René Arseneault (born July 1, 1966) 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 who was elected to represent the riding of

Madawaska—Restigouche Madawaska—Restigouche is a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Its population in 2021 was 60,184. Political geography The district includes all of the ...

in 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 the 2015 federal election, and was re-elected in the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and 2021 federal elections. He did not seek re-election in 2025.

Background

Arseneault earned an undergraduate degree in economics and political science, followed by a law degree from the

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian French-language university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on hig ...

. He established a law practice with his wife Michèle Pelletier in 1996. On becoming a lawyer, he succeeded in overturning a requirement to swear an oath to the monarch and became the first lawyer in New Brunswick to join the bar without swearing the oath.

Political career

Arsenault was elected as a Member of Parliament for

in the 2015 federal election. Arsenault was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Official Languages) on December 12, 2019. On August 16, 2024, Arseneault announced that he would not be running in the 2025 election.

Foreign policy

In February 2016, Arseneault broke ranks from many of his fellow Liberals when he voted against a Conservative Party motion rejecting the

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...

(BDS) movement. Arseneault addressed his vote by later stating that "he did not have a clear conscience with the motion as proposed," further adding that it would have been different if the motion were one which condemned organizations that promoted

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. He disagreed with the motion's claim that the movement was "demonizing

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

" and rather described the movement as "encouraging

boycotts A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

of certain Israeli products made in the

occupied territories Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling powe ...

." Arseneault added that this condemnation, in his opinion, violated Canadian

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

. The motion was also voted against by two other Liberals as well as the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

and the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arseneault, Rene Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Liberal Party of Canada MPs Université de Moncton alumni Lawyers in New Brunswick Université de Moncton École de droit alumni People from Restigouche County, New Brunswick 1966 births 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada