‘Father of Quebec sociology,’ Guy Rocher, dies at the age of 101
Posted September 3, 2025 6:53 pm.
Last Updated September 4, 2025 11:20 am.
Guy Rocher, the “father of Quebec sociology” and also one of the authors of Bill 101, has died at the age of 101.
Guy Rocher is one of the great architects of modern Quebec. He participated in the creation of the Ministry of Education in the early 1960s and in the drafting of the Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Bill 101, in the late 1970s.
More recently, he has been a staunch defender of state secularism, believing it to be a logical continuation of the “Quiet Revolution.”
Born in Berthierville on April 20, 1924, Rocher obtained a master’s degree in sociology from l’Université Laval and a doctorate from Harvard University, his thesis focusing on relations between Church and State in New France.
At the beginning of his teaching career, he was appointed a member of the Parent Commission by Paul Gérin-Lajoie, then a minister in the Liberal government of Jean Lesage.
The resulting report proposes a major reform of education in Quebec, following the major upheavals of the Quiet Revolution. It advocates the democratization and secularization of education in Quebec.
“If we look back to the 1960s, the French-speaking majority had very little access to higher education,” explained UQAM rector Stéphane Pallage in an interview with The Canadian Press on Wednesday.
“He changed the face of higher education by advocating for public education, accessible to the greatest number of people, and to the greatest number of French speakers. That was absolutely essential,” he emphasized.
The Quebec government is therefore doing everything possible to ensure that education is no longer considered a luxury, but a right.
He created the Ministry of Education, gave birth to the CEGEPs — general and vocational colleges — which replaced the religious instruction then provided under the authority of the Catholic Church and offered free access to them.
The Parent Commission also led to the creation of the Quebec University network and compulsory education until the age of 16.
“Without Rocher, Quebec would probably be very different today and UQAM would not have been born,” said Pallage, who considers him the “founding father” of the Montreal university.
Rocher is co-author of Law 101, a law that he would describe as national.
“It is linked to Quebec identity, because it speaks to its heart, the French language,” he wrote in Le Devoir in 2017 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the law.
He then added that the law had been designed to ensure the status of French.
“Quebecers were searching for what they were, what they are” during the linguistic crisis that the province experienced from 1967 to 1977, he continued.
More recently, Rocher expressed pessimism about the future of French in Quebec, in light of statistics showing a decline. He called for a rethink of Quebec’s language policy.
During his long and prolific career, Rocher was Director of the School of Social Work at l’Université Laval, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the l’Université de Montréal (UdeM), and Associate Researcher at the Centre for Research in Public Law at the UdeM. He also served as Associate Secretary General of the Executive Council of the Government of Quebec.
His work, “Introduction to General Sociology,” published in the late 1960s, gained worldwide fame and was translated into six languages.
Having received numerous awards, he was notably admitted to the Order of Canada in 1971 and to the National Order of Quebec in 1991.
His name is among those of the personalities of the Petit Larousse: the reference work recognizes his “decisive role in matters of linguistic, cultural and scientific policy” in Quebec.
A wave of tributes
Premier of Quebec François Legault recalled that the sociologist was “one of the great architects of the Quiet Revolution.”
“A committed intellectual, a rigorous thinker, and an ardent defender of secularism, Rocher has accompanied and inspired public debates for more than six decades. His work and his voice will continue to enlighten modern Quebec,” he reacted on X.
The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, was also quick to react to the news.
“Rocher will have marked the history of Quebec by greatly shaping the society in which we live today, but above all he was a kind man, available and generous with his time,” he wrote on X.
“Until the last minute, he never stopped giving back to the next generation, he never stopped getting involved in the great debates that shape Quebec,” he added, highlighting his “immense legacy and heritage.”
Describing him as a “visionary,” the Bloc Québécois (BQ) said that Rocher “had a great dream for Quebecers: to help them build their future by giving them access to higher education.”
BQ leader Yves-François Blanchet said he spoke with Rocher last week.
“You have no idea how much I respected this man, more handsome and larger than life. (…) I hope we all live up to his legacy, as the collective choice to live in a secular state is at the heart of his legacy,” he said in his message on X.
For Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, “today, Quebec loses a giant.”
The president of the l’Université du Québec, Alexandre Cloutier, emphasized that the sociologist was “one of the great builders of modern Quebec” in a Facebook post.
“A committed intellectual, humanist and statesman, he played a central role in the major transformations of our education system, notably by contributing to the creation of comprehensive schools, CEGEPs and l’Université du Québec,” he said.
Marie Montpetit, President and CEO of the Fédération des cégeps, emphasized that “Rocher was a builder and a visionary who was instrumental in Quebec, always thinking of the collective well-being above all else. He will be deeply missed.”
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
