Yvon Vallières (born February 5, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician and teacher. He was a member of

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 ...

for the riding of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in the

Estrie Estrie () is an List of Quebec regions, administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 pe ...

region from 1973 to 1976 and from 1981 to 2012. Formerly the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 2003 to 2007, he is the current chair of the Government Caucus. He was a member of the

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 ...

Education

Vallières went to the

Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...

and obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and would teach at several schools from 1970 to 1972 and from 1976 to 1981 while being a councilor at the Commission Scolaire de Taillon in 1972. He also obtained a certificate in psychology

human relations In social psychology, an interpersonal relation (or interpersonal relationship) describes a social association, connection, or affiliation between two or more people. It overlaps significantly with the concept of social relations, which ar ...

Professional and political career

Vallières would become the MNA for Richmond in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

when

Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just ...

won a second majority term. Vaillieres was however defeated by 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 ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

when they gain power for the first time ever under the leadership of

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...

. After returning to his teaching duties from 1976 to 1981, Vallières was a candidate again in Richmond for the 1981 elections and was re-elected. He was then named the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Parliamentary Commission. He was re-elected again in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

as the Liberals returned to power when

returned to politics and became once again the party leader. Vallières would be named the Chief

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

of the government for the full mandate. During his next mandate from

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

to 1994, he was the Minister responsible or the delegate minister for several portfolios. He was named the Delegate Minister of

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

in 1989 and Delegate Minister of

Regional development Regional development refers to a broad category of policies aimed at reducing regional disparities within an economy or across economies by devoting resources to underdeveloped areas. Regional development can be national or international in natur ...

, Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1990 to 1992. He was also the Minister responsible of Fisheries from 1990 to 1994. When

Daniel Johnson, Jr. Daniel Johnson Jr. (born December 24, 1944) is a former Canadian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Quebec and was the 25th premier of Quebec for nine months in 1994 until his party's defeat in the provincial general election ...

replaced Bourassa during the final months of the Liberal Mandate, Vallieres was named once again the chief Whip of the government. While the Liberals lost power in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, Vallières was re-elected for a fifth mandate and was named the opposition's critic in agriculture and regional development and was for the second time the President of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Parliamentary

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

. 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he was re-elected for a sixth mandate and was again the opposition critic in agriculture until 2000. He was also the President of the Territorial Planning Parliamentary Commission. When the Liberals regained power in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Vallières, who won a seventh mandate was named for the third time the Chief Government Whip. After a

Cabinet shuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

in 2005, he was named the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until 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 elect ...

. However, during his mandate, health issues forced him to take some time off and

Laurent Lessard Laurent Lessard (born October 28, 1962, in Thetford Mines, Quebec) is a politician and notary in Quebec, Canada. He was the Member of the National Assembly for the provincial ridings of Frontenac and Lotbinière-Frontenac from 2003 to 2018 in ...

took over temporarily his duties. He was also briefly the Minister responsible of the

Centre-du-Québec Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 census population of 242,399 inhabitants. Description The Centre-du- ...

region after a minor Cabinet shuffle in 2006. Vallières won an eighth mandate but was removed from the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and named the Chair of the government Caucus. On January 13, 2009, to April 2011, he was the

president of the National Assembly of Quebec The president of the National Assembly of Quebec (French; ''Président de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec'') is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, which is modeled after the Westminster System, Westminster parliam ...

Electoral record (incomplete)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallieres, Yvon Living people Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs 1949 births Université Laval alumni 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec