Robert Labine
Robert "Bob" Labine (born on December 23, 1940 in Gatineau, Quebec) was a Quebec politician in Gatineau, Quebec. He was best known for being mayor of the former city of Gatineau between 1988 and 1994 and again between 1999 and 2001.
Labine entered politics as a councillor of Gatineau in 1968 and remained at that position until 1978. He was elected mayor in 1988 and re-elected for a second mandate in 1991. Due to conflicts of interest, he resigned in 1994 before re-entering politics in 1999 after then-incumbent mayor Guy Lacroix stepped down after five years as mayor. Labine defeated future ADQ candidate Berthe Miron.
In 2001, Labine competed against then-Hull incumbent mayor Yves Ducharme and lost. After the election, he was little involved in municipal politics.
During his first mandate, Labine (along with former Aylmer mayor Constance Provost) opposed a project of regrouping the city of Hull, Aylmer and Gatineau in the early 1990s. The merger would occur in 2002 when a bill by the Parti Québécois forced the merger of those three municipalities along with Buckingham and Masson-Angers. In 2000, Labine mentioned that a merger would not save money.
During his tenure as mayor, Labine was in favour of building a new sports complex in the Gatineau sector. However, the building is still not built due to negotiations with other levels of governments. The mayor of the new city of Gatineau Marc Bureau had committed of having this project realized. Labine was also in favour of building a bridge to Ottawa in the east-end via the Kettle Island towards the Aviation Parkway, a project opposed by Ottawa.
After his political career, Labine led a successful bid for the city of Gatineau to obtain the 2010 Quebec Summer Games in which it defeated four other bids coming from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Shawinigan, Rivière-du-Loup and Charlevoix.
Labine is married and has two children.
Electoral record (partial)
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Labine | 15,557 | 48.32 |
| Berthe Miron | 13,824 | 42.94 |
| Rosaire Cauchon | 2,816 | 8.75 |
| Total valid votes | 32,197 | 100 |
Source: Carrie Buchanan, Kate Jaimet and Zev Singer, "Labine makes astonishing comeback: Ducharme returned for third term in Hull; Croteau unopposed in Aylmer," Ottawa Citizen, 8 November 1999, A4.
Gatineau mayoral by-election results, June 5, 1988
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See the 1987 Gatineau municipal election page for details on Deschênes and Leroux.
Source: David Gamble, "Labine wins tight race for mayor in Gatineau," Ottawa Citizen, 6 June 1988, A1.