Bouchard's first publication was ''Chronique de chasse d'un Montagnais de Mingan
(Hunting Stories by a Montagnais Indian from Mingan''), a translation of a memoir by 91-year-old former hunter and
trapper Mathieu Mestokosho, which he published in 1977. The
Innu (formerly Montagnais) man had written the work as part of Quebec Heritage Week under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. After completing his studies at McGill, Bouchard worked in a number of roles including
intercultural communication and the study of
ethnohistory and workers' culture. He then went on to head the human sciences research programme at the
Institut de recherche en santé et en sécurité du travail, a role he held between 1987 and 1990. From 1990 to 1996 he worked for the
French Army, with a job title of
consultant en management et organisation du travail (consultant in management and organisation of work). In 1991, Bouchard published
Le moineau domestique, a collection of around 60 essays on the struggles and joys of modern life.
John Ellis Hare of the
Ottawa Citizen said that "there are many smiles and chuckles in Bouchard's dry humour" and called the pieces "gems of wisdom and experience". Bouchard first appeared on a
Radio-Canada television program in 1981. In the 2000s, he was featured on Radio-Canada's show
Indicatif présent alongside
Jean-Daniel Lafond where they would discuss social issues and current affairs. He also hosted Radio-Canada shows
Les Lieux Communs (
The Common Places) with Bernard Arcand, Bouchard has been consulted on or featured in several films, including
Québékoisie and
Hochelaga, Land of Souls. In 2021, Bouchard released a collection of around 70 essays titled
Un café avec Marie. The work was named after his wife,
Marie-Christine Lévesque, who had died from
brain cancer on July 16, 2020. He had an enduring interest in the
Indigenous peoples of Canada, the
Canadian North, and the French-speaking peoples of North America. Throughout his career, he travelled to spend time in Quebec's
Côte-Nord,
Nunavik and
Baie-James areas, as well as Labrador and the
Yukon territory, studying the peoples of those regions. He won the
Governor General's Award for French-language non-fiction twice, at the
2017 Governor General's Awards for
Les Yeux tristes de mon camion and at the
2021 Governor General's Awards for
Du diesel dans les veines. ==Death==