Pierre Arcand (born November 13, 1951) is a Canadian politician, businessman, announcer and journalist in Quebec, Canada. He was the elected 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 ...

(MNA) for the provincial riding of

Mont-Royal–Outremont Mont-Royal–Outremont is a provincial electoral district in Quebec. It was created from parts of Mont-Royal and Outremont districts. It was first contested in the 2018 Quebec general election The 2018 Quebec general election was held on Octo ...

in the Island of

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 ...

from 2007 to 2022. He represented 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 ...

. On October 5, 2018 Arcand was named interim leader, following the resignation of

Philippe Couillard Philippe Couillard (; born June 26, 1957) is a Canadian business advisor and former neurosurgeon, university professor and politician who served as 31st premier of Quebec from 2014 to 2018. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Quebec's Minister of Hea ...

after the

2018 Quebec general election The 2018 Quebec general election was held on October 1, 2018, to elect members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The election saw a landslide victory for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) led by François Legault, which won 74 of 125 seats, ...

. He is the brother of journalist

Paul Arcand Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

Studies and professional career

Arcand attended Cegep de Saint-Hyacinthe and the HEC (Hautes etudes commerciales) in the 1970s.

Radiophony

Arcand started his journalistic career in 1978 at

CKAC CKAC is a French-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Cogeco, the station operates as a commercial traffic information service branded as ''Radio Circulation 730''. Its studios are located at Place Bonaventure in ...

as a news editor and then the radio station's vice-president and the director of information. He was then the senior vice-president of Metromedia CMR Broadcasting Inc. in which the company acquired several radio and television stations across the province but mainly in the Montreal area. Among those included

CKOI-FM :For the CKOI radio network, see ''CKOI (network)''. CKOI-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Verdun, Quebec and serving the Greater Montreal area, airing a CHR/Top 40 radio format. Owned and operated by Cogeco, CKOI-FM bro ...

and

CFCF-AM CINW was the final call sign used by an English language AM radio station in Montreal, Quebec, which, along with French-language sister station CINF, ceased operations at 7:00 p.m. ET on January 29, 2010. Owned and operated by Corus Quebec, ...

. In 2002, he would become the president of Corus Entertainment's Corus Quebec radio division who purchased Metromedia's radio stations. He was involved with the Tel-Aide community organization as an administration member.

Provincial politics

In 2007, Arcand announced his candidacy in the provincial election for the riding of

Mont-Royal Mount Royal (french: Mont-Royal, officially Town of Mount Royal, french: Ville de Mont-Royal, abbreviated TMR, french: VMR) is an affluent on-island suburban town located on the northwest side of the eponymous Mount Royal, northwest of Downtown ...

which was left vacant by Health minister

who announced his candidacy in the riding of Jean-Talon in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

replacing

Margaret Delisle Margaret Fortier Delisle (born July 4, 1946) is a politician in Quebec, Canada. She was a member of the National Assembly (MNA) in the National Assembly of Quebec for the constituency of Jean-Talon. She was first elected in 1994, and sat as a m ...

. He decided to run to improve the province's economic competitiveness. Following his easy re-election in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Arcand was given his first cabinet position. He was named the Minister for International Relations, replacing

Monique Gagnon-Tremblay Monique Gagnon-Tremblay (born May 26, 1940 in Plessisville, Quebec) is a politician in Quebec, Canada. She was the MNA for the riding of Saint-François in the Estrie region from 1985 to 2012. She served as Liberal leader of the Opposition in ...

who was promoted to President of the Treasury Board replacing

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 ...

. Arcand was also given the portfolio of the Francophonie that was left vacant by Benoit Pelletier who did not seek re-election. Since August 11, 2010, he has held the position of Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment and Parks. He has also served as a member of the Ministerial Committee for Economic Prosperity and Sustainable Development since January 15, 2009. He was re-elected in September 2012 and in April 2014 and since April 2014 hold the position of Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Minister responsible for the Northern Plan, Minister responsible for the Lanaudiere region, and Minister responsible for the Laurentides region. In July 2014 Arcand was awarded with the Fray International Sustainability Award at SIPS 2014/Shechtman International Symposium in Mexico, for his achievements and contributions to sustainable development in politics. At the dissolution of the house in August 2018, Arcand was Minister responsible for Government Administration and Ongoing Program Review, Chair of the Conseil du trésor, and Minister responsible for the Côte-Nord region. In the 2018 election, Arcand was reelected in the redistributed riding of

. In December 2020, Arcand was found to have been vacationing in Barbados, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and public health advisories to avoid unnecessary travel, and as a result was removed from his role as opposition’s critic for transportation and his position to represent the Quebec Liberals on Montreal issues.

Interim Liberal leader

On October 5, 2018 Arcand was named interim leader, following the resignation of

after the

. This role ended when

Dominique Anglade Dominique Anglade (born January 31, 1974) is a business woman and a Canadian politician who served as the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition of Quebec from May 11, 2020 to December 1, 2022.Antoni Narestant"Dominiqu ...

became party leader on May 11, 2020.

Guy Ouellette case

As soon as he was elected interim

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

, Arcand expelled the MNA

Guy Ouellette Guy Ouellette (born December 13, 1951) is a Quebec politician from Canada, police officer and author. He is the current Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Chomedey (electoral district), Chomedey in Laval, Quebec, Laval. Elect ...

from the

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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

Pierre Arcand
National assembly of Quebec
Quebec Liberal Party

Pierre Arcand
Biography – Quebec Government {{DEFAULTSORT:Arcand, Pierre 1951 births Businesspeople from Quebec French Quebecers Living people Members of the Executive Council of Quebec People from Saint-Hyacinthe Quebec Liberal Party MNAs 21st-century Canadian politicians