Nicole Boudreau (Quebec administrator)

Nicole Boudreau (born September 14, 1949) is a Canadian administrator, activist, and politician in Montreal, Quebec. Closely associated with the Quebec sovereigntist movement, she led the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in Montreal from 1986 to 1989 and oversaw the group Partenaires pour la souveraineté (Partners of Sovereignty) in the 1990s.

Nicole Boudreau
President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in Montreal
In office
1986–1989
Preceded byJean-Marie Cossette
Succeeded byJean Dorion

Boudreau has also sought election at the municipal level in Montreal. She is not to be confused with a different Nicole Boudreau who served on the Montreal city council from 1986 to 1994.[1]

Early life and education

Boudreau was born to a working-class family in Noranda, Quebec. She studied art at the Université de Paris and later earned a philosophy degree from the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.[2] In 2002, she returned to Paris to complete a master's degree in tourism planning and management.[3]

Quebec sovereigntist

Fête nationale

Boudreau was an organizer for Quebec's Fête nationale in the 1980s.[4] In 1986, she indicated that the festival would forgo traditional folkloric themes and instead spotlight the growing presence of francophone Quebecers as entrepreneurs.[5]

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society

Boudreau joined the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in 1980 and became president of its Montreal division in 1986.[6] She was the first woman to be chosen as the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society's leader and remarked that her presidency was not simply a victory for women but for the society as a whole, marking a break with its more conservative past.[7]

Shortly after becoming president, Boudreau accused Quebec premier Robert Bourassa's government of flouting certain provisions of Quebec's Charter of the French Language (which, among other things, restricts the public display of signs in languages other than French). She took particular issue with justice minister Herbert Marx's statement that shopkeepers would only be prosecuted for violating Quebec's sign laws if they displayed unilingual non-French signs for their establishments. Boudreau noted that the charter also forbade bilingual signs, and called for the government to prohibit such signs on the grounds that they posed a threat to Quebec's francophone identity. She was quoted as saying, "As far as we're concerned, bilingual signs mean to the new Quebecer that there are two languages here and he can choose which one he wants to speak. To the anglophone they mean the person doesn't have to bother learning French because everything here is translated." In December 1986, she organized a rally at the Paul Sauvé Arena in support of retaining and strengthening Quebec's language laws.[8]

In mid-1988, Boudreau was a lead organizer for a protest march against any weakening of Quebec's language laws. Twenty-five thousand people attended the event, a much higher number than expected.[9] Boudreau subsequently opposed the Bourassa government's compromise language legislation, which permitted stores to have indoor bilingual signs while requiring all external signs to be in French; her position was that this provision would satisfy no one and "greatly threaten social peace and the francization of Quebec."[10]

When the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Quebec's French-only sign laws in December 1988, Boudreau urged Bourassa to hold a referendum that would permit Quebec to repatriate full legislative powers on language issues from the government of Canada.[11] Bourassa instead overturned the court's decision by invoking Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (i.e., the "Notwithstanding Clause").

Boudreau was considered a moderate within the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society and was known for seeking dialogue rather than confrontation with anglophone organizations.[12] She condemned an arson attack against the headquarters of Alliance Quebec in January 1989 and took part in a radio discussion with its leader, Peter Blaikie, not long thereafter.[13] In March 1989, as Boudreau's term as president came to an end, the society narrowly voted to continue its ongoing dialogue with the anglophone organization.[14]

Boudreau urged French Quebecers to welcome new immigrants and help them become integrated with the province's francophone majority. In March 1987, she launched a program to help recent immigrants from Latin America and Turkey better engage with the francophone community.[15] In January 1990, she offered her support to a group of hunger-striking refugee claimants from Latin America.[16]

In 1990, Boudreau organized a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade for Fête nationale that was estimated to have attracted between 150,000 and 200,000 people.[17] She actively encouraged the participation of anglophones and thanked those who attended.[18]

Partenaires pour la Souveraineté

During the mid-1990s, Boudreau was a prominent spokesperson for Partenaires pour la souveraineté (Partners of Sovereignty), an umbrella organization of several high-profile unions and nationalist groups. She was also a prominent campaigner for the "Oui" option in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty and led an outreach effort specifically focused on promoting sovereignty among Québécois women.[19] Ultimately, the sovereigntist option was narrowly defeated.

Boudreau launched a campaign in 1997 to re-inspire public support for Quebec's Charter of the French Language. She was quoted as saying, "We constantly hear that (Bill 101) is abnormal, illegal, illegitimate, and all that has sapped the confidence of Quebecers in the legal tool they have given themselves."[20]

Municipal administrator

Boudreau helped organize Montreal's 350th anniversary celebrations in 1992.[21] She later worked for Jacqueline Montpetit, the borough mayor of Montreal's Sud-Ouest region, from 2006 to 2009.[22]

Boudreau ran to succeed Montpetit in the 2009 municipal election as a candidate of Gérald Tremblay's Union Montreal party. She was narrowly defeated by Benoit Dorais of Vision Montreal.

Electoral record
2009 Montreal municipal election results: Borough Mayor, Le Sud-Ouest
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References
  1. "Picture showed wrong Boudreau," Montreal Gazette, 19 September 1995, A2.
  2. Walter Buchignani, "Language a 'debate,' not a fight, for SSJB leader; Introducing . . . Nicole Boudreau," Montreal Gazette, 18 December 1988, A2.
  3. Nicole Boudreau (biography), Eau Secours!, accessed 2 May 2013.
  4. Marian Scott, "Where to go, what to do as Quebecers celebrate Fete nationale weekend," Montreal Gazette, 22 June 1985, A3; Lisa Taylor, "Blue-and-white parades, fireworks and concert to mark Fete," Montreal Gazette, 16 June 1988, A3.
  5. "Fete nationale to be modest: organizers," Montreal Gazette, 13 June 1986, A6.
  6. Walter Buchignani, "Language a 'debate,' not a fight, for SSJB leader; Introducing . . . Nicole Boudreau," Montreal Gazette, 18 December 1988, A2.
  7. Oakland Ross, "After 152 years, French society finds new cause," Globe and Mail, 5 July 1986, A8.
  8. "Society threatens court action over Bill 101 non-enforcement," Montreal Gazette, 15 May 1986, A6; "Nationalists unite: Keep city French," Montreal Gazette, 27 November 1986, A3; Michael Doyle and Sue Montgomery, "4,000 flock to rally held by Quebec nationalists," Montreal Gazette, 15 December 1986, A1. The quotation cited is presumably a translation from the original French.
  9. Elizabeth Thompson, "25,000 turn out for Bill 101 in biggest march in 10 years," Montreal Gazette, 18 April 1988, A1.
  10. Sarah Scott, "Latest initiative on signs sparks little enthusiasm," Montreal Gazette, 8 October 1988, B1; Irwin Block, "No surrender on store signs - nationalists," Montreal Gazette, 2 November 1988, A4. The quotation cited has presumably been translated from the original French.
  11. Patricia Poirier, "Groups urge Premier to override ruling," Globe and Mail, 16 December 1988, A10.
  12. Marie C. Agen, "The politics of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montreal," The American Review of Canadian Studies, Volume 29, Edition 3 (Fall 1999), p. 495.
  13. Patricia Poirier, "Quebec nationalists seek talks," Montreal Gazette, 13 January 1989, A8; Gretta Chambers, "Standing up for tolerance makes sense," Montreal Gazette, 16 February 1989, B3.
  14. Alexander Norris, "Society decides by slim vote to keep talking with anglos," Montreal Gazette, 12 March 1989, A5.
  15. Elisabeth Kalbfuss, "Welcome immigrants nationalist group urges," Montreal Gazette, 19 March 1987, A4.
  16. Debbie Parkes, "Refugee claimants end fast; 41 prominent Quebecers promise support," Montreal Gazette, 6 January 1990, A3.
  17. Lewis Harris, "Sunshine dispelled gloom of Fete organizer," Montreal Gazette, 27 June 1990, A3.
  18. Don MacPherson, "Anglos have opportunity to help shape evolution of Quebec," Montreal Gazette, 29 June 1990, B3.
  19. Philip Authier, "Quebec plans information blitz for vote," Montreal Gazette, 29 March 1995, A1; Robert McKenzie, "PQ planning propaganda blitz Coalition adding own information campaign," Toronto Star, 29 March 1995, A10; Sandro Contenta, "Parizeau regrets hardline past Premier places referendum hope with moderates," Toronto Star, 29 April 1995, A4; "Set up panel on minority rights after Yes vote, sovereignists urge," Montreal Gazette, 31 August 1995, A10; Liz Warwick, "Yes tour organizer looks for female votes," Montreal Gazette, 18 September 1995, C1.
  20. Michelle Lalonde, "Separatists to polish Bill 101's image," Montreal Gazette, 25 August 1997, A3. This statement is presumably translated from the original French.
  21. James Mennie, "A neighborhood gathering; Party includes tours, music, shows - and food," Montreal Gazette, 11 July 1992, A3; Alan Hustak, "`How can you imagine that there won't be a party?'; Organizers remain upbeat despite uncertainties," Montreal Gazette, 5 August 1991, B4;
  22. Éric Clément, "Sud-Ouest: Nicole Boudreau choisit Tremblay", La Presse, 13 August 2009, accessed 2 May 2013.
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