It is often believed that a person is most often a reflection of their environment, this true for Lucien Bouchard.. Lucien grew up in the town of Jonquiere in the northern part of Quebec. It was a small, poor Francophone town virtually cut off from the rest of Quebec and Canada by the Laurentian Mountains. Bouchard grew up in a family of five children in a strict french catholic household. Their family w

In the house of commons, five other Tories sat with Bouchard as an independent. As the most popular Quebec figure in Ottawa, he was named the leader of their small group known as the Forum-Quebec. Bourassa also recognized Bouchard's popularity and appointed him to the Campeau-Belanger Commission that would report on Quebec's future. Many of the other members of the forum Quebec worked on the commission so Bouchard was thrilled. He said "The Belanger-Campeau Commission was a bigger, better Forum- Quebec financed by the state."(Bouchard, 1994) The commission worked to reach an agreement that a referendum should be called by the fall of 1992 on the question of secession. Although, if a new constitutional deal was presented from the federal government it would have to be considered before a referendum.

An effort to move federalism back in the lead was organized by Sheila Copps and Brian Tobin. A pilgrimage to Montreal by Canadians from all parts of the country convened in Montreal to persuade Quebec to stay within Canada. Bus and air fares were reduced, federal employees had the day off in order to attend the rally. The sovereigntists were not impressed. "Friday, two days before the vote, they have come to say they love us. But where they in 1982 when they repatriated the constitution and where were they when Meech went down."

Bouchard began the new decade of the nineties as the Quebec lieutenant and a member of the top cabinet committees. In addition, Bouchard was trying to sell Meech Lake while trying to keep the Tories happy as well as Quebec nationalists; each group accused him of caving in to the other side. A taxing position for any one but Bouchard refused to take a rest as the pressure mounted. He made it clear that any changes to Meech would be unacceptable and the growing consensus to make changes to satisfy the other provinces infuriated him. Mulroney, however, felt that some compromised had to be reached with the provinces that were gaining support for the rejection of Meech. The main opponents were the liberals of Manitoba and New Brunswick along with Jean Cretien. In a speech in 1990 Cretien announced that he would not support Meech because of the distinct society clause. Bouchard was enraged by this and called Cretien "a constitutional disaster." In contrast, Mulroney saw Cretien as the key to getting the accord passed. He reasoned that if he could convince Cretien then the other liberals would follow. Thus, Mulroney recruited Stanley Hartt to conduct secret negotiations with the liberals. Bouchard had become the major force in the Quebec caucus and Mulroney could not afford to see him go.

After the labour camps, Lucien had a heightened awareness of how the other side lived. Lucien would travel with his father sometimes delivering lumber to the next town over of Arvida. The Anglophones in Arvida saw the french as inferior to themselves and took pride in the fact that most did not speak french even though they had lived there for years. However, for young boys like Lucien they had to speak some English in order to get a job. Arvida was a housing seetlement for those that worked for Alcan, the aluminum company. Alcan owned all of the houses and it was clear that no Francophone could rent in the better districts even if they could pay. "The Anglos considered the French to be second class citizens, like Negroes in the south." commented Joan Bell , who lived in the town.(Martin, 1997) Lucien's memory of this segregation would influence him greatly in his life choices. "Very early in my life," Lucien would later say, "money and authority were English." These factors, he realized, were a major part of the nationalism in the area that would surface.

Although many of his former associates at the federal level felt Bouchard was a traitor, the nationalists in Quebec felt they had a new hero. In his first public address after his resignation, Bouchard was greeted with mu

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Approximate Word count = 6121
Approximate Pages = 24 (250 words per page double spaced)