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Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 2003 and as leader of the Official Opposition from 1990 to 1993.
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politics · Prime Minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003 · politician · lawyer · diplomat · autobiographer · also Jean Chrétien, Jean Chretien, Joseph Jacques Jean Chretien, Chrétien
Born 11 January 1934 · Q128543
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“s human rights record because the Chinese never listened to such criticism, and instead were greatly annoyed about being lectured by Western leaders about their poor human rights record. Given that Canada could not really do anything to change the views of China”
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The Bureau | Sam Cooper: Zhu Rongji Went Off Script Beside Chrétien and Desmarais to Call Canada China's "Best Friend"—Then Beijing Omitted Record
Yahoo Finance: Jean Chrétien, Lisa LaFlamme, Cheryl McKenzie, Jim Balsillie, Rachel Pulfer and Jayme Poisson announced as speakers at Journalists for Human Rights' annual gala Night for ...
Yahoo: Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, warns former prime minister Jean Chrétien
CTV News: CTV National News: Why Jean Chretien was absent from King Charles' speech
Global News: Jean Chrétien proposes Donald Trump for the Order of Canada: ‘He has united us like never before!’
Yahoo Finance: Hon. Jean Chretien to Receive Award of Excellence for Parliamentary Service
Awarded Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2023).
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c-span: Jean Chretien
The Mississauga News: Jean Chretien honoured by university
Yahoo: Jean Chretien celebrates his 80th birthday with 80 family and friends
In order to prove that Canada was still a good American ally, despite opposing the upcoming Iraq war
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The end of Chrétien's time in office, that number had fallen to just 11
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“I do think that the Western world is getting too rich in relations to the poor world. And necessarily, we”
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The APEC report was issued by Judge Ted Hughes; it cleared Chrétien of wrongdoing, but stated that the PMO's Jean Carle had improperly pressured the RCMP to attack the protesters
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The Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled in Chrétien's favour, stating it was the prime minister's prerogative to advise the Queen not to give Canadians a British peerage if he felt so inclined, and therefore it was not an
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Campaign: 2000 federal election.
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (2000–2003).
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Oversaw Operation Yellow Ribbon in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, enacted the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and laid the groundwork for the legalization of same-sex marriage
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Supported NATO air strikes against Serbia, which had no Security Council approval
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Chrétien supported Canada's involvement in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing campaign of Yugoslavia over the issue of Kosovo, even through the operation was unsanctioned by the United Nations Security
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Chrétien had voted for a resolution sponsored by the Reform saying marriage was a union of a man and a woman only)
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Awarded Canadian Newsmaker of the Year (1998).
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Election lost: 1997 federal election.
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The Liberals lost all but a handful of seats in Atlantic Canada and Western Canada, but managed to retain a bare majority government due to their continued dominance of Ontario
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1997–2000).
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Campaign: 1997 federal election.
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Chrétien was confronted by a protester, Bill Clennett, during a walkabout in Hull, Quebec
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Six days after the referendum, Chrétien and his wife escaped injury when André Dallaire, armed with a knife, broke in the prime minister's official residence at 24 Sussex Drive
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The federalist non side won by the narrowest of margins, with 50
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The federal government was seized with fear and panic as polls showing that, under the leadership of Bouchard, the oui side was going to win
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Lucien Bouchard replaced the separatist premier of Quebec, Jacques Parizeau, as the de facto chair of the oui committee and, at that point, the support for the oui side started to dramatically increase, aided by the non
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That the Chrétien government began a policy of cuts designed to eliminate the deficit in order to reassure the markets
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When the budget was introduced, that figure had jumped to 14
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The Chrétien government introduced and passed the Canadian Firearms Registry, also called the long-gun registry
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“To go to our goal of 3 per cent of GNP, all the cuts have been announced in the budget. There will not be a new round.”
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Chrétien became prime minister
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Largely thanks to significant gains in Quebec and Atlantic Canada
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Only to be informed by the prime minister that there was no alternative
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These 15 aircraft were to be built entirely in Europe with no Canadian participation or industrial incentives
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Chrétien canceled the contract to buy the EH-101 helicopters, requiring the search for new helicopters to start over, and paid a $478 million termination fee to AgustaWestland
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Career landmark: Prime Minister of Canada (1993–2003).
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1993–1997).
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And singled out for criticism his former Rat Pack colleague Sheila Copps, who had promised during the 1993 election to resign within a year if the GST was not repealed
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Chrétien declared that "if we had been the government we would not have made this deal", and that only reason to support Charlottetown was that rejecting it would increase support for Quebec separatism
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“if we had been the government we would not have made this deal”
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And stated that the Liberal government would renegotiate NAFTA on more favourable terms to Canada within six months of taking office
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A poll revealed that the Liberals had fallen behind the New Democrats, which Chrétien admitted in an interview might have something to do with the scenes of obstructionist, often childish behavior by the Liberal senators
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To appoint eight PC senators to give the Tories a majority using a never-before-used section of the Constitution Act, the so-called "Deadlock Clause"
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The Bloc's Gilles Duceppe badly defeated Chrétien's hand-picked candidate Denis Coderre, costing the Liberals a constituency they had held since 1917; many attributed this to Chrétien's opposition to the Meech Lake Accor
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– the same day that the Meech Lake Accord failed to gain ratification – he was heavily criticized in the Quebec media for his opposition to the accord
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Chrétien declared that he would run for the Liberal Party leadership and proudly stated that the day would be remembered as the beginning of the "Chrétien era" in Canada
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Was taken for reasons of political expediency rather than principle, namely that he needed an issue to oppose the government on that would allow him to connect with the public; sources close to Chrétien were later to cla
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Career landmark: Leader of the Official Opposition (1990–1993).
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Career landmark: Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (1990–2003).
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1990–1993).
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“the Mulroney GST will disappear”
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Confirmed Chrétien's disdain for Martin, whom he saw as a Bay Street "big shot" like Turner
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Arguing that the answer was a policy of slow devaluation in which the dollar would be allowed to decline against other major world currencies; this would have the effect of both pricing out foreign imports and, by giving
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Triggering the June 1990 Liberal leadership election in Calgary
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The government could no longer levy tariffs on American imports, leading to furious complaints from Canadian industry about having to compete with American companies who did not pay the MST
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Returned to politics and won the leadership of the party in 1990, and became leader of the Official Opposition
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Chrétien, accompanied by his special executive assistant Jean Carle, went to Turner's office to hand in his resignation
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Amid tensions with Turner and began working in the private sector
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Suggesting that his retirement had always been intended to be temporary
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Career landmark: Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (1984–1984).
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1984–1986).
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Chrétien was appointed Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, putting him in charge of enforcing the National Energy Program (NEP), which helped to make him a hated figure in Alberta
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Career landmark: Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (1982–1984).
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The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could patriate the British North America Acts without the consent of the provinces, but also ruled this would be "odious"
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Career landmark: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (1980–1982).
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1980–1984).
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1979–1980).
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Trudeau announced in a press statement $2 billion in cuts without bothering to inform Chrétien beforehand about what he had decided to do, leaving his finance minister looking clueless in the resulting press interview
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Career landmark: Minister of Finance (1977–1979).
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Following the resignation of Finance Minister Donald MacDonald, Chrétien succeeded him
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Chrétien was appointed President of the Treasury Board, and beginning in 1976, he served as Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1974–1979).
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Career landmark: President of the Treasury Board (1974–1976).
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1972–1974).
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When the Bourassa government began the James Bay Project to develop hydroelectric dams on rivers flowing into James Bay, which was opposed by the local Cree bands who claimed the land slated for development, Chrétien int
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Career landmark: Minister of National Revenue (1968–1968).
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Career landmark: Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations (1968–1974).
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Career landmark: member of the House of Commons of Canada (1968–1972).
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Chrétien visited western Canada for the first time, which he was curious to see
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Served for a more substantial period of time as parliamentary secretary to Minister of Finance Mitchell Sharp
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Attended the Liberal convention in Ottawa that chose Lester Pearson as the party's leader, and where Chrétien supported Paul Martin Sr
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Married Aline Chaîné, whom he had met when he was 18 and she was 16
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In Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, as the 18th of 19 children (10 of whom did not survive infancy), of Marie (née Boisvert, 1892–1954) and Wellie Chrétien (1887–1980)
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Born 1934-01-11.
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