Background
Chrétien was born on Jan. 11, 1934, at Shawinigan, Quebec, 18th of the 19 children of Wellie Chrétien and Marie Boisvert.
Chrétien was born on Jan. 11, 1934, at Shawinigan, Quebec, 18th of the 19 children of Wellie Chrétien and Marie Boisvert.
The young Chretien received his early education in Catholic schools.
He identified with his machinist father in resenting the union-busting policies of then Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis and so developed an interest in populist politics. Chretien attended Laval University and while studying law there served as president of the Liberal Students of Canada. In 1957 he married his high school sweetheart, Aline Chaine. In 1963 he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons. Chretien held nine cabinet positions under prime ministers Lester Pearson and Pierre Elliott Trudeau. From 1977 to 1979 he was the first French-Canadian to hold the post of minister of finance. Like Trudeau, he has been a defender of Canadian unity rather than an advocate of separatism for Quebec.
Defeated in a bid to become leader of the Liberal Party in 1984, Chretien resigned from Parliament and for a few years resumed a private law practice. He also wrote his autobiography, Straight from the Heart. In 1990 he again ran for party leader, overcoming, among other difficulties, a speech impediment and partial deafness stemming from facial paralysis, the result of a birth defect. His challenges at the time were an impoverished party and lack of support among the rank-and-file.
Tory prime minister Brian Mulroney resigned in June 1993 and was succeeded by Kim Campbell. The rebuilt Liberal Party then held a 10-point lead over the Tories. Though this dipped during the summer campaign, it returned by the time of the October election, and the Liberals under Chretien received a majority in the House of Commons. Chretien's campaign promises--creating jobs, preserving the social safety net, yet cutting the deficit--looked incompatible, but his strengths, experience and skill at both negotiating and delegating, were on his side.
