The Posthumous Lives of René Lévesque

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which René Lévesque has been remembered in English Canada and Quebec. In English Canada, Lévesque has been embraced as a generally likeable and honest man who made Canada a better and stronger country. In Quebec, in contrast, while there continues to be considerable affection for the man, many nationalists have a much more ambivalent attitude towards him. His legacy there is entwined with the failure of Quebec to achieve political independence, and so there remains among many nationalists a sense of disappointment with his time in office. This essay suggests that attitudes about Lévesque in English Canada and Quebec have been determined by each group’s sense of its own proximity to the centre of political power. English Canadians can embrace Lévesque with the knowledge that he failed in his effort to make Quebec sovereign. Quebec nationalists, however, must deal with the consequences of this failure and come to terms with Lévesque’s part in that failure.