The former FLQ and his ex-wife Louise Lanctôt had both been convicted of the kidnapping and seizure of British diplomat James Richard Cross, which sparked the October 1970 crisis.
After negotiating the hostage’s release in exchange for safe passage to Cuba, Jacques Cossette-Ttrudel, like his former wife, spent nearly eight years in exile in the Caribbean and France before returning to Quebec to face justice.
Like other influential members of the independence movement, the 23-year-old at the time of the events then rejected the use of violence.
Arrested upon his return to Quebec in December 1978, he pleaded guilty to plead guilty to plead guilty to historic counts of conspiracy, kidnapping, and violent incarceration. He was sentenced to two less years in prison per day and three years’ deprivation of civil and political liberties.
Jacques Cossette-Ttrudel made a career in the world of communications after a short period of imprisonment from 1978 to 1980.
He also wrote and directed A Quiet Revolution, a popular history of Quebec (1960-1980), a four-hour documentary series released in 2000.
A student guide
Before joining the FLQ, Jacques Cossette-Trudel was a leader of the student protest movement at Cégep de Maisonneuve, which fought for the democratization of the Québec school system in 1968 and 1969.
Jacques Cossette-Trudel joined the FLQ after the student crisis and the occupation of the CEGEPs in the late 1960s.
Photo: Hello police
He is very active on campus. […] He is very sensitive to the ideals of the NDP. He’s a leftist, but a somewhat intellectual leftist. […] He has a lot of charisma and a lot of power, says journalist Marc Laurendeau, who has met Mr Cossette-Trudel three times in his career.
A crisis that still fascinates half a century later
Fifty years after the October Crisis, in the fall of 2020, Jacques Cossette-Ttrudel was once again the subject of talk by saying in an interview with Radio-Canada that his Chénier cell comrade Paul Rose had suggested he kill James Cross during a secret meeting between the two men, which was then sought by the police.
After this conversation with Paul Rose, Jacques Cossette-Trudel was appalled, says Marc Laurendeau, moderator of the podcast To have live it, published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the October crisis. Paul Rose and Pierre Laporte’s cells had different visions, the journalist agrees.
After the death of Pierre Laporte, Jacques Cossette-Trudel cried all night and was ashamed to be in the FLQ, reports Mr Laurendeau.
These allegations were later denied by FLQ sympathizer Louise Verreault. This former companion of Paul Rose, who was present at the meeting, claims that her ex-spouse, who died in 2013, never suggested eliminating James Cross.
Upon his return from exile, Mr. Cossette-Trudel regretted his involvement with the FLQ, according to Marc Laurendeau. I lost my whole network of friends to exile, to prison. These people, to whom I was very close, no longer look at me, the ex-Felquiste said in an interview with the journalist.
Jacques Cossette-Trudel is notably survived by the two children he had with Louise Lanctôt during her exile, including influencer Alexis Cossette-Trudel (New window), a supporter of the American far-right movement QAnot known for her anti-hygiene measures during the pandemic.
Before his death, according to Marc Laurendeau, he was preparing a documentary about his exile.
S1 EP8 – The October Crisis: Interview with Jacques Cossette-Trudel
PODCAST • For living it
S1 EP8 – The October Crisis: Interview with Jacques Cossette-Trudel. 52-minute audio content, podcast. listen to audio.
Duration of 52 minutes51:45