Born and raised in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, in the Beauce region of Quebec, Robert Cliche studied law at Laval University from 1941 to 1944.
After graduation, during World War II, he joined the Royal Marines as a sailor and left as an officer in 1946.
In 1968, Cliche left the leadership of the NDPQ and the associate presidency of the NDP and returned to law practice.
Their son David Cliche later served in the National Assembly of Quebec as a Parti Québécois MNA.
With his wife, he published Quand le peuple fait la loi (1972) and Les Beaucerons ces insoumis (1974).