{{Short description|Canadian politician (1942–2026)}} {{For|the 19th-century journalist and political figure in Canada East|Jean-Baptiste-Éric Dorion}} {{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Jean Dorion | honorific_suffix = | image = JeanDorion2007.jpg | caption = Dorion in 2007 | riding = Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher | parliament = Canadian | term_start = 2008 | term_end = 2011 | predecessor = Caroline St-Hilaire | successor = Pierre Nantel | birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1942|08|17}} | birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2026|01|23|1942|08|17}} | death_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada | party = Bloc Québécois | spouse = | profession = Sociologist, activist, politician | footnotes = | children = 5 }}
'''Jean Dorion''' (August 17, 1942 – January 23, 2026) was a Canadian politician, sociologist and a Quebec nationalist leader. He was a President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal (SSJBM) and was the treasurer of the affiliated Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ). A polyglot, he spoke six languages,<ref name="Madame">[http://www.madame.ca/madame/client/fr/VotreVie/DetailNouvelle.asp?idNews=2117&idSM=116 "Deux histoires d'amour à savourer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929160440/http://www.madame.ca/madame/client/fr/VotreVie/DetailNouvelle.asp?idNews=2117&idSM=116 |date=29 September 2011 }} by Betty Achard, ''Madame Magazine'', October 2003, retrieved October 5, 2006</ref> including Japanese, his wife's native language. He was elected as a member of parliament for the Bloc Québécois in the 2008 Canadian federal election, in the riding of Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher.<ref>[http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080303/CPPRESSE/80303001/6730/CPACTUALITES Mario Girard : Jean Dorion pourrait se joindre au Bloc | La Presse | Cyberpresse<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
== Early life and career == Starting in the 1960s, several years before the adoption of the Charter of the French Language, Dorion was a vocal advocate of French language rights. He worked in the Government of Quebec,<ref name="Release">[http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20060912/CPARTS/609120682 "Intégration des immigrants : la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste s'inquiète des intentions du gouvernement Charest"], press release, CNW Telbec, June 8, 2003, retrieved October 2, 2006</ref> first as political attaché for Minister of Immigration Jacques Couture, and later as Chief of Cabinet of Minister Gérald Godin when he held the responsibility of the application of the Charter of the French Language.<ref>[http://www.csn.qc.ca/forcedesmots/Forcedesmots13p8-9.pdf#search=%22%22Jean%20Dorion%22%20femme%22 "Une descente lente, mais inexorable"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925044353/http://www.csn.qc.ca/forcedesmots/Forcedesmots13p8-9.pdf#search=%22%22Jean%20Dorion%22%20femme%22 |date=25 September 2006 }}, ''La force des mots'', n.13, March 2004, retrieved October 5, 2006</ref>
He was President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal from 1989 to 1994. Afterwards, he held the role of General Delegate for five and a half years<ref name="Madame"/> at the General Delegation of Quebec in Tokyo.<ref name="Release"/> He was returned to the post of President of the SSJBM in 2003, succeeding Guy Bouthillier.
Dorion stated that Quebec's Bill 21 which prevents public servants with authority from wearing religious symbols is aimed at Muslims and other religious minorities. Dorion avowed that the CAQ's secular charter exploits 'petty prejudices' against immigrants to Quebec, and that 'I totally disagree with [the Bloc Québécois] on that point.'<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.5124292/why-quebec-nationalist-jean-dorion-opposes-controversial-secularism-bill-1.5125048| title = Why Quebec nationalist Jean Dorion opposes controversial secularism bill {{!}} CBC Radio}}</ref>
== Personal life and death == In August 1989, on a stroll through Old Montreal, Dorion met Hiromi, a Japanese tourist looking for directions. She was then living in the American city of Cleveland, completing a doctoral thesis in nursing science. Speaking some Japanese, he guided her in her native language and charmed her. She learned French and moved to Montreal on June 23, 1990, in time to witness, two days later, one of the biggest and most famous Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parades in history (after the end of the Meech Lake Accord).<ref name="Madame"/>
They were married on May 4, 1991. Five children were born from this union. The children followed Saturday courses to complete their Japanese culture and spoke Japanese at home.<ref name="Madame"/>
Dorion died in Montreal from complications of Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer on January 23, 2026, at the age of 83.<ref>[https://montreal.citynews.ca/2026/01/23/former-bloc-quebecois-mp-jean-dorion-dies/ Former Bloc Québécois MP Jean Dorion dies at age 83]</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2026/01/31/afac581b5d/dorion-jean |title=Décès - Dorion, Jean |language=french |publisher=Le Journal de Montréal |date=31 January 2026 |access-date=31 January 2026}}</ref>
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=17298}} *{{IMDb name| 16873196}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorion, Jean}} Category:1942 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Bloc Québécois MPs Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Category:Politicians from Montreal Category:Presidents of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Canada Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in Quebec