Victor Eric Boudreau (born May 3, 1970) is a

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

from 2004 to 2018, representing the ridings of Shediac-Cap-Pelé and Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé for the

New Brunswick Liberal Association The New Brunswick Liberal Association (), commonly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party, or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major provincial political parties in New Brunswick, Canada. The party descended from both the Confe ...

, and was the

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 ...

in the legislature."N.B. Liberals name ex-minister as interim leader"
.

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

, November 20, 2010. In 2023, Boudreau was appointed as the chief administrative officer for the Town of

Shediac Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts an annual festival every July which promotes its ties to lobster fish ...

. In 2024, he was appointed 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 ...

on the advice 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 ...

Biography

Boudreau holds a

Bachelor of Social Science The Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc or BSocSci) is an undergraduate degree. It typically requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. It c ...

from the

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian French-language university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on hig ...

. Boudreau was recruited to the Liberal Party in 1989 by Dominic LeBlanc and he attended the 1990 federal Liberal leadership convention to support

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 ...

. Chrétien, who was then without a seat 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 ...

, ran in a by-election in Boudreau's riding of

Beauséjour Beausejour or Beauséjour may refer to: Places *Beausejour, a district in Casablanca, Morocco *Beauséjour, the main settlement on the island of La Désirade, Guadeloupe *Beauséjour (electoral district), a federal electoral district in eastern New ...

. Following this initial engagement, Boudreau became very active in politics. He served as president of the Young Liberals and then worked for Fernand Robichaud when he was a member of the

Cabinet of Canada The Canadian Ministry (Canadian French, French: ''Conseil des ministres''), colloquially referred to as the Cabinet of Canada (), is a body of Minister of the Crown, ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the t ...

and for

Bernard Richard Bernard Paul Richard, C.M. (born April 11, 1951) is a Canadian social worker, lawyer, and politician in the Province of New Brunswick. Early life and education Raised and educated in Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick, Richard earned a Bachelor of Arts ...

—his predecessor as MLA for Shediac-Cap-Pelé—when he was in the New Brunswick cabinet Prior to his election to the legislature, he worked as village administrator of Cap-Pelé.Mary Moszynski, ''New N.B. finance minister called hard worker, with strong people skills: Victor Boudreau viewed as well-liked rising star in Liberal circles''.

Times & Transcript The ''Times & Transcript'' is a newspaper from Moncton, New Brunswick. It serves Greater Moncton and eastern New Brunswick. Its offices and printing facilities are located on Main Street in Downtown Moncton. The paper is published by Postmedia ...

, Page A6, October 10, 2006.

Career as legislator

He was elected to the legislature 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 October 4, 2004, to replace Bernard Richard, who had resigned to become the provincial

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

. Boudreau role of Health & Wellness critic in the shadow cabinet shortly after his election.

Graham ministry

He was re-elected in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and took on the role of

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

in the cabinet of

Shawn Graham Shawn Michael Graham (born February 22, 1968) is a Canadian politician, who served as the 31st premier of New Brunswick from 2006 to 2010. He was elected leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party in 2002 and became premier after his party captu ...

. Boudreau was given several additional responsibilities, both ministerial and non-ministerial.

Back in opposition

Following the Liberal party's defeat in the 2010 election, Boudreau was named interim leader of the party on November 10, 2010, after Graham stepped down.

Brian Gallant Brian Alexander Gallant (born April 27, 1982) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 33rd premier of New Brunswick from October 7, 2014, until November 9, 2018. Of Acadian and Dutch descent, Gallant practised as a lawyer before winn ...

was elected leader of the party on October 27, 2012, and assumed the role of opposition leader when he won the district of Kent in a by-election on April 15, 2013.

Gallant ministry

He was named Minister of Health by Premier-elect Brian Gallant on 7 October 2014. He chaired the Strategic Program Review, which was designed to solve a large gap, between $485 million and $600 million in the account books of the province.cbc.ca: "Victor Boudreau pushing to save $600M in program review"
15 Jan 2016

Senate of Canada

On June 28, 2024, he was summoned to the

by 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 ...

, on the advice of prime minister

References

External links

Hon. Victor Boudreau
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boudreau, Victor Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Living people People from Shediac 1970 births Ministers of finance of New Brunswick Ministers of health and labour of New Brunswick Canadian senators from New Brunswick Independent Senators Group Université de Moncton alumni 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick