Today we mark the anniversary of the birth of one of the most fascinating leaders in 20^th century Canadian politics. I speak, of course, of former Québec Premier and nationalist René Lévesque.An important journalist in his pre-politics career, Mr. Lévesque first served as a Québec Liberal cabinet minister in the 1960s. Over time, he increasingly became disillusioned by Canadian federalism, leaving the Quebec Liberal party to eventually found the Parti Québécois to advocate for his province’s independence.In November of 1976 Lévesque and his party shocked Canadians with a majority victory in that year’s Québec election. While dedicated to sovereignty, the new Premier and his team first promised – and then delivered – on bringing good government to the province after various scandals had plagued the previous government of Robert Bourassa.  Among his signature reforms were cleaning up political financing in Québec -- which had a profound effect that on provincial politics -- and his popular Bill 101, which anchored the French language in the majority home of the French Canadians.This set the stage for Lévesque and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau – both giants of Québec and Canadian politics – to engage in epic battles for the heart and soul of citizens of their home province. These culminated in the 1980 Québec Referendum on Lévesque’s plan for sovereignty-association between the province and the rest of Canada. In May 1980, Quebecers rejected this concept by a margin of 60 per cent to 40 per cent.But despite his defeat, the PQ government retained the trust of voters and remained in power. Trudeau and he faced off again, often in front of television cameras, at various first ministers' conferences as the federal government sought to repatriate and reform the constitution. In November 1981, Trudeau and nine premiers reached an agreement but Lévesque refused to sign on, meaning one of the founding provinces had not agreed to the constitutional package that included the new Charter of Rights.René Lévesque remained Premier until stepping down in 1985 due to tensions over his leadership of the party due to his increasingly moderate approach to separation.  Sadly, he died in 1987 but is remembered as one of the great Quebecers of his time. Along the way he earned the respect of Canadians who, while not agreeing with his quest for Quebec sovereignty, recognized his historic role and commitment to seeking change through the democratic process.A remarkable man I’m pleased to celebrate today.You can watch this proud Quebecer’s concession speech on Referendum night in 1980 here.[caption id="attachment_581706" align="alignleft" width="250"] René Lévesque[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.