Bernard Drainville (born June 6, 1963) is a Canadian politician, television host and journalist. He was the Member of

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, dépu ...

for the riding of

Marie-Victorin Brother Marie-Victorin, F.S.C. (April 3, 1885 – July 15, 1944), was a Canadian member of Brothers of the Christian Schools and a noted botanist in Quebec, Canada. He is known as the father of the Botanical Garden of Montreal. Biograph ...

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly ac ...

from 2007 to 2016, 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 establis ...

Biography

Drainville was born in L'Isle du Pads,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the 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 one of the thirte ...

. He attended the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

, where he was president of the

Student Federation of the University of Ottawa The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (french: Fédération Étudiante de l'Université d'Ottawa; also known as the SFUO) was the official students' union representing undergraduate students of the University of Ottawa from 1969 ...

in 1984-85, and obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such ...

at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

. In 1989, Drainville joined Radio-Canada as a journalist, where he worked at the

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

affiliate. He became a correspondent for

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

in 2001, where he was arrested once in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and detained by the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

. Prior to 2007, he was a television host at the network's news channel RDI and the correspondent at the National Assembly, and a correspondent for the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commo ...

from 1998 to 2001. He hosted the

City of Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

mayoral debate between

Gérald Tremblay Gérald Tremblay (born September 20, 1942) is a former Canadian politician and businessman who served as mayor of Montreal from 2002 until his resignation in 2012. He also served as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community. Before b ...

and Pierre Bourque during the 2005 municipal election campaign. Drainville jumped into provincial politics and was elected in the 2007 elections in Marie-Victorin and was named the PQ's critic in

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

. He was re-elected in the

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; ...

and 2012 general elections. On September 19, 2012, he became Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship under the Marois government. He was responsible for introducing the controversial

Quebec Charter of Values The Charter of Quebec Values () was Bill 60 in the Canadian province of Quebec, introduced by the governing Parti Québécois in 2013 under Premier Pauline Marois, trying to legislate the Quebec controversy on reasonable accommodation. The PQ cab ...

, which would have banned state employees from wearing religious symbols. He was re-elected in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, despite his party's defeat and was appointed the official opposition critic for energy and natural resources. On October 20, 2014, he declared his candidacy for the Parti Québécois leadership election but dropped out on April 22, 2015 and endorsed Pierre-Karl Péladeau. On September 7, 2015, he was appointed the Opposition House leader by Péladeau. On June 13, 2016, he announced he was leaving politics, saying that Mr. Péladeau's departure had prompted a reflection on his own career. He is going back to work in the media, co-hosting with

Éric Duhaime Éric Duhaime (born April 15, 1969) is a Canadian conservative columnist, radio host, and politician serving as leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec since April 17, 2021. Early life and education Born on April 15, 1969, in Montreal, Du ...

a noon hour radio show on FM93 in Quebec City. On June 7, 2022, it was announced that Drainville was running as a candidate for the CAQ in Lévis in the upcoming

2022 Quebec general election The 2022 Quebec general election was held on October 3, 2022, to elect the members of the National Assembly of Quebec. Under the province's fixed election date law, passed in 2013, "the general election following the end of a Legislature shall b ...

Notes and references

External links

*
PQ webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drainville, Bernard 1963 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Canadian television news anchors Canadian television reporters and correspondents French Quebecers Living people Parti Québécois MNAs Coalition Avenir Québec MNAs Members of the Executive Council of Quebec University of Ottawa alumni People from Lanaudière 21st-century Canadian politicians Critics of multiculturalism