Longtime Quebec Liberal John Ciaccia, who was native affairs minister during the explosive Oka Crisis in 1990, has died.
Ciaccia passed away Tuesday in Beaconsfield, Que., at the age of 85.
READ MORE: 25 years on Mohawks remember Oka Crisis
News of his death was first reported by Cittadino Canadese, an Italian-Canadian publication.
Premier Philippe Couillard has taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Ciaccia, who was first elected in 1973 in Mont-Royal and won the riding five more times before bowing out prior to the 1998 election.
The federalist politician was an influential minister under Liberal premiers Robert Bourassa and Daniel Johnson Jr., holding various portfolios over the years.
READ MORE: Kanesatake commemorates 1990 Oka Crisis
Ciaccia was born in Jelsi in Italy in 1933 and moved to Canada when he was just four years old.
He studied at McGill University and was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1957.
READ MORE: ‘We don’t want a second Oka crisis’
He practiced law for a dozen years before becoming a senior federal civil servant in 1971.
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