René Lévesque’s 100th birthday will be an opportunity for Quebecers to remember one who “dreamed big for Quebec, who dreamed good for Quebec,” said the honorary president of the “Lévesque Year” commemorations, former Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard.
there are people […] who want Quebecers to come together in a collective goal, to do good things for Quebecstated Mr. Bouchard, during the only lecture given in the written newspaper on this subject.
Events will be organized next month to commemorate the 100th birthday of the person who will be Quebec’s 23rd Premier.
Journalist, Minister and Prime Minister
Organized by the foundation bearing the name of the former journalist, columnist, reporter, host, minister and prime minister, it is June 13 [quelques jours seulement avant la fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste] that we will begin withLevesque Year at the launch at the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal of the book René Lévesque – A man and his centuryby Guy Lachapelle, and the organization of a round table on the theme René Lévesque: the sources of national pride.
Other activities include punctuation inLevesque Year, let’s mention the award to be given to the 23rd Premier of Quebec on National Day 2022; the inauguration, on August 24 (the day of its 100th anniversary), of the event In the footsteps of René Lévesque, to Montreal; the opening of the exhibition René and Lévesque at the Musée de la civilization, in Québec, on November 17; and a tribute show to René Lévesque and in French, next February in Montreal.
Events are planned until June 2023, and others can be added to the programming already announced.
The fact remains that these celebrations came at a time when the Parti Québécois, led by Mr. Lévesque in two electoral victories, last died in polls with almost 10% of voting intentions, behind of the Caquistes, Liberals, Solidaires and even the conservatives.
In fact, we can ask ourselves about what will happen to the Parti Québécois specifically in the next election, Mr. Bouchard admits. But I make a clear distinction between a vehicle and ideas, a project, a program.
And in the case of the Parti Québécois, it’s very clear: there’s the Parti Québécois, but there’s what it wants to establish in Quebec and I think one of René Lévesque’s main goals is certainly to restore national pride, to ensure that Quebecers unite together with a major project. And this has already happened the sovereignist project.
René Lévesque carried the idea that Quebec was a great country with resources, with talent, with a desire to assert itself and include itself, Mr. Bouchard added. In my opinion, we need to separate this from what can happen to a particular party, which is already happening the Parti Québécois.
Born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, on August 24, 1922, René Lévesque suffered a heart attack on November 1, 1987, just over two years after leaving the leadership of the Parti Québécois.
In other words, an entire generation of Quebecers has been born and raised since he died 35 years ago – Quebecers who usually only know him by a name they learned in school or barely know who he is. this man who gave his name to a major artery in the heart of Montreal.
It does not prevent Rene Levesque to be the most popular answer when people are asked to name a former premier of the province, or even specify who will be the largest.
It shows how much he marked the popular imagination, how much he was able to establish a dialogue of love, a dialogue of closeness to Quebecers, Lucien Bouchard said. When people say ” Levesque is the greatest prime minister ”, they don’t mean to him we will dedicate the greatest chapters in Quebec history. But for example, it was a Prime Minister who was the Prime Minister of the Quebecers, who was the one where they found themselves in their assurances as well as in their doubts.
Perhaps because René Lévesque was not a traditional politician, he did not hate his opponents and he was able to talk to everyone, he continued. If he is the best prime minister in the minds of the people, it is because he has gone beyond officesaid Mr. Bouchard.
And if, over time, it is possible for us to idealize man and character, to erase a little the mistakes and the aspirations, the qualities, they, has grown up and perhaps we will see more now what is beautiful in him.
Quebec must be included so that everyone is a part of it, including people who do not know René Lévesque. It’s important for them to know that there’s a giant in Quebec, a political giant, a man, a humanist, an open man, a man with integrity, someone who dreamed of great things for Quebec, Mr. Bouchard concluded. It’s important to remember that.
Source: Radio-Canada
