Léon Balcer | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Léon Balcer

Léon Balcer, politician (b at Trois-Rivières, Qué 13 Oct 1917; d at Ste Foy, Qué 22 Mar 1991). Educated as a lawyer at Laval, Balcer was elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative in 1949.

Balcer, Léon

Léon Balcer, politician (b at Trois-Rivières, Qué 13 Oct 1917; d at Ste Foy, Qué 22 Mar 1991). Educated as a lawyer at Laval, Balcer was elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative in 1949. He became solicitor general in the John DIEFENBAKER government in 1957 and minister of transport in 1960.

Re-elected in 1963, Balcer became the French Canadian Conservative spokesman, but his disagreements with Diefenbaker became increasingly evident. Balcer broke ranks with Diefenbaker over the new Canadian flag during the FLAG DEBATE and did not run in the 1965 election. In 1966, running provincially as a Liberal, he was defeated and retired to private life.