Guy Roberge

Who was Guy Roberge?

Guy Roberge was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician and civil servant. He also served as Canada's Government Film Commissioner during the 1950s and 60s, in which capacity he ran the National Film Board of Canada. He was the first French Canadian to occupy this role.

He was born in Saint-Ferdinand, Quebec, and grew up in Inverness. He studied at Petit Séminaire de Québec, and then went on to graduate with a degree in law from Université Laval. Following his graduation in 1937, Roberge initially pursued a career not in law but in journalism, working for Le Soleil and L'Événement newspapers. However, in 1940 he switched to practising law, specialising in corporate law and authors' rights. During this period of his career he also served as an adviser to the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences.

He entered politics in the 1944 Quebec general election, when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for the Liberal party in Lotbinière. He lost his bid for re-election in 1948. From 1954 to 1955 he was the President of the Quebec branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs.