Louise Laurin
Encyclopedia
Louise Laurin is an educator and activist in Quebec
. She is a prominent supporter of both secular education and Quebec sovereignty.
In 1990, Laurin co-authored a public letter with Francine Lalonde
and two other Quebec nationalist figures. They argued that many children of immigrants were intimidating francophone students into speaking English at francophone schools and charged that school administrations were deliberately ignoring the situation. They called for a renewed promotion of French in public schools, in a way that would recognize also the legitimate concerns of immigrant communities.
During the 1990s and 2000s, Laurin led a coalition of educational and cultural groups calling for the secularization of Quebec's school system, in which denominational schools would be replaced by linguistic schools. She supported a bill introduced by Jean Charest
's government to this end in 2005.
in the 1989 provincial election
and lost a close contest in the Montreal
division of Anjou
to Liberal candidate René Serge Larouche.
She succeeded Sylvain Simard
as president of the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois
in 1994. Shortly after taking this position, she made a public statement against both bilingualism and multiculturalism
. She argued that a future independent Quebec would have French as its only official language and further recommended that it refuse citizenship to any immigrant who does not learn French in a set number of years. She said that her group opposed multiculturalism because "it means we pay for people to conserve their culture and then they live in ghettos. We want integration in society, the sharing of common values, like language and our institutions." In the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty, she was vice-president of the Conseil de la souverainete du Quebec.
Associated with the left-wing of the Parti Québécois, Laurin was openly skeptical of Andre Boisclair
's leadership in 2005. In 2009, she appeared at the fifth congress of the Québec solidaire
party.
She was chosen as Patriote of the year by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal in 2005.
Quebec
Quebec 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....
. She is a prominent supporter of both secular education and Quebec sovereignty.
Educator
Laurin was an elementary school principal for a number of years and is credited with starting the first in-school daycare in the Montreal Catholic School Commission. In 1989, she worked on behalf of a Turkish immigrant family that was threatened with deportation.In 1990, Laurin co-authored a public letter with Francine Lalonde
Francine Lalonde
Francine Lalonde is a politician on the national and provincial levels. Prior to being elected she was a lecturer, teacher and unionist...
and two other Quebec nationalist figures. They argued that many children of immigrants were intimidating francophone students into speaking English at francophone schools and charged that school administrations were deliberately ignoring the situation. They called for a renewed promotion of French in public schools, in a way that would recognize also the legitimate concerns of immigrant communities.
During the 1990s and 2000s, Laurin led a coalition of educational and cultural groups calling for the secularization of Quebec's school system, in which denominational schools would be replaced by linguistic schools. She supported a bill introduced by Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
's government to this end in 2005.
Sovereigntist
Laurin ran as a candidate of the Parti QuébécoisParti Québécois
The 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...
in the 1989 provincial election
Quebec general election, 1989
The Quebec general election of 1989 was held on September 25, 1989, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada...
and lost a close contest in the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal 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...
division of Anjou
Anjou (electoral district)
Anjou is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal. The riding was created in 1972 from parts of Bourassa, Bourget and LaFontaine...
to Liberal candidate René Serge Larouche.
She succeeded Sylvain Simard
Sylvain Simard
Sylvain Simard is a politician and academic based in the Canadian province of Quebec. He has represented Richelieu in the National Assembly of Quebec since 1994 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry. Simard is a member of the Parti Québécois .-Early...
as president of the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois
Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois
Founded in 1947, the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois is a federation that groups together the various patriotic organizations in Quebec, Canada...
in 1994. Shortly after taking this position, she made a public statement against both bilingualism and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. She argued that a future independent Quebec would have French as its only official language and further recommended that it refuse citizenship to any immigrant who does not learn French in a set number of years. She said that her group opposed multiculturalism because "it means we pay for people to conserve their culture and then they live in ghettos. We want integration in society, the sharing of common values, like language and our institutions." In the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty, she was vice-president of the Conseil de la souverainete du Quebec.
Associated with the left-wing of the Parti Québécois, Laurin was openly skeptical of Andre Boisclair
André Boisclair
André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....
's leadership in 2005. In 2009, she appeared at the fifth congress of the Québec solidaire
Québec Solidaire
Québec solidaire is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada, that was created on 4 February 2006 in Montreal. It was formed by the merger of the left-wing party Union des forces progressistes and the alter-globalization political movement Option Citoyenne, led...
party.
She was chosen as Patriote of the year by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal in 2005.