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Nicknames of politicians and personalities in Quebec

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A custom of Quebecers is to give nicknames to their politicians (and some personalities), most especially their Premiers. Many of those given to Premiers are affectionate or even express admiration, while others are insulting.

Nicknames of Quebec PremiersEdit

  • Maurice Duplessis (1936–1939 and 1944–1959): Le Chef ("The Leader" or "The Chief"). Often pronounced (and even spelled) "Le Cheuf", to reflect an old-fashioned joual pronunciation of the word.
    • Often used disparagingly to evoke Duplessis's despotism. Nevertheless, he apparently used the nickname to refer to himself.
  • Daniel Johnson Sr. (1966–1968): Danny Boy.
    • Name given to the portrayal of Johnson as a comical and clueless cowboy in political cartoons drawn by Normand Hudon before Johnson taking power. An apparent reference to his Irish roots.
  • Robert Bourassa (1970–1976 and 1985–1994)
    • Boubou.
    • L'homme le plus détesté du Québec ("The most hated man of Quebec").
    • Bourassa I; Bourassa II.
      • Terms historians use to refer to Bourassa and his governments under his first two mandates and his last two mandates as Premier, respectively.
  • René Lévesque (1976–1985): Ti-Poil (literally, "Lil' Hair", but more accurately translated as "Baldy").
    • A reminder of his often ruffled comb-over.
  • Jacques Parizeau (1994–1996): Monsieur ("Sir").
    • Positive and relatively appreciative reference to his well-known aristocratic pride and assurance. Source of the title of a 2003 documentary, Monsieur about Parizeau.
  • Lucien Bouchard (1996–2001):
    • Lulu.
    • Barbe Bleue.
  • Jean Charest (2003–2012): Charest has gained numerous nicknames:
    • Patapouf or Patapouf Premier ("Patapouf the First").
      • The name was rumoured to be a nickname given by Charest's wife, something he denied. It first came to be used in the campaign Destituons Patapouf!, an operation of disgruntled citizens who spread a petition from 2003 to 2004 to have Charest recalled, not unlike California governor Gray Davis. Loco Locass (music group), in their song Libérez-nous des libéraux ("Free us from the liberals") used this nickname to refer to him. The word is an archetypal name for a clown in Quebec French (like Bozo). It is also a pejorative way to talk about someone fat, so it could refer to the fact that he gained some weight. Patapouf Premier is a sarcastic variant that paints Charest as a farcical, despotic monarch. Both are used mockingly.
    • Le Frisé ("Curly").
      • Referring to his famous curly hair. It is negative. A humorous, mocking song from irony rocker Mononc' Serge about the man is entitled "Le Frisé".
    • Le p'tit Saint-Jean-Baptiste ("Lil' Saint John the Baptist").
      • The Saint-Jean-Baptiste parades of the first half of the 20th century usually featured a curly-haired boy representing Saint John the Baptist. It is therefore another stab at Charest's hairstyle; tied in is the fact that Charest's date of birth is June 24, the feast of John the Baptist.
    • Le mouton ("The Sheep")
      • Another reference to his curly hair. Due to Google bombing, a search using Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" option for "mouton insignifiant" (insignificant sheep) used to link to Charest's official MNA webpage.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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      • Used by opposition parties as a pejorative against him, due to perceived shifting of his position on issues.

Similar nicknamesEdit

See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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