Louis Robichaud

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Louis Joseph Robichaud (born 1925) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as Premier of New Brunswick from 1960 to 1970. Elected to the New Brunswick legislature in 1952, he became provincial Liberal leader in 1958 and led his party to victory in 1960, 1963 and 1967 before being defeated by Richard Hatfield's Conservatives in 1970.

Hon. Louis Robichaud, P.C.

Rank:	25th
Term of Office:	July 12, 1960 - November 11, 1970
Predecessor:	Hugh John Flemming
Successor:	Richard Hatfield
Date of Birth:	October 21, 1925
Place of Birth:	St-Antoine, New Brunswick
Spouse:	none
Profession:	Lawyer
Political Party:	Liberal

The first Acadian premier of New Brunswick since Peter J. Veniot and the first to win an election, Robichaud modernized the province's hospitals and public schools and introduced a wide range of social reforms. The Liberals also passed an act making New Brunswick officially bilingual.

Robichaud also restructured the municipal tax regime, ending the ability of business of playing one municipality against another in order to extract the lowest tax rates. He also expanded the government and sought to ensure that the quality of health care and education was the same across the province -- a programme he called equal opportunity which is still a political buzz phrase in New Brunswick.

In 1971 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

He was called to the Senate of Canada on December 21, 1973, retired from the Upper House on October 21, 2000 upon reaching his seventy-fifth birthday and currently resides in New Brunswick.