Michel Rivard (born August 7, 1941) is a Canadian politician, former

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and former 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 ...

Career

Rivard holds a certificate in administrative sciences from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

. Throughout the 1970s he held various managerial positions in the Quebec business world. From 1980 to 1984 he was mayor of Beauport, and from 1985 to 1988 he was director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. From 1991 to 1994 he served on the executive committee of the Society of Economic Development for the Region of Quebec. In the

1994 Quebec election The 1994 Quebec general election was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Daniel Johnson Jr. ...

, Rivard ran in the riding of Limoilou representing 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 ...

and was elected. He served in various backbench roles in the PQ government, including as Assistant to the Minister responsible for the Quebec region (from January 19, 1996 to October 28, 1998). As a PQ member he campaigned for

Quebec sovereignty 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 o ...

during the 1995 Quebec referendum. In the 1998 election, Rivard lost his seat to

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 ...

candidate

Michel Després Michel Després (born October 14, 1957 in Quebec City, Quebec) is an administrator, consultant and a former Quebec politician. He was the former MNA member of the former riding of Limoilou from 1985 to 1994 and 1998 to 2003 and the former ...

. In the

2000 Canadian federal election The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 37th Canadian Parliament, 37th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Pa ...

, he attempted a political comeback running in the riding of

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

under the banner of the Canadian Alliance, a considerable departure from his previous political affiliation. He lost to

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 ...

candidate

Christiane Gagnon Christiane Gagnon (born April 16, 1948) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district of Québec from 1993 to 2011. She is a member of the Bloc Québécois (BQ). Early life Gagnon was born in Ch ...

. In December 2008 he was appointed to 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 ...

as a Conservative by Canadian Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

. After being shut out of the 2015 federal election campaign, he quit the Tory caucus to sit as an independent.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivard, Michel 1941 births Canadian Alliance candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election Canadian senators from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada senators French Quebecers Living people Mayors of places in Quebec Parti Québécois MNAs Politicians from Quebec City Université Laval alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians