishene Penetanguishene (, sometimes shortened to Penetang) is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual ( French and English) community has a popu ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and educated in

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, at

Khaki University Khaki University (initially Khaki College or University of Vimy Ridge) was a Canadian overseas educational institution set up and managed by the general staff of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Britain 1917–19 during the First World W ...

and 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 ...

. He was a director for the Northern Telephone Company and Spruce Falls Pulp and Paper Company (Kimberly Clark), and joined the Canadian Army in 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, serving with

Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, with a sub-unit in Granby. Badge A grenade with the Crown superimposed upon the ball within an annulet inscribed ''Les ...

. Brunelle subsequently worked as a tourism operator at Remi Lake, near Moonbeam.

Politics

He first tried his hand at Federal politics by running in the Canadian election of 1949. He lost to J.A. Bradette in the riding of Cochrane by 2,467 votes. He ran again in 1953 and 1958 losing both times. Shortly after losing the Federal election he entered a provincial by-election in the riding of

. This time he won the election. He served as a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

supporter for eight years before he was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Lands and Forests on November 24, 1966. In 1972, he was appointed as Minister of Social and Family Services. In 1975 he was shuffled to a

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

role. Two years later he was promoted to Provincial Secretary for Resources Development. In 1981 he announced that he was retiring from politics and would not contest the 1981 election.

Cabinet positions

Later life

After leaving politics he was hired by Spruce Falls Power and Paper Co. Ltd. as a consultant. He died in

Magog, Quebec Magog ( , ) is a city in southeastern Quebec, Canada, about east of Montreal at the confluence of Lake Memphremagog—after which the city was named—with the Rivière aux Cerises and the Magog River. It is a major centre and industrial city ...

at the age of 90. After his retirement from politics, the

René Brunelle Provincial Park René Brunelle Provincial Park is a provincial park in both the municipality of Moonbeam and the geographic Township of Gurney in Unorganized North Cochrane District, Cochrane District, in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Established in 1957 and ...

near

Kapuskasing Kapuskasing ( ) is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst, Ontario, Hearst and northwest of Timmins, Ontario, Timmins. The town was known as MacPherson until 1917. ...

was named in his honour.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunelle, Rene 1920 births 2010 deaths Franco-Ontarian people Members of the Executive Council of Ontario People from Penetanguishene People from Cochrane District Politicians from Simcoe County Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Provincial secretaries of Ontario University of Toronto alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario