André Bellavance (born June 3, 1964) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

politician, who served in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 2004 to 2015 and was the mayor of

Victoriaville Victoriaville () is a town in south-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 ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

from 2016 to 2021. Born in

, Bellavance was the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

Member of Parliament for

Richmond—Arthabaska Richmond—Arthabaska is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geography The riding, north of the city of Sherbrooke, straddles the Quebec regions of Centre-du- ...

from 2004 until his resignation from the party on August 25, 2014, continuing in the House of Commons of Canada as an Independent until the

2015 election Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African g ...

. representing the riding of

since 2004. Before being elected, he was the parliamentary assistant to

Pierre Paquette Pierre A. Paquette (born June 1, 1955) is a Canadian economist, professor, union leader and politician. Born in Sorel, Quebec, Paquette was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Bloc Québécois in the 2000 Canadi ...

. Bellavance was interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc from December 16, 2013, to February 25, 2014. On February 25, 2014, Bellavance resigned from that position to become a candidate in the Bloc Québécois leadership election. Bellavance's candidacy for leadership was endorsed by the other three BQ MPs, however he was defeated in the leadership election by

Mario Beaulieu Mario A. Beaulieu (; born February 1, 1959) is a Canadian politician. An advocate for nationalism in Quebec, he served as Party leader, leader (2014–2015), Interim leader (Canada), interim leader (2018–2019) and president (2014–2018) of ...

, the former president of the sovereigntist Société-Saint-Jean-Baptiste, who was viewed as a "hardline" (''

pur et dur Pur et dur (; a common expression in French literally meaning "pure and hard") is a term used in Quebec politics to refer to hardliners of the Parti Québécois and the Quebec independence movement. It is most commonly used in the media, where ...

'') sovereigntist in comparison to Bellavance who had campaigned on broadening the party so that it would become more than a coalition of sovereigntists. On his reasons for leaving the Bloc, Bellavance told a press conference: " eaulieu'svision and orientation for the Bloc are diametrically opposed to mine. Mr. Beaulieu says he can unite the party; for me it's not the case." Bellavance also announced that he will not seek re-election as an MP. Bellavance was elected as mayor of Victoriaville on February 21, 2016, following the election of previous mayor

Alain Rayes Alain Rayes (born December 11, 1971) is a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Richmond—Arthabaska in the House of Commons of Canada from the 2015 Canadian federal election until 2025. He was reelected in the 2019 and 2021 el ...

to the House of Commons.

Flag flap

Bellavance gained national attention early in his first term as an MP, when he initially refused to provide Canadian flags to a

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...

hall in

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 ...

. Bellavance, a Quebec sovereigntist, had said he felt uncomfortable promoting Canada by providing a flag through his own office, and instead provided a toll-free phone number for the

Department of Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity and values, cultural develo ...

, which might provide such a flag. Other Bloc MPs had given their constituents Canadian flags on request in the past. A short national scandal ensued at what critics perceived a slight against veterans and against the country. Many politicians quickly sent the Legion flags;

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

sent a flag that had flown atop the

Peace Tower The Peace Tower () is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower, after the latter burned down in ...

, and

Opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

personally delivered a dozen flags.

Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe (; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian retired politician, proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the federal political party, Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Ca ...

, then leader of the Bloc Québécois, announced that the Bloc

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 ...

would send the legion several flags.
/ref>

References

External links

How'd They Vote?: André Bellavance's voting history and quotes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellavance, Andre 1964 births Bloc Québécois MPs Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Living people Mayors of Victoriaville Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Université Laval alumni 21st-century mayors of places in Quebec