Pierre Descoteaux (16 February 1952 – 9 April 2018) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

lawyer and politician from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the 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 one of the thirtee ...

. From 2003 to 2007 he was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

in the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

, representing the provincial electoral district of

Groulx Groulx is a provincial electoral district in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It notably includes the city of Boisbriand as well as a few other small cities. It was created for the ...

as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Life and career

Descoteaux earned a Bachelor of Science degree at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, then earned his law degree at

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. He was admitted to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

and practised law from 1986 to 2003. He taught law at the Bar school, then at

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

and the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières . He was elected to the National Assembly for the first time in the

2003 Quebec general election The 2003 Quebec general election was held on April 14, 2003, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec (Canada). The Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ), led by Jean Charest, defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Premier Bernard ...

, with a narrow margin of 300 votes ahead of Robert Kieffer of

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 establishin ...

. He was defeated by

Linda Lapointe Linda Lapointe (born July 2, 1960) is a Canadian businesswoman and politician from Quebec. She was an Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) Member of the National Assembly for the electoral district of Groulx from 2007 to 2008. She was elected ...

of the Action Démocratique du Québec in the

2007 Quebec general election The 2007 Quebec general election was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on March 26, 2007 to elect members of the 38th National Assembly of Quebec. The Quebec Liberal Party led by Premier Jean Charest managed to win a plurality of seats, ...

. Descoteaux is a critic of

Canadian federalism Canadian federalism () involves the current nature and historical development of the federal system in Canada. Canada is a federation with eleven components: the national Government of Canada and ten provincial governments. All eleven ...

and has described himself as the most nationalist member of the Liberal caucus.Staff report (23 January 2007)
France's Royal stirs Quebec sovereignty debate.
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' He stated he voted "yes" on the 1995 Quebec referendum. In 2007, the media reported he had discussed joining

, but he ultimately remained with the Quebec Liberal Party.

References

External links

Pierre Descoteaux biography
via

(French) 1952 births 2018 deaths French Quebecers Canadian lawyers Quebec Liberal Party MNAs McGill University alumni Université de Montréal alumni Université du Québec à Montréal faculty Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières faculty 21st-century Canadian politicians {{Liberal-Quebec-MNA-stub