Former radio host, member of parliament and bus driver Andre Arthur has died at age 78

Independant MP Andre Arthur applauds the Conservative supporters as he attends the Prime Minister Stephen Harper speech at Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage, south of Quebec City on Saturday April 28, 2007. (CP PHOTO/Clement Allard)

Former Quebec radio host Andre Arthur died Sunday.

While he was hospitalized for a few days, according to his own messages on Twitter, he himself prepared tweets announcing his death, which were published Sunday evening. He was 78 years old.

The cause of death was not communicated.

On Wednesday, he announced on social media that he discovered he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that was never diagnosed. The death occurred at the University Institute of Cardiology and Pneumology of Quebec.

J’ai eu le privilège d’avoir eu une carrière de chauffeur d'autocar, d’arbitre de sport, d’élu à la chambre des communes comme indépendant sans allégeance à un parti, une place dans les médias qui j’espère n’a laissé personne indiffèrent et que j’ai réussi à vous faire rire. pic.twitter.com/ub3RlKCro8

— André Arthur (@AndreAr94310915) May 9, 2022

Controversial, calling himself a polemicist, he occupied the airwaves in Quebec City since the early 1980s.

Arthur was also an independent Member of Parliament for the federal riding of Portneuf--Jacques-Cartier from 2006 to 2011.

After his election defeat, he made a return to radio, which was not without controversy. He was notably fired by CHOI Radio X in 2016, and then by BLVD 102.1 radio, after making homophobic remarks in 2018.

"I had the privilege of having had a career as a bus driver, a sports referee, elected to the House of Commons as an independent without allegiance to a party, a place in the media that I hope left no one indifferent and that I managed to make you laugh," he wrote in his posthumous tweet.

Arthur is survived by his son René, his three grandchildren, his daughter Pascale, his 'tender Lucy' and his brother Louis.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 9, 2022.