Michel Chartrand - Involvement For Quebec Independence

Involvement For Quebec Independence

In 1968, Michel Chartrand was elected president of the Montréal Central Council of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, serving in that position until 1978. By the end of the 1960s, his views became more resolved. As a member of the Quebec Independence movement, Chartrand staunchly supported the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) terrorists saying, "We are going to win because there are more boys ready to shoot Members of Parliament than there are policemen."

During the October Crisis, when asked by a reporter about the ordeal the family of kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross was being put through, Chartrand stated: "I have no more sympathy for Mrs. Cross than for the wives of thousands of men without jobs in Quebec at the present time." Even after the murder of Quebec vice-premier Pierre Laporte, Chartrand remained steadfast in his beliefs, and proved it by bailing FLQ leader Charles Gagnon out of jail, paying nearly three thousand dollars of his own money. On October 15, 1975, five years after the October Crisis, FLQ and Front de rassemblement d'action populaire members and supporters met at the Paul-Sauvé Centre in Montreal where Michel Chartrand addressed the crowd.

In the 1998 Quebec election, he again ran for political office. He represented the Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste (now Québec solidaire) against Lucien Bouchard in Jonquière, finishing third with 14% of the votes.