Laurent Lessard (born October 28, 1962 in

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines (Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 141 miles northeast of Montreal an ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

) is a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

, Canada. He was the Member of the National Assembly for the provincial ridings of Frontenac and Lotbinière-Frontenac from 2003 to 2018 in Central Quebec south of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), 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 Communauté métrop ...

. Member of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

, he was the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Minister responsible for 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 which includes

Victoriaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabaska, ...

and

Drummondville Drummondville is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville is ...

Biography

Lessard obtained a licence in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

at the

Université de Sherbrooke The University of Sherbrooke (French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It i ...

. He was a notary from 1989 to 1998 before being elected as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of Thetford Mines in 1999. He would also be a member of the executive committee of the

L'Amiante Regional County Municipality, Quebec Les Appalaches ( ''Municipalité régionale de comté des Appalaches'') is a regional county municipality (RCM) in the Chaudière-Appalaches region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It was established in 1982 from parts of the historic counties of ...

. He jumped to provincial politics in the 2003 provincial election and was elected in Frontenac. After being for nearly two years the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Municipal Affairs,

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

and

Leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leis ...

he would become 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 ...

the Minister of Labour in 2005. When

Yvon Vallières Yvon Vallières (born February 5, 1949 in Richmond, Quebec) is a Quebec politician and teacher. He was a Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Richmond in the Estrie region from 1973 to 1976 and from 1981 to 2012. Formerly ...

took time off due to health reasons in 2006, he would temporarily had the portfolios of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for a few weeks before obtaining them after the 2007 elections when Vaillières was no longer part of the cabinet. He was also temporarily the Minister responsible for

Chaudière-Appalaches Chaudière-Appalaches () is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the " Beauce" (french: La Beauce; compare with the electoral district of Beauce). It is named for the Chaudière River and ...

prior to 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 elec ...

. Lessard kept the same Cabinet positions following the Liberal majority gained in the

2008 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2008. * Electoral calendar 2008 * 2008 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2008 Angolan legislative election * 2008 Anjouan presidential election * 2008 Republic of the Congo Senate elec ...

. On June 23, 2009, following a Cabinet shuffle, Lessard replaced Nathalie Normandeau as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Regions and Land Occupancy while

Claude Béchard Claude Béchard (June 29, 1969 – September 7, 2010) was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as Quebec Liberal Party Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Kamouraska-Témiscouata in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region; a ...

became the new Minister of Agriculture

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lessard, Laurent 1962 births Quebec notaries French Quebecers Living people Mayors of Thetford Mines Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Université de Sherbrooke alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians