Bernard Trottier (born March 13, 1965) is a former
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician. He was a
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
member
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
who served from 2011 to 2015 representing the
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
riding of
Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Etobicoke—Lakeshore (formerly known as Lakeshore and Toronto—Lakeshore) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968.
It covers the southern part of the Etobi ...
. Trottier was elected in the
2011 federal election when he defeated the
Leader of the Liberal Party,
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...
, who was also the
Leader of the Official Opposition.
In February 2015, Trottier was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for La Francophonie. Previously, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services in September 2013.
Early years and education
Born and raised in
St. Paul, Alberta, he was born to Dr. Léon Trottier and artist Terry Trottier.
After graduating from St. Paul Regional High School in 1983,
Bernard Trottier went on to earn his
B.Sc.Eng. from the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
in 1988 and his
M.B.A.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...
from the
Richard Ivey School of Business
Ivey Business School is a constituent unit of the University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario, Canada. Ivey offers full-time undergraduate (HBA), MBA, MSc, MFE and PhD programs and also maintains two teaching facilities in Toronto ...
at the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
in 1992. He also attended
l'École des Hautes Études Commerciales,
l'Université de Montréal/
École Polytechnique de Montréal
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
, and the
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...
.
Business career and community activities
Since graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1992, Trottier has resided in Toronto. Trottier was a
management consultant
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants ...
in the
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
area before joining
IBM Global Business Services
IBM Consulting, rebranded in 2021 from IBM Global Business Services, is the professional services and consulting arm of IBM. IBM Consulting provides services to companies, global government organizations, non-profits and NGOs.
IBM Consulting
IBM ...
as a senior consulting manager, a job he held at the time he was elected to Parliament.
He previously served as the President of the Etobicoke—Lakeshore Conservative Association and of the Sunnylea Co-operative Nursery School. He also volunteered as a coach in the Royal York Baseball League and the Islington Rangers Soccer League.
Entrance to politics
In the
2011 federal election, Trottier won the
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
riding of
Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Etobicoke—Lakeshore (formerly known as Lakeshore and Toronto—Lakeshore) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968.
It covers the southern part of the Etobi ...
, defeating
Leader of the Liberal Party,
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...
, who was also the incumbent
Leader of the Official Opposition. The Liberal Party had held 20 of the 22 Toronto ridings prior to the election.
Trottier was initially considered a
sacrificial lamb
A sacrificial lamb is a metaphorical reference to a person or animal sacrificed for the common good. The term is derived from the traditions of Abrahamic religion where a lamb is a highly valued possession.
In politics
In politics, a sacrificial ...
candidate; even he initially didn't expect to win. However, he benefited from a collapse in Liberal support in Toronto which saw the Conservatives claim a total of eight seats in the city. He also benefited from the endorsement of
Toronto Mayor
The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...
and Etobicoke resident
Rob Ford
Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...
. Voters were reportedly also concerned that Ignatieff might resign in the event the Liberals didn't do well. Reports suggested that Ignatieff had initially promised to move into a home inside his riding, but instead he resided in the
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...
neighbourhood of
Yorkville, which rankled Etobicoke—Lakeshore residents and reinforced perceptions of Ignatieff's political opportunism.
Trottier was defeated by Liberal
James Maloney in the
2015 election, taking 32 percent of the vote amid the Liberal wave that swept through Toronto.
Electoral record
Personal life
A
Franco-Albertan
Franco-Albertans (french: Franco-Albertains) are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Alberta. Franco-Albertans may also refer to residents of Alberta with French Canadian ancestry, although publications from the government of Albert ...
, Trottier is fluently
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
in
French and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. He and his wife, Susan Schutta, live in
Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
with their two children: Alexandre and Zoë.
References
External links
Official Website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trottier, Bernard
1965 births
Living people
Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Canadian management consultants
Franco-Albertan people
Franco-Ontarian people
University of Alberta alumni
University of Western Ontario alumni
People from Etobicoke
Politicians from Toronto
People from the County of St. Paul No. 19
21st-century Canadian politicians