André Bourbeau, (June 1, 1936 – March 25, 2018) was 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 member of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...

, Bourbeau served as 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 Laporte serving from 1981 until 2003.

Early life

Bourbeau was born in

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

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, ...

, the son of Louis-Auguste Bourbeau and Antoinette Miquelon. He studied at the Séminaire de Sherbrooke and the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

before receiving a Diploma in Law from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1959.

Political career

Bourbeau became a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

in 1960 and practiced in Montreal from 1960 to 1981. From 1970 to 1978, he served as a city councillor in Saint-Lambert, Quebec. He was mayor from 1978 to 1981. In 1981, he was elected to the

for Laporte. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1985, 1989, 1994, and 1998. He did not run in 2003. He held many different cabinet positions including Minister of Municipal Affairs, Responsible for Housing; Minister of Manpower, Income Security and Vocational Training; and

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

. He was the Chairman of the Board at

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

from 2003 to 2005. From 1998 to 2003, he was Chairman of the Wilfrid Pelletier Foundation. As well, he was Chairman of the Jeunesses Musicales of Canada Foundation. Bourbeau was the founding president of the

Montreal International Music Competition The Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) is an elite-level competition for classical musicians who are interested in pursuing an international career as a professional concert artist. Established in 2001 by the late André Bourbeau a ...

Death

Bourbeau was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. He died of complications from cancer on March 25, 2018, at the age of 81.

Honors

In 2009, he was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. In December 2016, Bourbeau was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Electoral record (partial)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourbeau, Andre 1936 births 2018 deaths Ministers of finance of Quebec Knights of the National Order of Quebec Université de Montréal alumni McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Quebec Liberal Party MNAs People from Verdun, Quebec Politicians from Montreal 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Deaths from cancer in Quebec 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec