Guy Caron (born May 13, 1968) is 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 ...

politician, who was elected the mayor of

Rimouski Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), t ...

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 thirte ...

in the

2021 Quebec municipal elections The Canadian province of Quebec held municipal elections in its municipalities on November 7, 2021. Results by region: Note: (X) refers to being an incumbent Bas-Saint-Laurent Amqui Matane Mont-Joli Rimouski Mayor Rimouski City Council ...

. He was previously a member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commo ...

from 2011 to 2019, and served as the federal House leader of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

from 2017 to 2019, substituting for party leader

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal ( ; born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019.

who during this time did not hold a seat. Caron was elected to the

in the 2011 election. He represented the electoral district of

Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques (formerly known as Rimouski—Témiscouata) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Geography This eastern Quebe ...

as a member of the

(NDP). He was the NDP's critic for

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...

and the

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency In Canada, the Regional Development Agencies (RDA) are the seven federal government agencies responsible for addressing key economic challenges and furthering economic development, diversification, and job creation specific to their respective regi ...

, but resigned from the NDP's shadow cabinet in February 2017 to pursue leadership of the New Democratic Party of Canada. On October 4, 2017, Jagmeet Singh, the newly elected NDP leader, appointed Caron to serve as the NDP's parliamentary leader. He relinquished this position on February 25, 2019 upon Singh's election to parliament from the riding of

Burnaby South Burnaby South (french: Burnaby-Sud) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia. It encompasses a portion of British Columbia previously included in the electoral districts of Burnaby—Douglas and Burnaby—New Westminster. Burnaby So ...

. Caron lost his seat in the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Members of the House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the maximum four-year term under a 2007 amendment to the ''Canada Elections Act'', ...

Early life and career

Caron was born in Rimouski, Quebec. He has a bachelor's degree in communications from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

in 1992, and served two terms as president of their

student federation A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

in 1992-94. He was vice-president of the board of directors of Voyages Campus/Travel Cuts, 1994. He was national president of the

Canadian Federation of Students The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is the largest student organization in Canada, representing over 530,000 students from across Canada. Formed in 1981, the stated goal of the Federation is to represent the collective voice of Canadian ...

for two terms in 1994-6. He also has a master's degree in economics from

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 ...

in 2001. Prior to being elected, Caron was a researcher and economist with the

Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, abbreviated CEP in English and SCEP in French, was a largely private sector labour union with 150,000 members, active from 1992 to 2013. It was created in 1992 through the merger of three u ...

, most recently as Director of Special Projects. He previously worked for the Council of Canadians where he was a media relations officer, then the Campaigner on Canada-U.S. Relations, and then the Healthcare Campaigner. He has also worked for the

Canadian Race Relations Foundation The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF; , ''FCRR'') is a charitable organization and Crown corporation responsible to foster racial harmony and cross-cultural understanding and help to eliminate racism in Canada.Canadian Race Relations Foun ...

. He is also a former journalist: he worked with radio stations CKLE and CKMN-FM, and with the newspapers Progrès-Écho and Rimouskois while studying science at the

Cégep de Rimouski The Cégep de Rimouski is a post-secondary education institution (cégep: College of General and Professional Education) located in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. History The college traces its origins to the merger of several institutions which bec ...

. He is the author of ''Crossing the Line: A Citizens’ Inquiry on Canada-U.S. Relations''.

Political career

Caron ran in

as the NDP candidate in 2004, 2006 and 2008, each time finishing a distant fourth. In 2011, however, he defeated Bloc Québecois incumbent

Claude Guimond Claude Guimond (born August 4, 1963) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the electoral district of Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques in the 2008 Canadian federal election and then defeated in the 2011 Canadian fe ...

as part of the large NDP wave that swept through Quebec. He was appointed chairperson of the NDP's Quebec caucus following the election. After the 2015 election, Caron was appointed the NDP critic for

, the

, as well as deputy critic for Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard in the

42nd Canadian Parliament The 42nd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019, with the membership of its lower chamber, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2015 federal election held on Octobe ...

. Caron resigned from the NDP shadow cabinet in February 2017 to stand for the leadership of the New Democratic Party to succeed

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. Caron stated that the two major challenges confronting Canadians are income inequality and climate change. His leadership platform included a guaranteed basic income. In the October 1, 2017, election, Caron placed fourth with 9.4% of the vote, with

winning on the first ballot. The other two contestants in the leadership election, MPs

Charlie Angus Charles Joseph Angus (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian author, journalist, broadcaster, musician and politician. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Angus has been the federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Timmins—Ja ...

and

Niki Ashton Niki Christina Ashton (born September 9, 1982) is a Canadian politician. She is the New Democratic Member of Parliament for the federal electoral district of Churchill—Keewatinook Aski in Manitoba, Canada. She was first elected in the 2008 f ...

, came second and third respectively. Caron lost his seat in the

. In November 2020, Caron announced his campaign for Mayor of

in the following year's municipal election, hoping to succeed retiring Mayor Marc Parent. He won the election on November 7, 2021.

Policies

Tax policy

Guy Caron released a tax plan called ''Making Taxes Work for Canadians'' as part of his ongoing NDP leadership bid. The plan proposes the creation of a Tax Crimes Division within the Department of Justice Canada, in order to provide a more robust method of preventing tax evasion. In addition, the tax plan proposes a Financial Activities Tax to tax the profits of financial institutions and the renumeration packages of banking executives. Caron's plan also proposes the elimination of the "CEO stock option loophole," a promise made by the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

in the 2015 federal election.

Basic income

Guy Caron's bid for the NDP leadership also included a plan for

basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of ...

for individuals or families who spend at least 20% more of their income than the average on necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing (designated as the low-income cut-off line). The basic income program would be joined with the Canada Childcare Benefit and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, without affecting other programs.

Trade

Guy Caron's NDP leadership website states that Caron will work for "trade deals that work for Canadians". The website also states that "trade is good, when the deals are done right".

Electoral record

Personal life

Caron has been married to Valerie Stansfield since 2006. They have two children. At the time of his 2011 election they lived in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's Na ...

, Quebec; following the election they purchased a property in

, within Caron's riding, though stayed in Aylmer while Parliament was in session.

References

External links

Basic Income: an explainer by Guy Caron
on the

Broadbent Institute Broadbent Institute is a Canadian progressive and social democratic think tank founded by Ed Broadbent. History Broadbent Institute is a Canadian progressive and social democratic think tank. It was founded by Ed Broadbent, the leader of the ...

's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Caron, Guy 1968 births Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec New Democratic Party MPs Mayors of Rimouski Universal basic income activists University of Ottawa alumni Université du Québec à Montréal alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians