James Bernard Boudreau (born July 25, 1944) 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 ...

lawyer and politician.

Provincial politics

Boudreau was elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from Cape Breton The Lakes in the 1988 provincial election. He was re-elected in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, and was appointed to the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the cabinet is s ...

as Minister of Finance in the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

government of John Savage. From 1996, he served as Minister of Health. When Savage resigned in 1997, Boudreau entered the leadership race to succeed him, but was defeated by

Russell MacLellan Russell Gregoire MacLellan (born January 16, 1940) is a Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Nova Scotia from 1997 to 1999. Federal politics He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1979 federal election ...

, prompting Boudreau to leave provincial politics.

Federal politics

In October 1999,

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 ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

recommended Boudreau for appointment to 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 ...

, and to the

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as Leader of the Government in the Senate, replacing

Alasdair Graham Alasdair Bernard Graham (May 21, 1929 – April 22, 2015) was a Canadian politician, journalist and businessman. Political career Graham attempted to win a seat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1958 election from Nova Scotia, but wa ...

who had been Nova Scotia's representative in the government since June 1997. It was also announced that Boudreau would be a candidate when the next federal election was held in order to help rebuild the federal Liberals in Nova Scotia, after the party lost all eleven seats in the 1997 federal election. Prior to the

2000 election The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presidentia ...

, Boudreau was appointed

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for 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 re ...

. Boudreau resigned from the Senate in order to run in Dartmouth for a

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

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 ...

. After a hotly contested campaign, he was defeated by incumbent

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 ...

Member of Parliament

Wendy Lill Wendy Lill (born November 2, 1950) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and radio dramatist who served as an NDP Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2004. Her stage plays have been performed extensively in theatres across Canada as well as inte ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boudreau, Bernie 1944 births Living people Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Canadian people of Acadian descent Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs Ministers of health of Nova Scotia Lawyers in Nova Scotia Politicians from Sydney, Nova Scotia 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 20th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly