Régis Labeaume
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Régis Labeaume (; born May 2, 1956) is a Canadian businessman, writer and politician. He served as mayor of
Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
from 2007 to 2021. He was first elected on December 2, 2007 after the death of former mayor Andrée Boucher. He was reelected in 2009, 2013, and 2017.


Early life

Labeaume holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the
Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...
. Prior to being mayor, Labeaume was a local businessman and chair of the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship organisation since 2003 and worked primarily in the mining industry. He was previously the political adviser of former Communications Minister and former
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 ...
MNA of the riding of Vanier, Jean-François Bertrand from 1980 to 1983. He also collaborated to two books on the Quebec mining industry and on small and medium enterprises.


Municipal politics in Quebec City

In 2005, he ran for the leader of the municipal political party Renouveau municipal de Québec but lost to 2007 candidate Claude Larose.


First mayoral term

Labeaume was elected on December 2, 2007, in a special election following the death of Andrée Boucher. He was elected with over 59 percent of the vote, defeating candidate Ann Bourget who was the front-runner until the campaign's last few days. She finished second with 32% of the votes, followed by former
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 ...
Minister of Justice and lawyer Marc Bellemare. Labeaume obtained the support of key local figures, including Marc Boucher, husband of the late Andrée Boucher, and former mayor
Gilles Lamontagne Joseph Georges Gilles Claude Lamontagne (; April 17, 1919 – June 14, 2016) was a Canadian politician who held a number of offices both in Quebec and federally. A Liberal, he was Mayor of Quebec City (1965–1977), Postmaster General of Can ...
. Throughout his first term as mayor, Labeaume focused on making the city a major tourist destination. He was keen on the idea of a New Quebec City Amphitheatre. With the 400th Anniversary of the city in 2008, Quebec City's image changed in the eyes of many. After the festivities, the mayor promised to keep investing to make Quebec City an appealing destination. During his first mandate as mayor, Labeaume also developed a reputation for speaking his mind and not always using the right words in front of the media. In October 2009 he made some scathing comments about Federal Minister
Josée Verner Josée Verner, (born December 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. She also serve ...
. On a pre-recorded interview on
Télé-Québec The (; ), branded as () (formerly known as ), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec. The network's main studios an ...
, he declared, “I get along well with Ms. Verner, but sometimes I could just smack her. Those culture cuts, I just don't agree with them.” He later made public excuses and explained that he only wanted to express his anger about the recent cuts in culture by the federal government. A study based on 68000 texts and reports broadcast in
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, ...
between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, showed that Labeaume was the mayor with the most media coverage in Quebec, with 54.4% of the coverage. In another study in 2008, Labeaume ranked 10th in a list of the most mediatised personalities in Quebec, along with the then newly elected American president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
,
Guy Carbonneau Joseph Harry Guy Carbonneau (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive in the National Hockey League. He was also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Chicoutimi Saguenéen ...
(coach of the
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
), and
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
.


Second mayoral term

On November 1, 2009, on the night of Québec's municipal elections, Labeaume was reelected by an overwhelming majority of 79,7% against 8,6% for the radio host Jean-François Jeff Fillion and 8,1% for Yonnel Bonaventure and the Défi Vert de Québec party. Labeaume's party, l'Équipe Labeaume, also elected a councillor in 25 of the 27 districts. Only the districts of Vieux-Québec-Montcalm and Saint-Sacrement-Belvédère elected independent councillors. With this vast majority at the city council, Labeaume declared his intention to make Quebec City the most appealing city 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 ...
and that in 15 years, the city would be greener, more efficient and more active.


Third mayoral term

On November 3, 2013, Labeaume was reelected with 74.1% of the vote and 18 out of 21 candidates from l'Équipe Labeaume were elected councillors. Labeaume has stated that he supports legislation banning the wearing of the
niqāb A niqāb, niqab, or niqaab (; ), also known as a ruband () or rubandah (), is a long garment worn by some Muslim women in order to cover their entire body and face, excluding their eyes. It is an interpretation in Islam of the concept of ...
or
burqa A burqa or burka (; ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree (; ) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a ''paranja'' (; ; ) in Central Asia, the Ara ...
in public spaces.


A new Colisée in Québec

A couple of months before the elections of December 2009, on October 16 Labeaume announced his intention to go forward with the project of the new indoor arena. He announced a new ''Colisée'' of 18000 seats would be built besides the old
Colisée Pepsi Colisée may refer to: Canada * Colisée de Québec, also known as Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City * Colisée Cardin, Sorel-Tracy * Colisée Desjardins, Victoriaville * Colisée Financière Sun Life, Rimouski * Colisée Jean Béliveau, Longueuil * ...
. The estimated $400 million cost would be paid in part by the federal and provincial governments. When asked if this kind of announcement was justified before the elections, Labeaume answered he wanted to be transparent and that the announcement should be seen as an electoral engagement. On September 10, 2010, Quebec premier Jean Charest announced the province would be ready to pay 45% percent of the bill for the new arena if Ottawa would do the same. At this point, Labeaume and his team were still waiting for the federal answer. In December 2010, after a couple of months of speculation, Prime Minister Harper announced the government had no intention of paying for these kinds of installations. The money would have to come from the private sector. In March 2011, Labeaume announced that he was "passing the puck" to
Pierre Karl Péladeau Pierre Karl Péladeau (; born 16 October 1961), also known by his initials PKP, is a Canadian businessman, billionaire and former politician. He was also the MNA ( Member of the National Assembly) for Saint-Jérôme. Péladeau is the president ...
and the group
Quebecor Quebecor Inc. is a Canadian diversified media and telecommunications company serving Quebec based in Montreal. It was spelled Quebecor in both English and French until May 2012, when shareholders voted to add the acute accent, Québecor, in ...
. The media empire engaged itself in using the new Colisée with or without an NHL team.


Personal life

In March 2019, Labeaume announced that he has been diagnosed with
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
.Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume announces prostate cancer diagnosis
at CBC.ca; published March 13, 2019; retrieved March 14, 2019


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labeaume, Regis 1956 births 21st-century mayors of places in Quebec Living people Mayors of Quebec City Businesspeople from Quebec Université Laval alumni People from Roberval, Quebec Writers from Quebec