Claude Béchard (June 29, 1969 – September 7, 2010) was a politician in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

, Canada. He served as Quebec Liberal Party Member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

(MNA) for the riding of Kamouraska-Témiscouata in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region; as

Minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as well as the Minister for Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, and previously the Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade and Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity.

Biography

Early life and career

Béchard was born in 1969 in Saint-Philippe-de-Néri. In 1991, he received 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 six ...

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 ...

from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Mont ...

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 ...

. He graduated with 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.

land planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

and

regional development Regional development is a broad term but can be seen as a general effort to reduce regional disparities by supporting (employ) economin regions. In the past, regional development policy tended to try to achieve these objectives by means developmen ...

in 1994. He began doctoral studies in public administration, but left it to work as a political adviser to Daniel Johnson, Jr. from 1993 to 1996. He became the vice-president of the Quebec Liberal Party in 1997 and in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

the same year was elected as a 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 ...

for the riding of Kamouraska-Témiscouata. He was re-elected in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, the latter which gave his party the power. During the years in the opposition benches he served as critic for employment, labour, energy and education.

Quebec cabinet

When Jean Charest became Premier of Quebec in 2003, he was named the Minister of Employment, Social Solidarity and Family Welfare before a Cabinet shuffle caused by the departure of Yves Séguin as Finance Minister, promoted him to the position of Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade in 2005. He occupied the position for year before becoming Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks in 2006. Soon after, Béchard became involved in a controversial plan to sell part of the Mont Orford provincial park to a developer who planned to build condominiums. The plan was eventually cancelled. In addition, Béchard announced that the Orford Park would double in size as a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

. Béchard was re-elected in the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative elec ...

and named the Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife replacing

Pierre Corbeil Pierre Corbeil, Doctor of Dental Surgery, D.M.D. (born June 23, 1955 in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec) is a Quebec politician and dentist. He was the mayor of Val-d'Or, Quebec from 2013 to 2021. He was also a Member of National Assembly of Quebec (MN ...

who was defeated by the PQ's

Alexis Wawanoloath Alexis Wawanoloath (born July 15, 1982) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Abitibi-Est, representing the Parti Québécois. He is a member of the Abenaki First Nation. The son of Christi ...

Line Beauchamp Line Beauchamp (born February 24, 1963) is a Canadian politician. She served as the Liberal Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the Sauvé riding, and for Bourassa-Sauvé at the Quebec National Assembly from November 30, 1998 to May 14, 201 ...

succeeded him as Minister of Environment.

Cancer, recovery, and death

On May 30, 2008, Béchard was hospitalized for persistent stomach pain. On June 9, 2008, he was diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

. In addition, during the same year, his press secretary Nancy Michaud was kidnapped and later found murdered inside an abandoned home in Riviere-Ouelle. Béchard recovered from his operation and was easily re-elected in the

2008 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2008. * Electoral calendar 2008 * 2008 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2008 Angolan legislative election * 2008 Anjouan presidential election * 2008 Republic of the Congo Senate elec ...

. On June 23, 2009, during a cabinet shuffle, Bechard was moved from the Natural Resources and Wildlife portfolios to Agriculture, Fisheries and Food replacing Laurent Lessard. Nathalie Normandeau replaced Béchard as Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife. Bechard was also named the Minister of Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs replacing Jacques P. Dupuis. Faced with continuing health challenges from his cancer, Béchard announced his retirement from politics on September 7, 2010, and died later the same day.

Footnotes

External links

*
Carte Mortuaire de Claude Béchard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Béchard, Claude 1969 births 2010 deaths Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Members of the Executive Council of Quebec People from Bas-Saint-Laurent Université Laval alumni French Quebecers Deaths from cancer in Quebec Deaths from pancreatic cancer 21st-century Canadian politicians