Christian Ouellet (April 22, 1934 – December 21, 2021) was a Canadian politician from the province of

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 ...

. He represented

Brome—Missisquoi Brome—Missisquoi (formerly known as Missisquoi) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1925. The original electoral district of Missiquoi existed from 1867 to 1925 ...

in the

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 ...

from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

. He is not to be confused with another Christian Ouellet, who has worked as an organizer and policy strategist for the

Quebec 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 ...

Early life and career

Ouellet was born in Montreal on April 22, 1934. An architect by profession, he joined the Ordre des architectes du Québec in 1969 and took a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in building from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(1972–75). He has promoted ecological housing since 1973 and was a finalist for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Healthy Housing Design Competition in 1991. Ouellet chaired the Solar Energy Society of Canada and the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

's national committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. He taught architecture at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

and lectured at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...

Political career

Ouellet was active with the Bloc Québécois and its provincial counterpart, the

, before running for office himself. He first sought election to the House of Commons in the 2004 federal election and finished a close second against incumbent

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

Denis Paradis Denis Paradis (born April 1, 1949) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brome—Missisquoi from 2015 until 2019 and previously from 1995 to 2006. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Paradis ...

. He challenged Paradis again in the 2006 election and won by over five thousand votes. During the 2006 election, Ouellet said that he would downplay

Quebec sovereigntism The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...

if elected and would instead focus on tackling economic issues and opposing corruption. Bloc leader

Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe (; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian retired politician, proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for over 20 years and ...

criticized this statement, saying that his party would promote sovereignty as well as defending Quebec's interests in other areas. After talking with Duceppe, Ouellet agreed to support the Bloc's full platform on sovereignty. Ouellet was re-elected in the 2008 federal election, defeating Paradis by a reduced margin in a rematch from 2006. In parliament, Ouellet served as the Bloc's critic for social housing and as an associate critic for natural resources and the environment. He has also promoted increased Via Rail access from

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 ...

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

via Quebec's Estrie. In 2009, he introduced a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

to remove waiting times for

Employment Insurance Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compu ...

benefits. Ouellet was one of eight Canadian parliamentarians to meet with Chen Shui-bian, the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, in 2006. On February 24, 2011, the Bloc announced that Ouellet would not be a candidate in the next federal election.

Personal life and death

Ouellet died on December 21, 2021, at the age of 87.L'ancien député bloquiste Christian Ouellet est décédé

Electoral record

References

External links

*
Bloc Québécois biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouellet, Christian 1934 births 2021 deaths 21st-century Canadian politicians Bloc Québécois MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec People from Magog, Quebec Politicians from Montreal