Robert Burns

Robert Burns (September 5, 1936 – May 15, 2014) was a Canadian politician, attorney and union activist from Quebec, Canada.

Background

He was born on September 5, 1936, in Montreal to working-class family with English speaking father of Irish Quebecer descent and a French-Canadian mother. His father delivered bread for a living and died when Robert was two.

He was re-elected in 1973 and 1976. Burns was the informal leader of the left-wing faction of the PQ and often clashed with the more moderate PQ leader René Lévesque, particularly over labour disputes, and criticised Levesque's position during the La Presse strike in 1971 with such vigour that when he left a meeting with Levesque, he slammed the door and shattered its glass pane.

Cabinet Member

In 1977, Burns was appointed to Premier René Lévesque's Cabinet and became a key architect of the government's drive for Quebec independence. Burns also issued a white paper favouring proportional representation but the idea was not popular with his colleagues.

Footnotes