Stéphane Bédard (born 11 March 1968) 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. Bédard was interim leader of the

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 ...

from 2014 to 2015. 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 provincial riding of

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

. He was chosen as interim parliamentary leader by the PQ caucus on April 10, 2014, following the PQ government's defeat in the 2014 general election and the resignation 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 ...

and officially became

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

when the legislature resumed on April 23, 2014. He officially became acting leader of the party on June 7, 2014, when Marois' resignation took effect at Parti Québécois Council of Presidents. He held the position until

Pierre Karl Péladeau Pierre Karl Péladeau (; born 16 October 1961), also known by his initials PKP, is a Canadian businessman, billionaire and former politician. He was also the MNA ( Member of the National Assembly) for Saint-Jérôme. Péladeau is the president ...

was elected party leader in the Parti Québécois leadership election held on May 15, 2015. He resigned from the legislature and the

on October 22, 2015.

Biography

Born in

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, ...

, Stéphane Bédard is the son of Marc-André Bédard. After studying

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

HEC Montréal HEC Montréal (; English: ''High Commercial Studies of Montreal'') is a bilingual public business school located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1907, HEC Montréal is the graduate business school of the Université de Montréal and is ...

(1987-1988), he received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in law at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

in 1991 and was admitted in 1992 at the Barreau du Québec. He was a lawyer from 1992 to 1998 in Chicoutimi. He was involved in politics during this period being the President of the Parti Québécois in Chicoutimi from 1994 to 1998 and was a member of the Yes Committee for the 1995 referendum. Bédard ran for MNA in Chicoutimi in 1998 and was elected. While he was not named in a Ministry position, he was the Parliamentary assistant to the Minister of State for Education and Youth from March 21, 2001, to December 5, 2001, Parliamentary assistant to the Minister of State for Education and Employment from December 5, 2001, to January 30, 2002, and Parliamentary assistant to the Minister of State for Administration and the Public Service and Chair of the Conseil du trésor from January 30, 2002, to April 29, 2003. He was Secretary of State for the Renewal of the Public Service from January 30, 2002, to April 29, 2003. Bédard was re-elected in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

but the Parti Québécois lost to 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 named the Assistant Deputy Leader of the Opposition and after being re-elected for a third term in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he was named the PQ's chief

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 ...

. After the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, he was named the House leader of the opposition while being replaced by Pointe-aux-Trembles MNA Nicole Léger as Chief Whip of the PQ. He was elected for a fifth term in the 2012 general election, as the Parti québécois regained power. On September 19, 2012, he became Minister responsible for Government Administration, Chair of the Conseil du trésor (Treasury Board), Government House Leader and Minister responsible for the Saguenay–Lac‑Saint-Jean region in the government of Premier

.Members of Cabinet
/ref>

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedard, Stephane 1968 births Living people Parti Québécois MNAs Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Politicians from Saguenay, Quebec Lawyers in Quebec Université de Montréal alumni HEC Montréal alumni Leaders of the Parti Québécois 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Quebecor people 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec