About André Boisclair:
André Boisclair, young, energetic and openly gay, won the race for Leader of the Parti Québécois on the first ballot at the leadership convention in 2005. Questions about his admission of using cocaine while a Parti Québécois cabinet minister seemed of less concern to delegates than worries from hard-liners that he was a moderate on Quebec sovereignty. In his victory speech, André Boisclair promised that in the next election the Parti Québécois would seek a mandate to hold a referendum on Quebec sovereignty as soon as possible.
The 2007 Quebec general election did not go well for the separatist Parti Québécois and André Boisclair however. The Parti Québécois lost 10 seats and its Opposition status, coming in third after the Action Démocratique du Québec surged into second place. After considerable pressure from the party, André Boisclair resigned as Leader of the Parti Québécois in May 2007. He resigned as the MNA for Pointe-aux-Trembles in November 2007.
Leader of the Parti Québécois:
2005 to 2007
Birth:
April 14, 1966 in Montreal, Quebec
Education:
MPA - Harvard University
Political Party:
Parti Québécois
Ridings (Electoral Districts):
- Gouin (1989-2004)
- Pointe-aux-Trembles (2006-07)
Political Career of André Boisclair:
- André Boisclair was first elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in 1989, at the age of 23.
- He was Deputy House Leader from 1994 to 1996.
- André Boisclair served as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 1996 to 1998.
- He was Minister of the Environment from 2001 to 2003.
- From 2002 to 2003, André Boisclair was both Government House Leader and Minister of Municipal Affairs.
- The Liberals won the 2003 Quebec provincial election. André Boisclair was re-elected and served as Opposition House Leader until 2004.
- In 2004, André Boisclair resigned his seat in the National Assembly and quit politics to go to the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government and get some experience in the private sector.
- When Bernard Landry suddenly resigned as Leader of the Parti Québécois in 2005, André Boisclair returned to run for the Parti Québécois leadership.
- André Boisclair was elected Leader of the Parti Québécois in November 2005.
- In August 2006, André Boisclair won a by-election in the Montreal east-end riding of Pointe-aux-Trembles and was again sworn in as a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec.
- In the 2007 Quebec provincial election, the Parti Québécois lost 10 seats and its Official Opposition status and André Boisclair's leadership became a major issue within the party.
- André Boisclair stepped down as Leader of the Parti Québécois in May 2007.
- André Boisclair resigned his seat as the MNA for Pointe-aux-Trembles in November 2007.
