Clément Gignac (born May 7, 1955) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of
Marguerite-Bourgeoys
Marguerite-Bourgeoys is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises the LaSalle borough of the city of Montreal.
It was created for the 1966 elect ...
in the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
from 2009 to 2012. A member of 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 ...
, he was elected in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
on June 22, 2009, following the resignation of
Monique Jérôme-Forget
Monique Jérôme-Forget (born August 8, 1940) is a psychologist and a former Quebec politician. She was the National Assembly of Quebec, Member of National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Marguerite-Bourgeoys (provincial electoral district), Mar ...
.
On the following day, Gignac was named by
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House of ...
as the new Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade — a role which was previously held by
Raymond Bachand
Raymond Bachand (born October 22, 1947 in Montreal, Quebec) is a former politician, a businessman and a lawyer in Quebec, Canada. He was the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the riding of Outremont, and a member of the Que ...
, who was also the Finance Minister.
Prior to his election to the Assembly, Gignac was (for a brief period of time) a senior advisor to the deputy minister of
Finance
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
.
Prior to this appointment, Gignac was senior vice-president, chief economist and strategist of National Bank Financial and in this role has ranked constantly over the last decade amongst the top strategists and economists in the country.
On July 29, 2021, the Governor General
Mary Simon
Mary Jeannie May Simon (in Inuktitut syllabics: ᒥᐊᓕ ᓴᐃᒪᓐ, iu, script=Latn, Ningiukudluk; born August 21, 1947) is a Canadian civil servant, diplomat, and former broadcaster who has served as the 30th governor general of Canada ...
, under recommendation of Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
, appointed Gignac as a Québec member of the
Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the B ...
.
Biographical Notes
Gignac holds both a Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in economics from Université Laval. Before entering politics, Gignac served as special advisor to the federal deputy minister of finance in 2009. In this position, he represented Canada on a G20 task force. During the previous 20 years, Gignac acted as economic consultant and strategist for several prominent financial institutions, notably National Bank Financial, as Vice-President and Chief Economist from 2000 to 2008. For five consecutive years, his group ranked among the top three Canadian economist teams in the annual Brendan Wood International survey of some 100 institutional clients.
As minister of Economic Development, he introduced the government's strategy in research and innovation and participated in the creation of its strategy on entrepreneurship.
Since December 2012, Clément Gignac has held the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist at
Industrial Alliance
iA Financial Group is one of the largest insurance and wealth management groups in Canada, with operations in the United States. It is one of the biggest public companies in Canada. The parent company, iA Financial Corporation Inc., is a port ...
. As well as serving as spokesman on economic matters, he chairs the asset allocation committee and manages diversified funds with assets exceeding $3 billion.
In 2012, he was asked by the prestigious World Economic Forum to sit as chair on the Global Agenda Council on Competitiveness, and in May 2015, he received the ''Gloire de l'Escolle'' medal for exceptional merit from Université Laval.
On July 29, 2021 it was announced that Clément Gignac was appointed to the Canadian senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to sit as an independent senator.
Electoral record
See also
*
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 ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gignac, Clement
1955 births
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of Quebec
People from Capitale-Nationale
Quebec Liberal Party MNAs
21st-century Canadian politicians
Canadian senators from Quebec
Independent Canadian senators