Life and Career
Pierre Laporte was born in Montreal, Quebec; the grandson of the famous Canadian statesman Alfred Leduc. He was a journalist with Le Devoir newspaper from 1945 to 1961, and was known for his crusading work against the government of Quebec's then-Premier Maurice Duplessis. During his years in journalism, he published a number of series targeting the management of the Duplessis government. In 1954, Le Devoir ran a six-part series on problems during the construction of the Bersimis-1 generating station. In 1958, he was part of a team of Le Devoir reporters unveiling the natural gas scandal, leading to the formation of the Salvas Commission, soon after the election of 1960.
After Duplessis' death, Laporte successfully ran for a seat in Chambly in the Quebec National Assembly and served in the government of Premier Jean Lesage. Laporte was a member of the Quebec Liberal Party, and considered to be a leading member of the party's left wing. After Lesage announced in 1969 that he would step down as party leader, Laporte ran to succeed him, but lost the 1970 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election to fellow cabinet member Robert Bourassa.
When Bourassa was elected Premier of Quebec in 1970, he appointed Laporte as his Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour.
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