Adrien D. Pouliot (born February 27, 1957, in Sainte-Foy,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) is a Quebec

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, businessman and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He is the son of

Jean Pouliot Jean Adélard Pouliot, OC (June 6, 1923 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian broadcasting pioneer who helped establish television stations in Kitchener, Ontario, and Quebec City, Quebec. Pouliot was the president and CEO for the first publicly-t ...

, a pioneer of Canadian broadcasting, and the grandson of the mathematician and

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

Dean of Science

Adrien Pouliot Adrien Pouliot, (January 4, 1896 – March 10, 1980) was a Canadian mathematician and educator. Born in Île d'Orléans, Quebec. He married Laure Clark and was cousin of André Hudon. He obtained a B.A. in applied sciences from the École ...

. He served as the Leader of the

Conservative Party of Quebec The Conservative Party of Quebec (CPQ; french: Parti conservateur du Québec (PCQ)) is a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was authorized on 25 March 2009 by the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec. The CPQ has gradually run more c ...

from 2013 to 2021. Under his leadership, the party gained notoriety and was positioned on the right of the Quebec political spectrum.

Early life and education

Adrien Denys Pouliot was raised in Sainte-Foy (

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

), where his family moved when he was 3 months old. Educated at the

Petit Séminaire de Québec Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans * ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua * Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four * Petit Gâteau *P ...

, Pouliot studied law and received the Bar Award from the

Université de Sherbrooke The University of Sherbrooke ( French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It ...

in 1978. He successfully completed the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

exam in 1979 at Quebec City and was entered on the Roll of the Order the same year.

Early career

* From 1980 to 1984, he practised corporate and commercial law, in particular the law relating to companies mergers and acquisitions as well as to

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...

s, within the firm

Ogilvy Renault Ogilvy Renault LLP was a Canadian law firm with 450 members in offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Toronto, Calgary and London, England. Ogilvy Renault offered services in the areas of business law, litigation and ADR, employment and labour law a ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. * In 1984, he joined CFCF, the family business

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

and cable television firm, as the Assistant to the President. In 1986, the company was listed and secured a licence to open Télévision Quatre Saisons. In 1987, he became President of CFCF-12 station and then President of CFCF Inc. in 1991. Under his direction, the company evolved to become the fourth largest cable distributor in Canada with more than 425,000 subscribers and nearly 1,200 employees before being sold to

Vidéotron Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Quebecor, it primarily s ...

in 1996 for $687 million. He remained at the helm until the transition of the company was complete in 1997. * In October 1999, he acquired 75% of ''Entourage Solutions technologiques'', a technical services company specializing in the installation and maintenance of

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

and computer networks and equipment. During the six years he was the majority

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

, the company doubled its revenues and its profitability increased by a factor of 20. In 2005,

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...

repurchased its shares in the company. * In 2005, he became co-owner and the first Chairman of the ''First National AlarmCap Income Trust'', a Toronto-listed company that would become the third largest residential and commercial security company in Canada in 2014. * He currently owns the investment firm ''Capital Draco Inc.''. Pouliot has been a board member of the

Montreal Children's Hospital Montreal Children's Hospital (french: Hôpital de Montréal pour enfants) is a children's hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1904, it is affiliated with the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University, Faculty of M ...

, as well as the

Montreal Heart Institute The Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) (French: ''Institut de Cardiologie de Montréal''), in Montreal, Quebec, is a specialty hospital dedicated to the development of cardiology, which is affiliated with the Université de Montréal. The MHI is found ...

Research Foundation. For nearly 10 years, he served as a governor of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. He also contributed to this institution as the Chair of the Audit Committee, a member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Pension Administration Committee, and a member of the endowment fund. He is now a Governor Emeritus of this institution. He has been a member of the ''Ville-Marie Economic Development Corporation'', a government agency promoting Montreal's

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

. He was also Chairman of the Board of Governors of the ''Junior Chamber of Commerce of Montreal''. He has supported the training and education of young business people by actively participating in the

Young Presidents' Organization YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is an American-based worldwide leadership community of chief executives with approximately 29,000 members in more than 130 countries, according to the organization's 2019 YPO international fact sheet. ...

and its sister organization, World Presidents' Organization, which combined bring together nearly 25,000 business executives in 130 countries, and by serving on its International Board of Directors and its Audit Committee.

Political and social career

In 1999, Pouliot participated in the launch of the

Montreal Economic Institute The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) is a non-profit research organization (or think tank) based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It aims at promoting economic liberalism through economic education of the general public and what it regards as effici ...

. He was chairman for 8 years and was a member of the Board of Directors for 12 years. He was President of the ''Ligue des contribuables'', an organization founded in 2006 that is designed to inform taxpayers about how their tax dollars are spent by governments. Pouliet also appears as a regular columnist on the

Jeff Fillion Jeff Fillion (born Jean-François Fillion), is a radio host and businessman in Quebec, Canada. He is often associated with a political incorrect radio style that is often associated with right-wing radio hosts from the Quebec City area. Media – ...

show at the radio station CHOI Radio X.

Action démocratique du Québec

In 2011, the

Action démocratique du Québec Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

recruited him as Vice-Chair of the Policy Commission. During the campaign for the merger of the ADQ in the

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a Quebec nationalist, autonomist and conservativeCoalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a Quebec nationalist, autonomist and conservative

2013 Conservative Party of Quebec leadership election

Following the Quebec general election of 2012, where the party obtained 0.18% of the votes cast,

Luc Harvey Luc Harvey (born April 4, 1964) is a Canadian politician and the former Member of Parliament for the riding of Louis-Hébert in Quebec from 2006 to 2008. He served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec from January to September 2012. ...

resigned as leader and a leadership race was organized. After the merger of the

in the

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a Quebec nationalist, autonomist and conservativeQuebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

in the purpose of pushing this party to the right on economic issues, Pouliot decided in January 2013 to run for the

. After the withdrawal of the candidacy of the other candidate, Daniel Brisson, February 23, 2013, at the General Council of the party, Pouliot was sworn in as leader of the

Redesign of the party platform

At the October 2013 National Congress, members adopted a new official platform for the party under the verbatim of the "Ideological Compass": * Individual rights and freedoms; *

Personal responsibility In philosophy, moral responsibility is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission in accordance with one's moral obligations. Deciding what (if anything) counts as "morally obligatory" is a princi ...

; *

Market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...

; * A smaller state serving Quebecers; * Quebecers confident of success in Canada and around the world.

Resignation as CPQ Leader

On October 16, 2020, Pouliot announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party to focus on his business ventures. He was succeeded by radio columnist

Éric Duhaime Éric Duhaime (born April 15, 1969) is a Canadian conservative columnist, radio host, and politician serving as leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec since April 17, 2021. Early life and education Born on April 15, 1969, in Montreal, Du ...

Electoral record

Publications

* Des idées pour débloquer le Québec, Éditions Accent grave, 223 p. ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pouliot, Adrien D. 1957 births Franco-Ontarian people 21st-century Canadian politicians Businesspeople from Quebec Quebec political party leaders Candidates in Quebec provincial elections Conservative Party of Quebec candidates in Quebec provincial elections Living people People from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City Politicians from Quebec City