André Boulerice (born May 8, 1946) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and gay rights activist. He was a member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

for the riding of

Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques () is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises part of the borough of Ville-Marie and part of the borough of Le Plat ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Born in

Joliette Joliette () is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of G ...

, he graduated in specialized education from

Cégep du Vieux Montréal Cégep du Vieux Montréal () is a CEGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, or College of General and Vocational Education) located at 255 Ontario Street East, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The College of General and Vocational ...

. He joined 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 establishi ...

in 1970 and later worked for the Chambly

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

. He was first elected to the legislature in the 1985 election, representing the electoral district of

Saint-Jacques Saint-Jacques (the French name for Saint James (disambiguation), Saint James) may refer to: Canada * Saint-Jacques, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Edmundston * Saint-Jacques Parish, New Brunswick Quebec * Saint-Jacques Cathedral ...

. Boulerice, one of the first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

members of the legislature,"Absence d'élus libéraux gais : pas de problème pour Stéphanie Vallée"

Ici Radio-Canada #REDIRECT ICI {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

, June 26, 2016. was reelected in 1989, 1994, 1998 and 2003 in the redistributed electoral district of Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques. He was also the deputy government leader, president of the Quebec division of the

Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie The ''Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonies'' (APF) is an association of the parliaments of Francophone countries. History It was established in Luxembourg in 1967, and was then known as the ''Association internationale des parlementaire ...

and immigration minister. He helped introduce

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

for same-sex couples. Boulerice resigned in September 2005.

Electoral record (partial)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulerice, Andre 1946 births Canadian gay politicians Canadian LGBTQ people in provincial and territorial legislatures Living people Parti Québécois MNAs People from Joliette Politicians from Lanaudière 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Cégep du Vieux Montréal alumni 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec