Jean-Serge Brisson (born June 28, 1954) is a Canadian political activist,

tax reform Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxati ...

advocate, politician, and author. He is a former leader of the

Libertarian Party of Canada The Libertarian Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada founded in 1973. The party subscribes to libertarian and classical liberal tenets; its stated mission is to reduce the size, scope, and cost of government. Party policies ...

and gained national notoriety in the 1990s for his opposition to businesses being forced to collect the provincial sales tax (PST) without being remunerated.

Early life

Brisson was born in Embrun, Ontario, a small village to the east of

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 ...

and raised on a dairy farm. He describes his early experiences with jobs and bosses to have put him off from ever being able to work for a boss, wanting to instead start his own business and be his own boss. He first apprenticed as a radiator technician and, in 1974, opened his own company in Embrun, Independent Radiator Co.

Political life

Libertarian candidate

Brisson has been a candidate for the

and the

Libertarian Party of Ontario The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; ) is a minor libertarian party in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy and Vince Miller, the party was inspired by the 1972 formation of the United States Libertarian Party. The part ...

in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell and

Ottawa South Ottawa South () is a federal Electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is represented in the House of Commons of Canada by David McGuinty, brother of former Premier of Ontario and Ottawa South Member of Pro ...

. He has never been elected provincially or federally. In 2004, despite being the leader of the Libertarian Party, Brisson did not run in the federal election due to his recent election to municipal council in

Russell, Ontario The Township of Russell is a municipal township, located south-east of Canada's capital of Ottawa in eastern Ontario, in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, on the Castor River. The township had a population of 19,598 in the 2021 Can ...

Leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada

Brisson was elected as the leader of the party in 1999 and served until May 18, 2008. Brisson credits himself with organizing the party to be able to re-register itself as an official party with

Elections Canada Elections Canada () is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering elections in Canada, Canadian federal elections and Referendums in Canada, referendums. History Elections Canada is an agency of the Parliament of Canada, and reports ...

and for running more candidates.Jean-Serge Brisson, Tea Party of One: All Governments Invited (Renfrew: General Store Publishing House).

City Councillor

Following three unsuccessful attempts (including a narrow miss in 2000), Brisson was elected to the municipal council of Russell Township in November 2003 with 1,639 votes. As Councillor he opposed municipal legislation requiring all employees of local government to be proficient in both French and English. He was defeated in his bid for re-election on November 13, 2006 in the 2006 municipal election. In the 2010 municipal election on October 25, 2010, he unsuccessfully sought election to city council again. With 1,045 votes, he placed ninth out of the nine candidates seeking the four council sets.

Opposition to PST collection

In the early 1990s, Brisson refused to continue collecting the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) putting forward the idea to the then New Democratic Party of Bob Rae, that collection of any money by small business for any government is slavery. Also the Progressive Conservatives of

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

introduced the Goods and Sales Tax (GST) in Canada to replace the manufacturing sales tax. Brisson argues that customers should be sending in their taxes to the Ontario government themselves, the Ontario government mandated that all businesses charge the sales tax when a customer was purchasing a good or service since 1961, then send that money to the government. Brisson said he never agreed to be hired as a tax collector for the provincial government, but if he was going to be doing their work, he expected to be paid the same as other provincial tax collectors, which at the time Brisson's shop rate was approximately $30 per hour. However, the government would not pay businesses for the added responsibilities to the business, which Brisson argued was a form of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Brisson documented his experience in his book titled ''Tea Party of One: All Governments Invited''. In 1994, Brisson claims to have ceased filing income takes returns.

Electoral record (provincial and federal)

1988 Canadian federal election The 1988 Canadian federal election was held on November 21, 1988, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 34th Canadian Parliament, 34th Parliament of Canada following the dissolution of the House on October 1. It was an electio ...

, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, 335 votes (winner:

Don Boudria Don Boudria (born August 30, 1949) is a former Canadian politician and current senior associate at Sandstone Group, an Ottawa-based executive advisory firm. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2006 as a member of the Libera ...

, Liberal) *

1990 Ontario general election The 1990 Ontario general election was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada. The governing Ontario Liberal Party led by Premier Dav ...

, Prescott and Russell, 618 votes (winner:

Jean Poirier Jean Poirier (born January 17, 1950) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1984 to 1995 who represented the Ottawa area riding of Prescott and Russell. Background Poiri ...

, Liberal) *

1993 Canadian federal election The 1993 Canadian federal election was held on October 25, 1993, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 35th Canadian Parliament, 35th Parliament of Canada. Considered to be a major political realignment, it ...

, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, 244 votes (winner:

, Liberal) *

1995 Ontario general election The 1995 Ontario general election was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada. The writs for the election were drawn up on April 28, 1995. ...

, Prescott and Russell, 626 votes (winner:

Jean-Marc Lalonde Jean-Marc Lalonde (born August 19, 1935) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2011 who represented the riding of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell (p ...

, Liberal) *

2007 Ontario general election The 2007 Ontario general election was held on October 10, 2007, to elect members ( MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government ...

, 384 votes (winner:

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nea ...

, Liberal) *

2008 Canadian federal election The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the 39th Canadian Parliament, previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General o ...

, 244 votes (winner:

David McGuinty David Joseph McGuinty (born February 25, 1960) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been the Minister of National Defence since May 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, McGuinty has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa S ...

, Liberal) *

2011 Canadian federal election The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament. The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General of Canada, Governor Gene ...

, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, 194 votes (winner: Pierre Lemieux,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

) *

2011 Ontario general election Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...

, 252 votes (winner:

, Liberal) *2013 Ontario by-election,

, 208 votes (winner: John Fraser, Liberal) *

2014 Ontario general election The 2014 Ontario general election was held on June 12, 2014, to elect the members of the 41st Parliament of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal Party won a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, legislature, allowing it ...

, 273 votes (winner: John Fraser, Liberal) *

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election was held on October 19, 2015, to elect the 338 members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 42nd Canadian Parliament, 42nd Parliament of Canada. In accordance with the Fixed election date ...

, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, 377 votes (winner:

Francis Drouin Francis Drouin (born October 7, 1983) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. He did not seek re-election in 2 ...

, Liberal) *

2018 Ontario general election The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford Jr., Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature an ...

, Carleton, 386 votes (winner: Goldie Ghamari, Progressive Conservative) *2020 Ontario by-election,

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Stephen Blais, Liberal)

Electoral record of councillors of Russell, 2010

Personal life

Brisson is a

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

and advocate for francophone rights. In 2012, his radiator repair shop came under fire for having a sign with its services listed only in French. Brisson's nephew, Marc-Antoine Gagnier, was the author, radio host and politic's candidate in three times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brisson, Jean-Serge 1954 births Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 1988 Canadian federal election Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election Libertarian Party of Canada candidates in the 2011 Canadian federal election Living people Libertarian Party of Canada leaders Canadian libertarians Leaders of political parties in Canada Franco-Ontarian people People from Russell, Ontario Ontario municipal councillors