Jean Chretien

The Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien

Rank:	20th
Term of Office:	November 3, 1993 - December 12, 2003
Predecessor:	Kim Campbell
Successor:	Paul Martin, Jr.
Date of Birth:	January 11, 1934
Place of Birth:	Shawinigan, Quebec
Spouse:	Aline Chainé
Profession:	lawyer, politician
Political Party:	Liberal

Early Life

On September 10, 1957, he married Aline Chainé. They have two sons and one daughter. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1963 and, after re-election in 1965, served as parliamentary secretary - first to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson (1965) and then to Minister of Finance Mitchell Sharp (1966). Pearson later appointed him junior finance minister. He was appointed Minister of National Revenue in 1968 and after the election in June of that year was sworn in as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. In 1974, he was appointed President of the Treasury Board; beginning in 1976, he served as Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce. In 1977, he was named Minister of Finance; in 1980, he was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and also served as Minister of State for Social Development and Minister Responsible for constitutional negotiations, playing a significant role in the repatriation of the Constitution of Canada. In 1982, Chrétien was appointed Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources.

After Pierre Trudeau announced his retirement in early 1984, Chrétien sought the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, losing on the second ballot to John Turner at the leadership convention that June. Turner appointed him Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for External Affairs. Relations between the two were reportedly strained, and in 1986 Chrétien resigned his seat and left public life — temporarily, as it turned out. After Turner's resignation as leader in 1989, Chrétien returned: he was elected Liberal Party leader at the June 1990 leadership convention in Calgary, Alberta, defeating Paul Martin on the first ballot. A by-election in the New Brunswick constituency of Beauséjour in December 1990 returned him to the House of Commons.

Prime Minister

Chretien's election signaled a break from Canada's recent tradition of Prime Ministers. While Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark, and Pierre Trudeau had all been relative political outsiders prior to assuming office, Chretien had over 30 years of experience within the government. This experience gave him a very masterful knowledge of the Canadian Parliamentary system, and allowed Chretien to establish a very centralized government that although highly efficient, was also lambasted by critics as being a "friendly dictatorship" and intolerant of internal dissent.

One of Chrétien's main focuses in office was preventing the separation of the province of Quebec, which was ruled by the separatist Parti Quebecois for nearly the Prime Minister's entire term. After the 1995 referendum showed a very narrow decision against Quebec sovereignty, Chrétien's government passed what became known as the Clarity Act, which said that no Canadian government would acknowledge an independent Quebec nation unless a "clear majority" supported sovereignty in a referendum based on a clear question. The size of a "clear majority" was left unspecified, but Chrétien made it clear that such a majority would not be "50% plus one vote."

Chrétien's government also introduced a new and far-reaching Youth Criminal Justice Act, replacing the old Young Offenders Act and changed the way youths were prosecuted for crimes in Canada.

Under Chrétien, Canada did not support the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq but eventually provided significant financial aid to the post-war reconstruction effort, relative to Canada's size. Chrétien's reasoning was that the war lacked UN sanction, but it was noted while in opposition he had also opposed the first US-led Gulf War. Although criticism from rightwing oppposition was vocal, the move proved popular with the Canadian public in general. However, in December of 2003 it was revealed that Chrétien had in fact been planning to send as many as 800 Canadian troops to Iraq as late as one month before the war was launched. A UN offer for an increased deployment of Canadian peacekeepers to Afghanistan prompted Chretien to scrap his plans for Iraq. This revelation led some of Chretien's anti-war critics on the left to accuse the Prime Minister of never really being fully opposed to the war.

In October 2003, Chrétien, a strong supporter of the decriminalization of marijuana in Canada, raised eyebrows with comments concerning his plans to smoke marijuana after his retirement. "I don't know what is marijuana," he said. "Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand."

Retirement

Chrétien's final session in the House of Commons took place November 6, 2003, with many tributes, standing ovations, and even some hearty laughs at humourous stories told by the Prime Minister. He made an emotional farewell to the party on November 13 at the Liberal Convention. The following day his rival Martin was elected his successor. The two men lavished praise on one another, and Chrétien joined Martin onstage to congratulate him after his acceptance speech.

On December 12, 2003, Jean Chrétien officially resigned, formally handing power over to Paul Martin.

Almost a month after retiring on December 12, 2003, Mr. Chrétien joined the law firm of Heenan Blaikie on January 5, 2004 as counsel. The firm announced he would work out of their Ottawa, Ontario offices four days per week and make a weekly visit to the Montreal office.

Legacy

One of the most pressing issues in Chrétien's final year in office was Canada's relationship with the United States. Decisions on health care, same-sex marriage, municipal issues, and drug laws will also be important to his successor.

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