André Arthur is a
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio host and
politicianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was the
independentIn politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
Member of ParliamentThe Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
for the riding of
Portneuf—Jacques-CartierPortneuf—Jacques-Cartier is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867...
from 2006 to 2011. He is known for his outspoken style and anti-statist politics in a
provinceThe provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
known for mainly supporting left-of-centre policies, but has nonetheless earned widespread popularity, earning the nickname
le Roi Arthur ("King Arthur").
Personal life
Both Arthur's father, René, and uncle, Gérard Arthur, were radio hosts. René and Gérard were Armenian immigrant children who came from
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in the 1910s, fleeing the
Armenian genocideThe Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
, with their parents and siblings, via
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. According to Arthur, the family was mistakenly considered to be Jewish by some
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
residents at the time, because their last name contained the name Isaac, thus being victims of antisemitism. Consequently, the family changed its name to Arthur, a French-sounding name, which was also André Arthur's grandfather's first name (he was alternatively known as Arthur Isakian or Arthur DerSahag, Sahag meaning Isaac in Armenian).
Arthur's mother was a
QuébécoiseFrench-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
by the name of Tanguay, a name that originally came from
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
to
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in the 17th century.
As a young adult, Arthur worked as a
hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
refereeA referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
. According to Arthur, this experience taught him how to accept being heavily criticized.
Arthur is divorced and has two children.
Radio
Arthur began his radio career at
CHRCCHRC is a French language Canadian radio station located in Quebec City, Quebec. Known as Québec 800, the station has a news/talk/sports format....
in 1970. He has also appeared on CJRP,
CKACCKAC is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, currently broadcasting a traffic information format as Radio Circulation 730....
,
CKVLCINF was a French language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec.Owned and operated by Corus Quebec, it broadcasted on 690 kHz with a power of 50,000 watts as a clear channel station, using a slightly directional antenna solely for the purpose of improving reception in downtown...
,
CJMF-FMCJMF-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Quebec City, Quebec.Owned and operated by Cogeco, it broadcasts on 93.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 32,960 watts using an omnidirectional antenna. The station's transmitter is located at Mount Bélair.The station has an...
, CJMS and, most recently (until December 22, 2005), at
CKNU-FMCHXX-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Quebec City, Quebec, and licensed in Donnacona, Quebec.Owned and operated by RNC Media, it broadcasts on 100.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 3,100 watts using an omnidirectional antenna...
and
CIMI-FMCIMI-FM is a French-language talk radio and modern rock radio station in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The station broadcasts at 103.7 FM and broadcasts from the borough of Charlesbourg.-History:...
, all
French-languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
stations. In 2007, Arthur was briefly part of a morning show on
CHEQ-FMCHEQ-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Sainte-Marie, Quebec.Owned and operated by 9079-3670 Québec inc. , it broadcasts on 101.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 26,000 watts using a directional antenna.The station has an adult contemporary format and it identifies...
with
Marie Saint-LaurentMarie Saint-Laurent is a radio co-host, based in Quebec City, Canada. She can be heard on XM Satellite radio on a daily basis on Jeff Fillion's Radio Pirate show....
as well as the web radio station Rockik.com.
For several years, Arthur opened his radio show with the theme song from
The Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
.
Television
From 1972 to 1979, in addition to being heard on CHRC, Arthur was a news anchor for the local evening news program at Télé-4 (
CFCM-TVCFCM-TV is the TVA owned and operated station in Quebec City. Its studios and transmitter are co-located on Myrand Street in the former suburb of Sainte-Foy...
, a
TVATVA is a privately owned French language television network in Canada. The network is currently owned by Groupe TVA Inc. , a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media...
affiliate) in Quebec City. On August 20, 2008, it was announced that Arthur would host a talk show on the
TQSV is a Canadian privately-owned French-language television network. The network has owned-and-operated and affiliated stations existing throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-air in some bordering markets in the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick...
network, starting September 29; however, a federal election was called in the meantime, delaying the starting date. Arthur successfully ran for MP in the
2008 electionThe 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
.
TQS announced the show's cancellation on August 5, 2009.
Malenfant TV serie
In december 2009, cable channel Série+ announced it would broadcast in the winter of 2011 a four-part miniseries on Raymond Malenfant, produced by Ricardo Trogi. The role of Raymond Malenfant will be played by Luc Picard and Francis Cantin (Raymond Malenfant young adult). The role of André Arthur (1986, 1991 and 2001) will be played by Jean-François Porlier.
Politics
André Arthur is a self-described
libertarianLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, and his political views are generally in line with the libertarian ideology. He generally opposes the concept of government intervention in the economy, and supports tax cuts (as opposed to subsidies) as the most efficient way to promote economic growth and respect individual liberty.
He is also a noted admirer of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which he perceives to be less intrusive in people's lives. Arthur claims that if he were an
American citizenThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
he would never vote for
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
as
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
– one factor being Arthur's opposition to the
Iraq War. Nonetheless, Arthur considers George W. Bush (as well as
Canadian Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen HarperStephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
) to be very consistent, a quality that he admires.
Arthur is a
federalistQuebec federalist ideology revolves around the concept of Quebec remaining within Canada, in opposition to the desires of Quebec sovereigntists and proponents of Quebec independence....
. He is known for his opposition to Quebec sovereignty, not so much because of any profound attachment to Canada, but because he fears independence would increase what he sees as the
socialistSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
tendencies of Quebec as a political entity. According to a number of
Parti QuébécoisThe Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
analysts, Arthur's influence was a significant cause of the lower-than-expected "Yes" vote in the Quebec City area in the
1995 referendumThe 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:...
.
Arthur first ran for office as an Independent candidate in the
Louis-Hébert districtLouis-Hébert is a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. Located in the Capitale-Nationale region, the riding was formed in 1965 and includes mostly central and western portions of Quebec City west of Autoroute 73 and Autoroute 740...
in the
1994 Quebec provincial electionThe Quebec general election of 1994 was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.....
. He finished second with 29% of the vote, behind
Parti QuébécoisThe Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
candidate
Paul BéginPaul Bégin is a former Quebec politician and Cabinet Minister. Member of the Parti Québecois, he served as the province's Justice Minister from 1994 to 1997 and from 2001 to 2002....
(39%).
In 1997, Arthur ran for the office of
mayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of
Sainte-FoySainte-Foy is a former city in central Quebec, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River. It was amalgamated into Quebec City on January 1, 2002. Most of Sainte-Foy is in the Borough of Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge....
against
incumbentThe incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Andrée Boucher. Boucher was re-elected and Arthur finished second, with 33% of the vote.
Arthur's first successful bid for office was in the
2006 Canadian federal electionThe 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, when he was elected as an Independent Member of Parliament for the Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier district of Quebec. Arthur officially became a candidate on January 2, 2006, three weeks before Election Day. Having the advantage of name recognition and running an intensive pre-campaign every day for about two months during his morning and noon shows, he used no
campaignA political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
paraphernalia and spent only $924 on his campaign. Arthur boasts of being "the cheapest
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
", claiming to have spent less than any other elected candidate at this election.
While the 2006 federal election was not Arthur's first attempt to win political office, he claimed that bid was the only time he really wanted to be elected. According to Arthur, his goal in previous elections had been to divide the results.
In winning the riding, Arthur became the first truly independent and non-incumbent candidate to be elected to the House of Commons since
Tony RomanAnthony Roman was a politician in Ontario, Canada. Roman served as the Mayor of the Town of Markham, Ontario from 1970 to 1984, Chair of the Regional Municipality of York in 1984, and independent Member of Parliament for the riding of York North from 1984 to 1988.Roman won the 1984 election in...
won an
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
district in
1984The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
.
On January 25, 2006, in an interview with
Anna Maria TremontiAnna Maria Tremonti is a Canadian radio and television journalist, who has been featured on a variety of programs on the CBC.She has previously been a senior reporter for The National, and a host of The Fifth Estate...
, host of
CBC Radio OneCBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
's morning news program
The CurrentThe Current is a Canadian current affairs radio program, hosted by investigative reporter Anna Maria Tremonti on CBC Radio One. It airs weekdays starting at 8:37 a.m. local time and runs until 10 a.m. for most of the year, although during the summer the program airs until 9:30 a.m...
, Arthur stated that he would not join any
political partyA political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
during the then-current parliament, but he did note that the policies of the governing
Conservative Party of CanadaThe Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
best reflected his personal political beliefs and stances on many major issues. He also stated that he entered politics as an independent with the influence and record of non-affiliated MP
Chuck CadmanCharles "Chuck" Cadman was a Canadian politician and Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2005, representing the riding of Surrey North in Surrey, British Columbia.- Early life :...
, the most recent MP to be elected to the House of Commons as an independent, in mind. It was reported in May 2006 that he might consider joining the Conservatives, however he later denied this saying his comments had been misunderstood.
On November 30, 2006 Arthur announced in a press conference that he had been diagnosed with
prostate cancerProstate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
and would be receiving treatment at
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
's Hotel-Dieu hospital in the coming weeks. He also mentioned that despite the cancer, he would remain in his post as the MP for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.
The Conservative Party decided not to run a candidate against Arthur in the 2008 federal election. This decision proved to be decisive in his re-election; Arthur won the seat with only 33.5% of the vote, against 32% for Richard Coté of the Bloc Québécois.
Arthur was defeated in the 2011 federal election by the
New Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
candidate,
Élaine MichaudÉlaine Michaud is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier as a member of the New Democratic Party....
.
Bus driver
While a Member of Parliament, Arthur worked as a tour bus driver for
IntercarIntercar is the second largest interurban bus carrier within the province of Quebec, Canada, and one of the largest providers of school buses. The company was founded in 1959 in Jonquière, but expanded greatly in 1990 with the acquisition of Voyageur's routes in the Saguenay region and the North...
. He claimed that his position as an independent MP freed him from the obligation to attend caucuses and partisan social events, going as far as suggesting all MPs should get a second job to put them in touch with ordinary people. This earned him the criticism from his opponents, who noted Arthur had been absent from Parliament for nearly one-third of the votes since 2006, something for which Arthur is unapologetic.
Lawsuits
Arthur's career has been marked by a number of lawsuits. He has been sued for defamation by two Quebec Premiers,
Lucien BouchardLucien Bouchard, is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001...
and Daniel Johnson Jr. He has also faced penalizing decisions by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the
Canadian Broadcast Standards CouncilThe Canadian Broadcast Standards Council is an independent, non-governmental organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its members, Canada's private broadcasters....
, perhaps most notably regarding several on-air statements he made which led to the non-renewal of the licence of
CHOI-FMCHOI-FM is a French language FM radio station that broadcasts on the frequency 98.1 MHz out of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, with a talk radio format...
. His most recent gig, as morning and noon host for CKNU in
Donnacona, QuebecDonnacona is an industrial town located about west of Quebec City in Portneuf County, Quebec, Canada.Some people believe the city was named after Donnacona, a 16th century Wendat chief who was taken to France...
, ended on December 22, 2005, soon after Genex Communications announced it was selling the station to RNC Media, which declined to renew his contract.
On November 17, 1998, during a broadcast on CKVL, Arthur attacked taxi drivers in Montreal, especially those who were "Arab and Haitian". According to the summary of facts presented in the Superior Court, Arthur denounced "their incompetence and filthiness, while suggesting they get their licenses by corruption and are somehow responsible for the deplorable state of this mode of transport in the city." On February 17, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favor of Arthur.
External links