Marc Lalonde

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The Honourable
Marc Lalonde
PC OC KC
Minister of Finance
In office
September 10, 1982 – September 16, 1984
Prime Minister <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Preceded by Allan MacEachen
Succeeded by Michael Wilson
Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources
In office
March 3, 1980 – September 9, 1982
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by Ray Hnatyshyn
Succeeded by Jean Chrétien
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
In office
November 24, 1978 – June 3, 1979
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by Otto Lang
Succeeded by Jacques Flynn
Minister of State (Federal-Provincial Relations)
In office
September 16, 1977 – November 23, 1978
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by New office
Succeeded by John Mercer Reid
Minister of National Health and Welfare
In office
November 27, 1972 – September 15, 1977
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by John Munro
Succeeded by Monique Bégin
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Outremont
In office
October 30, 1972 – September 3, 1984
Preceded by Aurélien Noël
Succeeded by Lucie Pépin
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
1968–1972
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by John Hodgson
Succeeded by Martin O'Connell
Personal details
Born (1929-07-26)July 26, 1929
L'Île-Perrot, Quebec, Canada
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Montreal
Nationality Canadian
Political party Liberal
Alma mater <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Profession Lawyer

Marc Lalonde PC OC KC (French pronunciation: ​[maʁk lalɔ̃d]; July 26, 1929 – May 6, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as a cabinet minister, political staffer and lawyer. A lifelong member of the Liberal Party, he is best known for having served in various positions of government from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, including serving as the Minister of Finance.

Early life

Lalonde was born in L'Île-Perrot, Quebec, and obtained a Master of Laws degree from the Université de Montréal, a master's degree from Oxford University, and a Diplôme d'études supérieures en droit (D.E.S.D) from the University of Ottawa.[1][2]

In 1959, he worked in Ottawa as a special adviser to Progressive Conservative Justice Minister Davie Fulton. He went to Montreal to practise law until 1967 when he returned to Ottawa to work as an adviser in the Prime Minister's Office under Liberal Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Lalonde remained when Pierre Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada in 1968, serving as Principal Secretary.[3]

Political career

At Trudeau's urging, he ran for a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1972 election. Elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Outremont, Lalonde immediately joined the Cabinet as Minister of National Health and Welfare, a position he held until 1977. He was concurrently Minister of Amateur Sport until 1976 and was also Minister responsible for the Status of Women from 1974 to 1979.[4]

A staunch federalist, he was also one of Trudeau's chief advisers on the situation in Quebec, taking the position of Minister of State on federal-provincial relations in the wake of the Parti Québécois victory in the 1976 Quebec provincial election.[5] Lalonde led a clandestine body within the Canadian Federal Government, codenamed FAN TAN, that collected intelligence on the Quebec separatist movement and organized political action against the separatists.[6]

Lalonde served as Minister of Justice from 1978 until the Liberal government's defeat in the 1979 election. When the Liberals returned to power in the 1980 election, Lalonde became Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources and instituted the National Energy Program which became intensely unpopular in Alberta.[7] The Bank of Canada reported that economic problems had been accelerated and magnified. Inflation was most commonly between 9% and 10% annually,[8][9]

Lalonde was appointed minister of finance in 1982. As finance minister, he tabled the 1983 and 1984 federal budgets; both budgets saw a substantial increase in the government budget deficit, as the deficit increased from $29.049 billion in 1982 to $37.167 billion in 1984.[10]

When Trudeau resigned, Lalonde endorsed John Turner in the 1984 Liberal leadership convention[11] and continued as finance minister after Turner succeeded Trudeau as prime minister in 1984, but did not run in the 1984 election which saw the Liberals suffer a landslide loss to the Progressive Conservatives.

After politics

In 1989, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2004, he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.[12]

In the 1990s, he served as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice, and has also represented Canada in various trade disputes. He was a practising lawyer with the firm of Stikeman Elliott LLP in Montreal until his retirement in 2006.[13]

Lalonde returned to the political arena in 2005 when Prime Minister Paul Martin named him co-president of the Liberal Party's electoral campaign in Quebec for the 39th Canadian federal election. Brigitte Legault, the president of the Young Liberals of Canada (Quebec), served as the other co-president.[3]

Lalonde appeared before the House of Commons of Canada's Ethics Committee in November 2008 along with client Karlheinz Schreiber, who was being questioned in regard to the Airbus affair involving former PM Brian Mulroney.[14]

Lalonde died on May 6, 2023, at age 93.[15][16]

Archives

There is a Marc Lalonde fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[17]

See also

References

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External links

23rd Ministry – Cabinet of John Turner
Cabinet Post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Cont'd from 22nd Min. Minister of Finance
June 30, 1984 – September 16, 1984
Michael Wilson
22nd Ministry – Second cabinet of Pierre Trudeau
Cabinet Posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Allan MacEachen Minister of Finance
September 10, 1982 – June 29, 1984
Cont'd into 23rd Min.
Ramon John Hnatyshyn Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources
March 3, 1980 – September 9, 1982
Jean Chrétien
20th Ministry – First cabinet of Pierre Trudeau
Cabinet Posts (4)
Predecessor Office Successor
Otto Lang Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
November 24, 1978 – June 3, 1979
Jacques Flynn
' Minister of State (Federal-Provincial Relations)
September 16, 1977 – November 23, 1978
John Mercer Reid
John Munro Minister of National Health and Welfare
November 27, 1972 – September 15, 1977
Monique Bégin
' Minister of Amateur Sport
November 27, 1972 – September 14, 1976
'
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor Title Successor
Robert Andras Minister responsible for the Status of Women
August 8, 1974 – June 3, 1979
David MacDonald
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Outremont
1972–1984
Succeeded by
Lucie Pépin, Liberal