Marcel Robidas

Marcel Robidas (November 4, 1923 – May 17, 2009) was a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. Best known for serving as mayor of Longueuil from 1966 to 1982, Robidas was also a prominent supporter of Quebec sovereignty.

Early life and military career

Robidas was born to a working class family in Montreal. When he was twelve years old, his father died of cancer; as the eldest son in his family, he was required to take over the running of a billiards room that his father had purchased shortly before his death. Robidas joined Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal during World War II and saw action as an infantryman in Belgium, France, and Germany. He met his wife Renée Lacour while overseas; the couple had fourteen children, twelve of whom were still alive at the time of his death.[1] In 1947, he received a bachelor's degree from the Université de Montréal in social sciences, economics, and political science.[2]

Municipal politician

Robidas was first elected to the Longueuil City Council in 1961 and served as mayor from 1966 to 1982. A vocal proponent of amalgamation with neighbouring municipalities, he negotiated the merger of Longueuil with Jacques-Cartier, a boomtown that was five times as large and twice as populous as Longueuil, in 1969. He later founded an organization called Société pour le progrès de la Rive-Sud to promote further mergers, though provincial restrictions ultimately prevented the organization from being successful.[3] In 2001, he supported the province's creation of a new amalgamated city centred around Longueuil that included seven neighbouring municipalities.[4]

Robidas proposed the "twinning" of francophone and anglophone municipalities across Canada in the late 1960s, as a means of fostering better relations between the communities during an increasingly tense period. He himself established an exchange program with Whitby, Ontario, involving visits and cultural exchanges between the two communities,[5] after a group of Whitby scouts canoed to Montreal's Expo 67 event.[6]

In 1981, Robidas spoke against a suggestion by Montreal politician Yvon Lamarre that the Quebec government restrict municipalities from approving new shopping centres on the grounds that such retail stores would lead to the deterioration of urban cores. Robidas was quoted as saying, "I daresay the rest of the other towns [i.e., outside of Montreal and Quebec City wouldn't agree to give up such rights. If the province can tell us today no shopping centres, it might be tomorrow no industrial parks. We'll protect those the way we would our eyes."[7]

Robidas was unexpectedly defeated by Jacques Finet by only eighty-two votes in the 1982 Longueuil municipal election.[8] Following his defeat, he accepted an appointment by the Quebec government to the Commission municipale du Québec.[9] In 1985, he endorsed a proposal by his former rival Finet to fill three kilometres of shoreline to create a waterfront park.[10] The original plan was opposed by environmental groups and ultimately rejected by the provincial government, though a modified version of the proposal was accepted the following year.

Robidas launched a new political party called the Mouvement des Citoyens to contest the 2001 Longueuil municipal election.[11] The party, under a different name, ultimately ran Marguerite Pearson Richard as its mayoral candidate;[12] she was defeated by Jacques Olivier.

In 2008, the city of Longueuil named the Vieux-Longueuil city hall borough as the Marcel-Robidas building.[13]

Federal and provincial politics

Robidas contested the 1972 Canadian federal election as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Longueuil riding. He finished third against Liberal candidate Jacques Olivier. Robidas later declared his support for Quebec sovereignty; he was the first mayor of a major city in Quebec to support the Parti Québécois[14] and openly supported the Oui side in the 1980 Quebec referendum.[15]

In 1995, Robidas was appointed by the newly elected Parti Québécois government of Jacques Parizeau to head a regional commission in Montérégie on Quebec sovereignty.[16] Following his appointment, he said that he was eager to include anglophone Quebecers in the commission's activities.[17] Perhaps unexpectedly, the commission's final report did not openly endorse sovereignty, due to divisions among its members.[18] Robidas later co-chaired the Oui campaign in the Montérégie region in the 1995 Quebec referendum.[19]

Robidas took part in a World War II memorial event organized by the Parti Québécois in 1999. The event organizers described the ceremony as "help[ing] many Quebec veterans feel more at ease as both veterans and sovereigntists," which was sometimes a difficult prospect due to historical French Canadian opposition to conscription.[20] Robidas, who described himself at this time as a Quebec nationalist but not a full-fledged separatist, said the event demonstrated "harmony" among those with different political views. He was quoted as saying, "We fought the war with everyone. We won the war together and we won the liberty to express ourselves freely so everyone can think what they want."[21]

In 2000, he described his views on Quebec sovereignty in the following terms: "Since I was a student of social and political sciences at Université de Montréal, I realized the central government had taken over provincial areas of jurisdictions, as defined by the British North America Act. I decided then we had to work with all our strength to establish a balance in Canada."[22]

Electoral record
Federal
1972 Canadian federal election: Longueuil
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalJacques Olivier22,12944.62
Social CreditEmile-A. Vadeboncoeur12,09124.38
     Progressive Conservative Marcel Robidas 7,015 14.14
New DemocraticRobert Mansour4,5489.17
     Independent Jacques Gendron 2,020 4.07
     Non-Affiliated Raôul Wéziwézô Duguay 1,625 3.28
     N/A (Marxist–Leninist) André Pesant 170 0.34
Total valid votes 49,598 100.00
Total rejected ballots 2,977
Turnout 52,575 72.56
Electors on the lists 72,458
Source: Official Voting Results, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (Canada), 1972.
Municipal (incomplete)
1982 Longueuil municipal election: Mayor of Longueuil
Party Candidate Votes%
Parti municipal de LongueuilJacques Finet19,15748.74
Parti civique de LongueuilMarcel Robidas (incumbent)19,07548.54
IndependentJacques Gendron1,0692.72
Total valid votes 39,301100
Source: Le Parti municipal de Longueuil: Le premier mandat 1978 - 1982, Société historique et culturelle du Marigot, accessed 22 January 2014.
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References
  1. Décès de Marcel Robidas, ancien maire de Longueuil, La Presse, 20 May 2009.
  2. Marcel Robidas, Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal Nunquam Retrorsum, accessed 17 February 2017.
  3. Harvey Shepherd, "From barony to big borough: Urban sprawl blurs borders of Longueuil, other towns," Montreal Gazette, 28 October 2001, A5.
  4. Nicolas Van Praet, "Longueuil gets the nod: Cabinet finally decides on name for South Shore megacity," Montreal Gazette, 5 July 2001, A1.
  5. Philip Mascoll, "Whitby likes its Longueuil link," Globe and Mail, 21 June 1988, E3.
  6. "Durham Region," Toronto Star, 17 May 1999, p. 1.
  7. Margot Gibb-Clark, "Halt shopping centres to prop up city cores, politician-retailer says," Globe and Mail, 24 April 1981, p. 9.
  8. "Longueuil to vote: Mayor quits to work for Hydro-Quebec," Montreal Gazette, 23 April 1987, G1.
  9. Don MacPherson, " Elevate Quebec party loyalists out of harm's way," Montreal Gazette, 3 April 1986, B3.
  10. Harvey Shepherd, "Longueuil ex-mayor backs plan to widen shoreline," Montreal Gazette, 16 May 1985, A3.
  11. "Ex-Longueuil mayor leads new party: But won't seek mayoralty," Montreal Gazette, 27 March 2001, A4.
  12. Harvey Shepherd, "Battle for South Shore revving up: It's a two-way race between Olivier and Pearson Richard teams for control of new megacity," Montreal Gazette, 24 September 2001, A6.
  13. Décès de Marcel Robidas, ancien maire de Longueuil, La Presse, 20 May 2009, accessed 17 February 2017.
  14. Don MacPherson, " Elevate Quebec party loyalists out of harm's way," Montreal Gazette, 3 April 1986, B3.
  15. William Johnson, "Biron move a matter of principle," Globe and Mail, 4 March 1980, p. 8.
  16. Robert McKenzie, "Ex-Liberal enlists in hearings PQ picks 4 more to head panels on sovereignty," Toronto Star, 6 January 1995, A11. A newspaper article from this period described him as simultaneously leading an organization called the Association for Full Employment.
  17. Clark Campbell, "I want anglophones to participate in hearings, chairman of sovereignty commission says; Marcel Robidas, 71, was mayor of Longueuil for 16 years until 1982," Montreal Gazette, 12 January 1995, G3. He was simultaneously the leader of a group called the Association Pour le Plein Emploi in this period.
  18. "Monteregie commission can't reach consensus," Montreal Gazette, 23 March 1995, A18.
  19. Harvey Shepherd, "Vandals kick off referendum campaign; Ex-mayors on both Yes and No side," Montreal Gazette, 28 September 1995, F1.
  20. "Separatists acknowledge debt to Canadian soldiers," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 12 November 1999, F06.
  21. Michelle MacAfee, "St Jean Baptiste group holds its own Remembrance Day," Canadian Press Newswire, 11 November 1999.
  22. Irwin Block, "Bittersweet memories, regrets for some," Montreal Gazette, 20 May 2000, B3.
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