From 1965 to 1970, he was the executive secretary and later executive assistant to Jean Lesage. He was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec as a Liberal in the riding of Jean-Talon in 1970. He was re-elected in 1973 and 1976. He held cabinet posts as Minister of Public Service (1970), Minister of Finance (1970–1976), president of the Treasury Board (1971–1976), and Minister of Education (1975–1976). He ran for the 1978 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election but lost to Claude Ryan. He resigned in 1978.
Corporate interlude
In 1979, he became vice president of development for the Laurentian Group. From 1980 to 1984, he was the chairman and chief executive officer of the Montreal City and District Savings Bank and CEO of Credit Foncier.
In 1996, he was appointed to the board of directors of the Bank of Canada. In 1991, he was elected director on the board of Laval University and became chairman of that board in 1997. In 2005, he was appointed chairman of the Advisory Commission for the Phase II: the Recommendations Phase of the Gomery Commission.
Honours
In 1994, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for having "fulfilled his responsibilities with the utmost competence, efficiency, judgment and integrity, always seeking to contribute to the improved economic and social well-being of his fellow citizens". [1]