Jean-Luc Pépin

The Right Honourable Jean-Luc Pepin PC CC
Pépin, c. 1968
Minister of Transport
In office 3 March 1980 – 11 August 1983
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Don Mazankowski
Succeeded by	Lloyd Axworthy
Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce
In office 1 April 1969 – 26 November 1972
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Alastair Gillespie
Minister of Trade and Commerce
In office 6 July 1968 – 31 March 1969
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Charles Drury
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Acting 30 March 1968 – 19 April 1968
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson
Preceded by	Robert Winters
Succeeded by	Charles Drury
Minister of Labour
In office 20 April 1968 – 5 July 1968
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	John Robert Nicholson
Succeeded by	Bryce Mackasey
Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources
In office 1 October 1966 – 5 July 1968
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Joe Greene
Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys
In office 18 December 1965 – 30 September 1966
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson
Preceded by	John Watson MacNaught
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister without portfolio
In office 7 July 1965 – 17 December 1965
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson
Member of Parliament for Ottawa—Carleton
In office 22 May 1979 – 3 September 1984
Preceded by	Jean Pigott
Succeeded by	Barry Turner
Member of Parliament for Drummond (Drummond—Arthabaska; 1963–1968)
In office 8 April 1963 – 29 October 1972
Preceded by	David Ouellet
Succeeded by	Jean-Marie Boisvert
Personal details
Born	(1924-11-01)1 November 1924 Drummondville, Quebec, Canada
Died	5 September 1995(1995-09-05) (aged 70) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Sheila-Mary Brock-Smith ​ ​ (m. 1952)​
Children	2
Education	University of Ottawa
Profession	Professor political commentator

Jean-Luc Pepin PC CC (1 November 1924 – 5 September 1995) was a Canadian academic, politician and Cabinet minister.

Political biography

Pepin was a political science professor at the University of Ottawa when he was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1963 election as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) from Quebec.

From 1965 to 1972, he served in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau in various capacities, including Minister of Mines and Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce overseeing the decision to have Canada adopt the metric system.

He lost his seat in the 1972 election, and retired from public life until 1975 when Trudeau appointed him to chair the Anti-Inflation Board.

In 1977, he and former Premier of Ontario John Robarts were appointed to head the "Task Force on Canadian Unity". This task force was created by the federal government as a response to the election of the Parti Québécois, which seeks political independence for Quebec in the 1976 provincial election.

The task force issued a report in 1979 that recommended entrenching language rights in the Canadian Constitution, and for the reduction of federal powers in all areas but economic management. The Task Force also recommended the replacement of the Senate of Canada with a "Council of the Federation" whose members would be appointed by provincial governments, and to grant the provinces a say in appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada. Most of these recommendations were rejected by the Government of Canada, and did not make their way into the new Constitution that was enacted in 1982.

After a seven-year absence, Pepin returned to the House of Commons in the 1979 election. When the Liberals returned to power after the 1980 election, he became Minister of Transport until 12 August 1983. In that position he was responsible for

• the drastic 1981 passenger rail service cuts (from which Canadian passenger rail never recovered);
• abolition of the Crowsnest Pass rates;
• the National Ports Policy, enunciated in the Harbour Commissions Act.

Later, he became a Minister of State to the Department of External Affairs and Minister responsible for La Francophonie.

Later life

Following heart surgery, he retired from politics in 1984, and returned to academia as a fellow at the University of Ottawa's Institute on Public Policy.

In 1977, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. He was bestowed the title, The Right Honourable in 1992.

Electoral history

1963 Canadian federal election: Drummond—Arthabaska
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Jean-Luc Pépin	17,338
	Social Credit	David Ouellet	14,739
	Progressive Conservative	J.-Claude Couture	3,416
	New Democratic	Pierre Lambert	1,456

1965 Canadian federal election: Drummond—Arthabaska
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Jean-Luc Pépin	15,179
	Ralliement créditiste	André Fortin	8,518
	Progressive Conservative	Pierre Jutras	7,413
	Independent	Sam Boulanger	6,068
	New Democratic	Charles-Émile Riendeau	1,660

1968 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Jean-Luc Pépin	11,667	38.5
	Ralliement créditiste	Claude Proulx	9,545	31.5
	Progressive Conservative	André Biron	8,342	27.6
	New Democratic	Pierre Gagné	723	2.4
Total valid votes			30,277	100.0

1972 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social Credit	Jean-Marie Boisvert	15,923	42.2	+10.7
	Liberal	Jean-Luc Pépin	15,853	42.0	+3.5
	Progressive Conservative	Roger Rousseau	5,351	14.2	-13.4
	New Democratic	Ann Dewitt	590	1.6	-0.8
Total valid votes			37,717	100.0

1979 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jean-Luc Pépin	33,972
	Progressive Conservative	Jean Pigott	26,972
	New Democratic	Jill Vickers	8,234

1980 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jean-Luc Pépin	34,960
	Progressive Conservative	Bert Lawrence	22,384
	New Democratic	Don Francis	7,788
	Independent	Oli Cosgrove	235

Note: Social Credit vote is compared to Ralliement créditiste vote in the 1968 election.

Bibliography

• Pepin, Jean-Luc, 1924–. National ports policy = Politique portuaire nationale / Jean-Luc Pepin. – [Ottawa] : Minister of Transport = Ministre des transports, 1981.

Archives

There is a Jean-Luc Pepin fonds at Library and Archives Canada.

External links

• Order of Canada Citation
• Jean-Luc Pépin – Parliament of Canada biography
• Jean-Luc Pepin at The Canadian Encyclopedia