At least a thousand people, including Prime Minister Paul Martin and other dignitaries, crowded into a cathedral in Moncton on Tuesday for the funeral of New Brunswick's first Acadian premier.

Louis J. Robichaud, credited with transforming New Brunswick into a modern, bilingual province, died last Wednesday at age 79 after a brief battle with cancer.

Mourners packed a Moncton cathedral Tuesday for Louis J. Robichaud's funeral.
Mourners packed a Moncton cathedral Tuesday for Louis J. Robichaud's funeral.

So many people packed into the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption Cathedral to mourn the man known as "Little Louis" that dozens had to watch the services on a video monitor in the basement.

The prime minister sat beside Robichaud's widow, Jacqueline.

The casket was carried into the church draped in the New Brunswick flag, which Robichaud helped to create.

André Richard, the Archbishop of Moncton who presided over the service, praised Robichaud's contributions to the province.

"A man of Louis Robichaud's stature helps us look at time with hope and optimism," Richard said.

Thousands more mourners queued to pay their respects during a visitation Monday at the University of Moncton, which Robichaud created.

Robichaud swept into power at age 34, leading the Liberal party to victory in 1960 and serving for 10 years.

Known as "Little Louis" because of his short height, Robichaud united a number of education, taxation, health care and social welfare systems in the province under the Program for Equal Opportunity.

The controversial legislation eliminated huge inequalities in taxation rates and services throughout the province, ensuring that everyone was treated the same.

Robichaud said he never understood the opposition to his equal-opportunity policies, including a campaign by the richest man in the province, industrialist K. C. Irving.

At the height of the debate, Robichaud and his family needed police protection because of death threats.

"I wanted equality and some people wanted to keep the old traditions where the poor got poorer and the rich got richer," Robichaud once said.

He's probably remembered best for passing the Official Languages Act, which made New Brunswick the only officially bilingual province in the country.

He also introduced collective bargaining rights for the civil service, appointed a provincial ombudsman and adopted a non-premium medicare system, among other changes.

After a decade in power, Robichaud's government was defeated in the 1970 election by the Richard Hatfield-led Progressive Conservatives in a campaign largely funded by the Irving family fortune.

He was named to the Senate in 1973, serving there until he retired in 2000.

He is survived by his wife, three children and several grandchildren.