André Ouellet (), (born April 6, 1939) is a former longtime Liberal federal politician and Cabinet member in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Following his political career, he served as chairman of

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

. First elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in a 1967

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, Ouellet served in a number of different positions in the cabinets of

Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

and

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

. In his capacity as

Registrar General of Canada The registrar general of Canada () is responsible for registering all letters patent, commissions, instruments, proclamations, and any other documents that may, from time to time, be issued under the Great Seal of Canada or the Privy Seal of C ...

, he was one of the four signatories of the Proclamation of the Constitution Act of 1982 (along with

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, Prime Minister Trudeau, and Justice Minister

). Ouellet represented the safe Liberal seat of Papineau in

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 ...

for almost thirty years. His hold on the seat was only seriously threatened when the Liberals were crushed by the Progressive Conservative Party in the election of 1984, when he retained his seat by only 500 votes. In opposition, Ouellet became the Liberal's leading figure in the constitutional negotiations that led to the

Charlottetown Accord The Charlottetown Accord () was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canada, Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendums in Canada, referendum on October ...

, and was a strong advocate for the constitutional reform proposal, which was rejected in a 1992

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

. With the return to power of the Liberals after the 1993 election, Ouellet was appointed

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

by the new prime minister,

. Ouellet was seen as lacking experience in international relations but was a principled and pragmatic Minister of Foreign Affairs. Despite his experience, Ouellet was not popular in Quebec, and the lasting legacy of the Charlottetown Accord hurt him. After the close result of the

1995 Quebec referendum The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of ...

, Chrétien wanted to present a new face of his government in Quebec. In 1996, Chrétien appointed Ouellet to head the Canada Post Corporation. Ouellet's seat in the House of Commons of Canada was taken by

Pierre Pettigrew Pierre Stewart Pettigrew (born April 18, 1951) is a Canadian politician and businessman. Early life and career Born in Quebec City, Pettigrew has a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (197 ...

in a

later that year. As cabinet minister, Ouellet had served as

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government official ...

. As chairman of

, he implemented reform that led to record profits in the corporation. In 2004, controversy surrounded Ouellet as Canada Post was one of the organizations embroiled in the

Sponsorship Scandal The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government " sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006. ...

. As a result, Ouellet was suspended from his position at Canada Post in February 2004 by Prime Minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

. He resigned as chairman of Canada Post on August 12, 2004, after it was revealed he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal expenses and that he handed out an untendered contract.

Electoral record (partial)

References

External links

*
André Ouellet fonds, Library and Archives Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouellet, Andre 1939 births Living people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Postmasters general of Canada Ministers of foreign affairs of Canada Corruption in Canada Members of the 22nd Canadian Ministry Members of the 23rd Canadian Ministry Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Canadian King's Counsel Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada