Clément Gignac (born May 7, 1955) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of

Marguerite-Bourgeoys Marguerite-Bourgeoys () is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises the LaSalle borough of the city of Montreal. It was created for the 1966 el ...

in the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

from 2009 to 2012. A member of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...

, he was elected in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on June 22, 2009, following the resignation of

Monique Jérôme-Forget Monique Jérôme-Forget (; born August 8, 1940) is a psychologist and a former Quebec politician. She was the National Assembly of Quebec, Member of National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Marguerite-Bourgeoys (provincial electoral district), ...

. On the following day, Gignac was named by

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, he was a member of Parliament (MP) between 1984 and 1998. After holding se ...

as the new Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade — a role which was previously held by

Raymond Bachand Raymond Bachand (born 22 October 1947, in Montreal, Quebec) is a former politician, a businessman and a lawyer in Quebec, Canada. He was the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the riding of Outremont, and a member of the Queb ...

, who was also the Finance Minister. Prior to his election to the assembly, Gignac was (for a brief period of time) a senior advisor to the deputy minister of

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. Prior to this appointment, Gignac was senior vice-president, chief economist and strategist of National Bank Financial and in this role has ranked constantly over the last decade amongst the top strategists and economists in the country. On July 29, 2021, the Governor General

Mary Simon Mary Jeannie May Simon (born August 21, 1947) is a Canadian civil servant, diplomat, and former broadcaster who has been serving as the 30th governor general of Canada since July 26, 2021. She is Inuit, Inuk on her mother's side, making her th ...

, under recommendation of Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

, appointed Gignac as a Québec member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

Biographical Notes

Gignac holds both a Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in economics from Université Laval. Before entering politics, Gignac served as special advisor to the federal deputy minister of finance in 2009. In this position, he represented Canada on a G20 task force. During the previous 20 years, Gignac acted as economic consultant and strategist for several prominent financial institutions, notably National Bank Financial, as Vice-President and Chief Economist from 2000 to 2008. For five consecutive years, his group ranked among the top three Canadian economist teams in the annual Brendan Wood International survey of some 100 institutional clients. As minister of Economic Development, he introduced the government's strategy in research and innovation and participated in the creation of its strategy on entrepreneurship. Since December 2012, Clément Gignac has held the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist at

Industrial Alliance iA Financial Group ( Industrial Alliance) is a Canadian insurance and wealth management group that operates in Canada and the United States. It is one of the largest public companies in Canada. The parent company, iA Financial Corporation Inc. ...

. As well as serving as spokesman on economic matters, he chairs the asset allocation committee and manages diversified funds with assets exceeding $3 billion. In 2012, he was asked by the prestigious World Economic Forum to sit as chair on the Global Agenda Council on Competitiveness, and in May 2015, he received the ''Gloire de l'Escolle'' medal for exceptional merit from Université Laval. On July 29, 2021 it was announced that Clément Gignac was appointed to the Canadian senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to sit as an independent senator.

Electoral record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gignac, Clement 1955 births Living people Members of the Executive Council of Quebec People from Capitale-Nationale Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Canadian senators from Quebec Independent Canadian senators Progressive Senate Group 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Université Laval alumni

Biographical Notes

Electoral record

See also

References

External links