Daniel Breton (born June 18, 1962) is an environmental activist and politician in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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, ...

. He was the member of 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 ...

for the riding of Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques between 2012 and 2014.

Early life and activism

Breton was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and the

University of Quebec at Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He was a principal organizer of a November 2001 march in Montreal against Canada's military intervention in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. During the march, he was quoted as saying, "We held this demonstration because we are against a military solution to settle the conflict and the fight against terrorism. We are against terrorism, but war is not the solution." Breton subsequently founded Québec-Vert-Kyoto (later known as QuébecKyoto), which advocated in favour of the

Kyoto Accord The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occ ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. In 2004, he led an ultimately successful protest against Hydro-Quebec's plans to launch the Suroit

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

power project near Beauharnois. The following year, he called for the Montreal Transit Corporation to invest in suburban commuter trains rather than building a new bridge between Laval and Montreal. In June 2007, Breton called on

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 ...

environment minister An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of a ...

John Baird to resign over the

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 ...

government's handling of the Kyoto Accord. Breton described Baird as "neither competent nor willing to carry in a serious, non-partisan manner, the heavy burden of the environment portfolio." Breton spoke against Quebec's plans for

shale gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s, a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and ...

exploration in 2010. On November 29, 2012, Daniel Breton resigned from his post as environment minister less than two months after taking office. He was an unsuccessful candidate during the 2018 election.

Political activism

Breton helped re-launch the dormant

Green Party of Quebec The Green Party of Quebec (GPQ; , PVQ) is a Quebec political party whose platform is the promotion of green politics. It has not won any seats in the National Assembly of Quebec. Its platform is oriented towards promotion of green values, sus ...

for 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 Berna ...

and was the party's candidate in

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Hochelaga-Maisonneuve () is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Canada, situated in the east end of the island, generally to the south of the city's Olympic Stadium and east of downtown. Historically a poor neighbourhood, it has experienced significant ...

. He finished sixth against

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 establishi ...

incumbent

Louise Harel Louise Harel ( ; born April 22, 1946) is a Quebec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opposition in the National Assembly ...

. Breton also worked for the

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...

. He supported the sovereigntist option in the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty and signed a joint statement in favour of

Quebec independence The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...

in 2007. In 2008, Breton left the Green Party to join the Canadian

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP). In joining the NDP, he was quoted as saying, "what is at stake in 2008 is not the sovereignty of Quebec but the sovereignty of Canada. We are in the process of losing control over our natural resources, over our economy, of our big businesses and our political sovereignty." He ran as a

star candidate A star candidate () is high-profile individual who is entering or re-entering elected politics. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the recruitment of a star candidate often includes a guaranteed nomination in a winnable seat. Star candidates com ...

for the party in the 2008 federal election and finished third in Jeanne-Le Ber. He was not a candidate in the 2011 federal election, in which the NDP made a historic breakthrough to become the dominant federal party in Quebec. In 2012, Breton joined the

and ran successfully for the party in the 2012 election, retaining the riding of

Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques () is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises part of the borough of Ville-Marie and part of the borough of Le Plat ...

for the PQ. He was the minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks from September 19 to November 29, 2012Daniel Breton
on the website of the National Assembly in the government of

Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a Member of the National Assembly (Quebec), member of the National Assembly in various ridings ...

. He was defeated in the 2014 election by

Manon Massé Manon Massé (born 22 May 1963) is a Canadian politician in Quebec and was one of co-spokespersons for Québec solidaire from 2017 to 2023. She has represented Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques in the National Assembly of Quebec since the 2014 ...

Québec Solidaire Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

Electoral record

* Result compared to Action démocratique

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breton, Daniel 1962 births Canadian environmentalists Living people New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Quebec candidates for Member of Parliament Parti Québécois MNAs Politicians from Montreal 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election