Denis Archie Ducharme (born March 14, 1955, in

Bonnyville Bonnyville is a town situated in east-central Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The surrounding Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87's municipal office is located in Bonnyville. The community derives its name from Fat ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada) is a former

n MLA. From April 6 until December 15, 2006, he also served as Minister of Community Development. He did not seek re-election in the 2008 election.

Political career

In 1986, Ducharme was elected to the Lakeland Catholic School Board. During his two terms with the board he served as a trustee, vice-chairman, and chairman. He was first elected as a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

on March 11, 1997, defeating

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 ...

incumbent Leo Vasseur in the new riding of

Bonnyville-Cold Lake Bonnyville-Cold Lake was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1997 to 2019. Geography Bonnyville-Cold ...

. He was re-elected to his second term on March 12, 2001, and to his third term on November 22, 2004. In addition to his duties as MLA, Ducharme has served as

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

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, Chair of the Francophone Secretariat, co-chair of the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI), Deputy Chairman of the Special Standing committee on Members’ Services, and Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices. During his time in the Alberta Legislature, Ducharme sponsored four bills: ''Fair Trading Act''; ''Maintenance Enforcement Amendment Act''; ''Metis Settlements Statutes Amendment Act''; and ''Fair Trading Amendment Act, 2000''.

Personal life

Prior to being elected, he was involved with his family-owned Ford automotive dealership, Ducharme Motors Ltd., which has been operating in

since 1959. He was involved in all aspects of dealership management and held a business interest in the operation from 1981 to 1994. Ducharme and his wife, Rose, currently live in Bonnyville and have two adult children. Ducharme is also one of the notable

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 ...

s, in part due to the Bonnyville-Cold Lake area having a very large Francophone population in comparison to the rest of the province.

Election results

References

External links

Denis Ducharme is made Minister of Community Development
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducharme, Denis People from the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 Franco-Albertan people 1955 births Living people Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Alberta 21st-century Canadian politicians