Fernand Girard was an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 member of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. He was born in Saint-Cyriac, Quebec and became a journalist, including editor of Le Réveil de Jonquière.

He was first elected to Parliament at the Lapointe riding in the 1953 general election

Canadian federal election, 1953

The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...

. After serving his only term, the 22nd Canadian Parliament

22nd Canadian Parliament

The 22nd Canadian Parliament was in session from November 12, 1953 until April 12, 1957. The membership was set by the 1953 federal election on August 10, 1953, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1957 election.It was controlled by...

, Girard was defeated by Augustin Brassard

Augustin Brassard

Augustin Brassard is a former Canadian politician, lawyer, secretary and teacher. He was born in Roberval, Quebec, Canada. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1957 election as a Member of the Liberal Party to represent the riding of Lapointe. He was re-elected in the 1958...

 of the Liberal party

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

.

After this, Girard moved to provincial politics where he became general secretary and cabinet chief of Quebec's Union Nationale party, serving under Premier Daniel Johnson, Sr. After his retirement, he became vice-president of Société québécoise d’initiative pétrolière (SOQUIP).

In 1954, with Gaston D'Auteuil, Girard wrote the book Artisans d'un beau Royaume, a historic review of the Sageunay-Lac-Saint-Jean area.

Girard died at Jonquière on 2 July 2004, aged 80.

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