Laurier LaPierre

The Honourable
Laurier Lapierre
O.C., PhD
Senator from Ontario
In office
June 13, 2001 – November 21, 2004
Nominated by Jean Chrétien
Personal details
Born November 21, 1929
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada
Died December 16, 2012 (aged 83)[1]
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Paula (Jo) Armstrong
Profession Author, journalist, historian
Religion Roman Catholic

Laurier L. LaPierre, OC (November 21, 1929 – December 16, 2012), was a Canadian Senator professor, broadcaster, journalist and author.[1][2][3] He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Fluently bilingual, LaPierre was best known for having been co-host with Patrick Watson of the CBC's influential public affairs show This Hour Has Seven Days in the 1960s.[3] After the show's very controversial cancellation, LaPierre moved to politics as a "star candidate" for the New Democratic Party in the 1968 federal election. The party was hoping that he would help achieve an electoral breakthrough in Quebec, but he came second in the riding of Lachine with 19.5% of the vote.

He returned to teaching, broadcasting and writing until his appointment to the Senate in June 2001. As a member of the Liberal caucus, LaPierre was an outspoken supporter of Jean Chrétien against supporters of rival Paul Martin.

LaPierre was born in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. His family moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec where he completed high school before entering the Paulist Fathers in Baltimore, Maryland as a novice. After four years he moved to St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. He received a BA in 1955 from the University of Toronto (St. Michael's College), M.A in 1957 and PhD in history in 1962 from the University of Toronto.[3]

He taught history at the College of Christ the King (now King's College), University of Western Ontario, 1959-61; Loyola College, Montreal (now part of Concordia University), 1961-63; and McGill University, 1963-78. In 1978 he moved to Vancouver to work in television but also taught briefly at Simon Fraser University. In 1960 he married Paula (Jo) Armstrong and they had two sons: Dominic born 1962 and Thomas born 1965. They were divorced in 1982. He had five grand-children at the time of his death. He moved to Ottawa in 1990, continued to work in broadcasting and writing, and lived there until his death, in the later years with his partner Harvey Slack.[2]

He wrote several popular histories including Quebec: A Tale of Love; Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Romance of Canada; 1759: The Battle for Canada; Québec hier et aujourd'hui; and, The Apprenticeship of Canada, 1876–1914. He also wrote articles for The Financial Post, International Review, Canadian Forum and Encyclopædia Britannica. He was an activist with EGALE, a lobby group for gay and lesbian rights, after coming out as gay in the late 1980s. He was Canada's first openly gay senator.[4]

Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1994, he was cited as one of Canada's "most valuable political commentators and respected champions of social justice."[5]


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Laurier LaPierre – Obituary. Ottawa Citizen, December 21, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Laurier LaPierre, ex-senator, professor and broadcaster, dies at 83". CBC News. December 17, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Koch, Eric. "Laurier LaPierre". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Celebrating a History of Diversity: Lesbian and Gay Life in Saskatchewan, 1971 – 2006". University of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  5. ↑ Order of Canada citation

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