Véronique Hivon (born 1970) is a Canadian politician in the province of

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, ...

. Hivon was elected to represent the riding of

Joliette Joliette () is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of G ...

in 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 ...

in the 2014 provincial election. She is a member of the

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 ...

Education and early career

Hivon graduated 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, ...

with a degree in common law and a degree in civil law (1994) after brief studies at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. She also has a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

in planning and analysis of social politics from the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

. She worked as a researcher and law intern in 1994 but started to work as a lawyer starting in 2002 though she was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1996. She also worked as a press secretary and Assistant Director to the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice and was also an assistant director of McGill's Law Faculty.

Political career

Hivon was first candidate for the PQ in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

but lost to then-health minister

Philippe Couillard Philippe Couillard (; born June 26, 1957) is a Canadian business advisor and former neurosurgeon, university professor and politician who served as 31st premier of Quebec from 2014 to 2018. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Quebec's Minister of H ...

in the riding of Jean-Talon. Hivon defeated the ADQ's Pascal Beaupré in Joliette in 2008. Hivon was re-elected in Joliette in 2012. The premier at the time,

Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a Member of the National Assembly (Quebec), member of the National Assembly in various ridings ...

, named her Minister of Social Services and Youth Protection. Hivon served concurrently as the Minister of the

Lanaudière Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census. Geogr ...

region and Minister responsible for the "Die in Dignity" commission, a commission about the right for a terminally-ill patient to end their own life. The Quebec legislature adopted the law (The Act Respecting End-of-Life Care) unanimously demonstrating a strong consensus on the project in Quebec. In the

2014 Quebec general election The 2014 Quebec general election was held on April 7, 2014 to elect members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The incumbent Parti Québécois which had won a minority government in 2012 was defeated by the Quebec Liberal Party under Philippe Co ...

, Hivon was again re-elected to the National Assembly but as a member in the opposition rather than in the government. On December 1, 2015, the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...

suspended the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care, declaring it unconstitutional. The ruling was appealed by the Liberal government. Following the resignation of

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 ...

as leader of the Parti Québécois, Hivon said that she was interested in running for leadership of the party. Hivon announced in April 2022 that she would not run for another term in the

2022 Quebec general election The 2022 Quebec general election was held on October 3, 2022, to elect the members of the National Assembly of Quebec. Under the province's Fixed election dates in Canada, fixed election date law, passed in 2013, "the general election following t ...

Electoral history

*2014 source: *2012 source:Elections Quebec, 2012, Joliette
/ref> , - , Liberal , Christian Trudel , align="right", 9,175 , align="right", 28.83 , align="right", +8.61 , - , - ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, Pablo Lugo-Herrera , align="right", 246 , align="right", 0.77 , align="right", - * Increase is from Union des forces progressistes (UFP)

References

External links

*
Parti Quebecois biopage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hivon, Veronique Lawyers in Quebec Living people Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Parti Québécois MNAs People from Joliette Politicians from Lanaudière Women MNAs in Quebec Women government ministers of Canada Canadian women lawyers 1970 births 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec 21st-century Canadian women politicians McGill University Faculty of Law alumni