Pierre Lorange

Lorange was a jeweller in private life.[1]

Lorange first became a member of the Montreal city council in 1966, when he was selected by other councillors to fill a vacant seat.[2] He was re-elected in the 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, and 1982 municipal elections and served as vice-chair of the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet) during his later years on council.[3]

In 1985, he helped pass a motion that banned most artists from selling their wares on downtown Montreal streets.[4] The following year, he went on a business trip to China that was paid for by CP Air, a branch of Canadian Pacific, which has large property holdings in Montreal. Lorange broke no rules by taking the trip, but critics nonetheless charged that it highlighted the need for a municipal code of ethics.[5]

Political organizer

Lorange was for many years the chief political organizer of Mayor Drapeau's Civic Party of Montreal and was considered the third most important figure in Drapeau's administration.[6] Lorange was completely loyal to Drapeau, whom he once described as "the father of the party, the enlightened man with great vision and exceptional balance."[7]

During his last years in office, Lorange fought efforts by opposition parties and the provincial government to limit anonymous donations to political parties.[8] Critics often charged that the Civic Party was abusing a loophole in a 1978 provincial law that prohibited anonymous donations of over one hundred dollars, except when the money was collected at "political meetings." The latter term was not clearly defined, and the Civic Party collected almost half of its election budget from anonymous donations in 1978.[9]

Regional councillor

Lorange was a member of the regional Montreal Urban Community and served as head of its planning committee in the 1980s. In 1985, he announced that the city of Montreal would drop its previous objection to "mini-downtowns" being set up in suburban communities. While he acknowledged that the new areas might not benefit Montreal, he added that they did not post a threat to the vitality of the city's downtown.[10]

After Drapeau

Lorange sought the leadership of the Civic Party in July 1986, after Drapeau announced his resignation.[11] He withdrew from the contest before balloting, however, and gave his support to the eventual winner, Claude Dupras.[12] Lorange was not a candidate in the 1986 municipal election, although he campaigned for the Civic Party and attacked Montreal Citizens' Movement (MCM) mayoral candidate Jean Doré by calling him a socialist.[13] The MCM won a landslide victory in this election, and the Civic Party was reduced to only one seat.[14]

In 1988, Lorange called for Dupras to stand down as Civic Party leader.[15] He became involved in a local green space campaign the following year, and some believed he would attempt a political comeback. Ultimately, however, this came to nothing.[16]

In 1994, Lorange announced his subject for Vision Montreal mayoral candidate Pierre Bourque.[17]