Robert Pharand (born ca. 1956 in Hull, Quebec) was a francophone activist and candidate for the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in 1971. At the time he was a 26 year old graduate student at the University of Ottawa and ran to represent the views of an Ottawa area Young Progressive Conservative clubs[1] which French Canadian students had joined in hopes of drawing attention to the concerns of Franco-Ontarians. Pharand announced his candidacy on January 31, 1971, less than two weeks prior to the February 12th convention[1] in which he received seven votes and was eliminated on the first ballot. The Tory campus clubs at the University of Ottawa, Carleton University and St. Patrick's College decided to field their own candidate because the other candidates had not been specific enough on the issues of economic nationalism and education.[1] The bilingual Pharand, who was born and raised in Hull, Quebec, was a proponent of Canadian economic nationalism through control of industry and by preventing the sale of Canadian companies to foreign investors.[2] Pharand called for a better deal for French Canadians in the province.[3] and that the University of Ottawa become an exclusively French-speaking institution[2] in order to help preserve French culture in the province.[4] He also bucked existing Tory policy by advocating the extension of funding for Catholic schools until Grade 13.[5] It was not until 1985 that the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party would reverse its long-standing opposition to extending separate school funding and implement the proposal.
According to news reports, at the time of his candidacy Pharand was married and held degrees in business administration and science and was pursuing a masters degree in mathematics[1][6]
Pharand was the only fully bilingual candidate in the leadership race and the only one to address the convention in both English and French during his campaign speech to delegates.[2]