Marie Josephine Marguerite Blais (born September 12, 1950) is a Canadian

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 ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

radio host A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a radi ...

and

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

from Quebec. She is currently a Coalition Avenir Québec Member of the National Assembly of Québec and is the current Minister Responsible for Seniors and Informal Caregivers and Member of the Comité ministériel des services aux citoyens since October 2018. She was a

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 ...

Member of 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 ...

for the

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises all of the Le Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal. It was created for the 1994 ...

in Montreal from 2007 to 2015, and served as the Minister responsible for Seniors, vice-chair of the ''Comité ministériel du développement social, éducatif et culturel'' and member of the Conseil du trésor.

Biography

Blais did graduate studies in piano and organ at the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

. After a few years spent teaching music to kindergarten students (1968–1971), she entered the world of communications, acquiring a master's degree (

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 Qué ...

, 1997), a doctorate (Université du Québec à Montréal,

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- ...

and

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, 2005) and a postdoctorate (Université du Québec à Montréal, 2008). She has some thirty years’ experience as a radio and television host and journalist (1971–2002). From 1996 to 2003, Blais was the director general of the ''Fondation du maire de Montréal pour la jeunesse''. She was president of the ''Conseil de la famille et de l’enfance'' (2003-2007). She joined a number of charitable organizations (

Centraide United Way Centraide Canada (french: Centraide United Way Canada) is the national organization for the 71 autonomous, volunteer-based United Ways and Centraides across Canada. The United Way Movement in Canada is a federated network of local Unite ...

, Little Brothers of the Poor,

World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

for Africa) and worked within a number of groups that assist young people, the elderly and the underprivileged in our society, with a particular focus on the deaf community and persons with hearing disabilities. She was elected in 2007, and was re-elected in 2008, 2012 and 2014. She announced her resignation from the legislature in August 2015, several months after the death of her husband. On May 8, 2018, she was rumored to come back into politics under the Coalition Avenir Québec, opposing her former party. She ran in the 2018 election in the riding of Prévost and won."L'ex-ministre libérale Marguerite Blais sera candidate pour la CAQ"

Publications

* Author - Quand les Sourds nous font signe : histoires de sourds, éditions Dauphin Blanc (2003) * Author - La culture sourde : Quête identitaires au coeur de la communication, Les Presses de l'Université Laval, collection Sociologie au coin de la Rue (2006) * Co-Author - Apprendre à vivre aux frontières des cultures sourdes et entendantes, Les Presses de l'Université Laval, co-auteur monsieur Jacques Rhéaume (2009)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blais, Marguerite 1950 births Living people Women government ministers of Canada Canadian women journalists Journalists from Montreal Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Politicians from Montreal Writers from Montreal Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Université du Québec à Montréal alumni Women MNAs in Quebec 21st-century Canadian women politicians Coalition Avenir Québec MNAs Canadian women non-fiction writers