Louise Beaudoin

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Louise Beaudoin
Beaudoin during a visit to Chambly.
Minister of International Affairs
In office
December 15, 1998 – April 29, 2003
Premier
Preceded bySylvain Simard
Succeeded byMonique Gagnon-Tremblay
In office
October 6, 1985 – December 12, 1985
PremierPierre Marc Johnson
Preceded byBernard Landry
Succeeded byGil Rémillard
Minister of Culture and Communications
In office
August 3, 1995 – December 15, 1998
Premier
Preceded byJacques Parizeau
Succeeded byAgnès Maltais
Parliamentary constituencies
Member of the
National Assembly of Quebec
In office
December 8, 2008 – September 4, 2012
Preceded byRita Dionne-Marsolais
Succeeded byJean-François Lisée
ConstituencyRosemont
In office
September 12, 1994 – April 14, 2003
Preceded byLucienne Robillard
Succeeded byDiane Legault
ConstituencyChambly
Personal details
Born (1945-09-26) September 26, 1945 (age 79)
Quebec City, Quebec
Political partyParti Québécois → Independent → Parti Québécois

Louise Beaudoin (born September 26, 1945 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Rosemont in the National Assembly of Quebec until 2012, as a member of the Parti Québécois (PQ). She sat as an independent from June 6, 2011 to April 3, 2012. She is best known for her previous tenure as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) of Chambly, from 1994 to 2003, when she occupied various ministerial positions.

Biography

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Beaudoin earned a master's degree in history from Université Laval and a master's degree in sociology at the Sorbonne. As a student, like many contemporaries, she was associated with Quebec separatists.

In the 1970s, she worked at the École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP). She was also director of Claude Morin's office. Posted to the Délégation générale du Québec à Paris from 1984–1985, she was close to René Lévesque in the last years of his life.

Beaudoin was elected as a péquiste in the riding of Chambly in 1994, and re-elected in 1998.

During her time as MNA of Chambly, Beaudoin had several portfolios. At various times she was the minister responsible for the Charter of the French Language, international relations, intergovernmental relations, La Francophonie, Culture and Communications, and globalization. She received some English press coverage for her spirited defence of Bill 101 on an episode of 60 Minutes. Her stringent enforcement of Bill 101 didn't play well with the Anglophone communities in Quebec, and she was famously portrayed as a leather-clad dominatrix by popular Montreal Gazette cartoonist Aislin.[1] On several occasions she has made controversial remarks about culture, claiming, for example, that multiculturalism is a Canadian value but not a Quebec one. With Sheila Copps, the Minister for Canadian Heritage, Beaudoin also worked for the adoption of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, voted on after the September 11 attacks in 2001. The same year, she accused the federal government of lying for not permitting Quebec premier Bernard Landry to participate in the Summit of the Americas.

After eight years as MNA of Chambly, Beaudoin was defeated by the Liberal Diane Legault in 2003. Her defeat was largely attributed to anti-PQ resentment in the Saint-Bruno area of the riding as a result of Bill 170.

After her departure from the National Assembly, she joined the Université du Québec à Montréal as a professor[2] and there continued her studies into globalization.

She was decorated as a commandeur of the Légion d'honneur on September 23, 2004.

She did not run for the PQ in the riding of Chambly in the 2007 elections and her assistant Bertrand St-Arnaud tried to win the seat but lost to adéquiste Richard Merlini.

Beaudoin returned to the political scene in December 8, 2008 by getting elected in Rosemont to succeed the resigned Rita Dionne-Marsolais.

As of 2008, Beaudoin was a host and journalist on Radio-Canada's series 5 sur 5, which answers viewers' questions about a wide variety of topics.[3] She has also served as director of the board for Théâtre Espace Go.[4]

On January 20, 2009, Beaudoin, along with fellow PQ member François Rebello, attended the inauguration of Barack Obama in Washington, D.C.

On June 6, 2011, Beaudoin and caucus mates Lisette Lapointe and Pierre Curzi resigned from the Parti Québécois to sit as independents over the PQ's acceptance of a bill changing the law to permit an agreement between the City of Québec and Quebecor Inc. concerning the construction of an arena in Quebec City.[5]

On April 3, 2012, Beaudoin rejoined the PQ caucus.[6] She did not run for re-election in the 2012 general election.

Electoral record

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2008 Quebec general election: Rosemont
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Parti Québécois Louise Beaudoin 15,220 50.66 +12.06
Liberal Nathalie Rivard 9,557 31.81 +4.60
Québec solidaire François Saillant 2,470 8.22 −1.15
Action démocratique Audrey Férec 1,891 6.29 −12.64
Green Sylvain Valiquette 816 2.72 −2.55
Marxist–Leninist Stéphane Chénier 88 0.29 +0.07
Total valid votes 30,042 98.66 –
Total rejected ballots 408 1.34 –
Turnout 30,450 58.67 −12.19
Electors 51,903 – –
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
2003 Quebec general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Diane Legault 17,656 41.85
Parti Québécois Louise Beaudoin 16,857 39.95
Action démocratique Denis Lavoie 6,935 16.44
Bloc Pot Sébastien Duclos 744 1.76
Total valid votes 42,192 98.69
Total rejected ballots 561 1.31
Turnout 42,753 78.45
Electors on the lists 54,497 –
1998 Quebec general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Parti Québécois Louise Beaudoin 22,559 52.51
Liberal Pierre Bourbonnais 15,230 35.45
Action démocratique Jean-Sébastien Brault 4,550 10.59
Bloc Pot Maryève Daigle 344 0.80
Independent Serge Lebel 131 0.30
Socialist Democracy Maryse-Laurence Lewis 117 0.27
Innovator Herve Raymond 34 0.08
Total valid votes 42,965 99.11
Total rejected ballots 385 0.89
Turnout 43,350 84.63
Electors on the lists 51,221 –
1994 Quebec general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Parti Québécois Louise Beaudoin 19,800 48.86
Liberal Lucienne Robillard 19,393 47.86
Natural Law Michael Larmand 519 1.28
Development Camille Bolté 474 1.17
Sovereignty Pierre Mondor 336 0.83
Total valid votes 40,522 97.29
Total rejected ballots 1,130 2.71
Turnout 41,652 87.47
Electors on the lists 47,620 –

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louise Beaudoin.
  1. ^ "Funny and Moody: The Best of Aislin's Cartoons". McCord Museum. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  2. ^ "Madame Louise Beaudoin entre à l'UQAM comme chercheure et professeure associée". Uqam.ca. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  3. ^ "Équipe | 5 sur 5 | zone Télévision". Radio-Canada.ca. 2005-09-15. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  4. ^ Boulanger, Luc (18 January 2010). "Anniversaire du Théâtre Espace GO - Pol Pelletier lance une guerre des dates". Le Devoir (in French). Montreal. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  5. ^ "PQ left reeling after three top members of Quebec sovereigntist party quit". The Canadian Press. June 6, 2011. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  6. ^ Philip Authier (April 3, 2012). "Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois welcomes MNA Louise Beaudoin back into the fold". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
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