Gérald Godin (November 13, 1938 – October 12, 1994) was a Canadian poet and politician from Quebec. During his time as a politician, he served in various cabinet posts in the governments of René Lévesque and Pierre-Marc Johnson. As cabinet minister, Godin has been noted for his openness towards immigrants. by believing that they should be welcomed and acknowledged that they left due to negative impact of authoritarianism in their home country. However, he felt that immigrants should respect Quebec history and integrate into Québécois society.
Godin also avoided scapegoating immigrants. In 1993, after the Charlottetown Accord failed to pass, Godin was furious when Jacques Parizeau, who proclaimed that sovereignty could be achieved without Anglophones and Allophones of Quebec, by telling Le Devoir that Parizeau comment 'scraped' previous effort of outreach done by the PQ.
Personal life and death
His life companion was the Québécois singer Pauline Julien. Godin died from brain cancer in October 1994.
Legacy
As a poet, he won the Prix Québec-Paris for his 1987 work Ils ne demandaient qu'à brûler.
The area surrounding the Mont-Royal metro station has been named Place Gérald-Godin in his honour.