Gilles Vigneault (born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Quebec's unofficial anthems: "Mon pays" and "Gens du pays", and his line Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver (My country is not a country, it is winter, from "Mon Pays") became a proverb in Quebec. Vigneault is a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec, Knight of the Legion of Honour, and Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Life and career

Vigneault was born in Natashquan, in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec. He started writing poetry during his studies at the seminary in Rimouski, and by the 1950s was publishing poems and writing songs for other performers. In 1959, he founded the publishing house Les Éditions de l'Arc to distribute his publications. His first collection, Étraves, was published in 1959. In 1960, Vigneault made his singing debut at the L'Arlequin club in Quebec City, followed by a successful Montreal concert later that year. In 1962, he recorded his first album, Gilles Vigneault, and received the Grand Prix du Disque from Montreal radio station CKAC. His reputation grew in Quebec and beyond with the success of his song "Mon Pays", from the soundtrack of the NFB film The Snow Has Melted on the Manicouagan (La neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan) in 1965. Vigneault's reputation as a songwriter and performer continued to spread and he became popular not only in Quebec, but also in English Canada and Europe. He performed in major Canadian concert halls, including Montreal's Place des Arts, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and at Toronto's Massey Hall. In Europe, he toured in France, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The mid-1970s saw Vigneault's participation in several major events. On 13 August 1974, 130,000 spectators came together on the Plains of Abraham for the Superfrancofête, where Vigneault participated in a historic concert alongside Félix Leclerc and Robert Charlebois. The concert was recorded and released as the album . At the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day concert "Les 5 Jean-Baptistes" on Montreal's Mount Royal on 24 June 1976, Gilles Vigneault performed together with Robert Charlebois, Claude Léveillée, Jean-Pierre Ferland, and Yvon Deschamps. This concert was recorded and released as 1 fois 5, which later received the Grand Prix du Disque (the Charles Cros award). In October 2022, he received an honorary doctorate from Université TÉLUQ for his lifetime achievements, notably his contribution to Québécois identity, which mirrored, according to spokesperson Lucie Laflamme, TELUQ's own mission to "solely offer distance education in French across North America, a core of the foundation behind what made us unique for the last 50 years". Vigneault's political views have remained strongly in favour of national sovereignty for Quebec. During the 2014 Quebec general election campaign, he supported the Parti Québécois. The main subjects of Vigneault's writing are Quebec and its people, as well as human relationships, love, and everyday life. Vigneault is also concerned with environmental issues and has written songs and tales for children. His childhood reminiscences about his upbringing were filmed by Michel Moreau for the 1993 documentary film A Childhood in Natashquan (Une enfance à Natashquan).

Family

Gilles Vigneault has seven children: Michel, Louis, François (a poet and lyricist), Pascale, Guillaume (a novelist), Jessica (a pianist and singer), and Benjamin (a percussionist).

Discography (partial)

Gilles Vigneault (1962) Gilles Vigneault chante et récite (1963) Gilles Vigneault vol. 3 (1964) À la Comédie-Canadienne (1965) Mon pays (1966) Gilles Vigneault enregistré à Paris (1966) La Manikoutai (1967) Le nord du nord (1968) Les voyageurs (1969) Musicorama: Olympia 1969 (1969) Les grands succès de Gilles Vigneault (1971) (two-record "greatest hits" compilation) Le temps qu'il fait sur mon pays (1971) C'est le temps (1971) (two-record compilation) Pays du fond de moi (1973) TNM 73 (1973) J'ai planté un chêne (1976) À l'encre blanche (1977) Gilles Vigneault à Bobino (1977) (two-record set) Comment vous donner des nouvelles (1978) Les quatre saisons de Piquot (1978) Avec les mots du dimanche (1979) (two-record set) Combien de fois faut-il parler d'amour (1982) Un jour, je ferai mon grand cerf-volant (1983) Mets donc tes plus belles chansons ensemble (1986) (compilation) Les îles (1987) 1960-1990: Chemin faisant, cent et une chansons (1990) CD 1 CD 2 CD 3 CD 4 CD 5 CD 6 Le chant du portageur (1992) C'est ainsi que j'arrive à toi (1996) Voyagements : En direct du théâtre Champlain (2001) (CD box set containing 2 disks) CD 1 CD 2 Au bout du cœur (2003) Gilles Vigneault et les Charbonniers de l'enfer (2007) Arriver chez soi (2008) Les années soixante (2010) Retrouvailles (2010) Retrouvailles 2 (2011) Tu peux dormir le temps nous veille - Les berceuses de Gilles Vigneault (2012) Vivre debout (2014) Ma jeunesse (2018) Comme une chanson d'amour (2021)

Honours

Honorary doctorates: Awards and honours: He is a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2000), Knight of the Légion d'honneur (1986), and Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1990). Several cultural institutions and streets in Quebec and France bear the name of Gilles Vigneault: