Françoise David
Encyclopedia
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
(born 1948) is the spokesperson, with Amir Khadir
Amir Khadir
Amir Khadir is a politician in the National Assembly of Quebec , Canada for the electoral district of Mercier, and currently the male spokesperson for Québec Solidaire, a sovereignist and left-wing political party which was created by the merger of the Union des Forces Progressistes and Option...
, of Québec solidaire
Québec Solidaire
Québec solidaire is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada, that was created on 4 February 2006 in Montreal. It was formed by the merger of the left-wing party Union des forces progressistes and the alter-globalization political movement Option Citoyenne, led...
- a left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and sovereignist
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
political party in the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Quebec Solidaire was born from the merger of Option Citoyenne
Option citoyenne
Option citoyenne was an altermondialist and feminist political organization in the Canadian province of Quebec. The group was created by Françoise David in 2004; David and François Saillant were its official spokespersons. Option citoyenne gave official support to the left-wing Union des forces...
with l'Union des Forces Progressistes. She is the author of the book/manifesto Bien commun recherché - une option citoyenne (over 7,000 copies sold in Quebec) which combines the concepts of "common good", social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
and economic democracy
Economic democracy
Economic democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that suggests a shift in decision-making power from a small minority of corporate shareholders to a larger majority of public stakeholders...
into a coherent political doctrine.
Biography
In 1987, Françoise David became coordinator for the Regroupement des centres de femmes du Québec. Seven years later, she was named president of the Fédération des femmes du QuébecFédération des femmes du Québec
The Fédération des femmes du Québec is a feminist organization binding individuals and groups in a common goal to "promote and defend the interests and the rights of women and to fight against all forms of violence, discrimination, marginalization and exclusion towards women" in Quebec, Canada.-...
(FFQ). In this capacity, she ensured that women's issues, including poverty and violence against women, remained at the forefront in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She is the daughter of cardiologist Paul David
Paul David
Paul David, was a Canadian cardiologist, founder of the Montreal Heart Institute, and Senator.Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Louis-Athanase David and Antonia Nantel, he received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Paris in 1939 and his MD from the Université de Montréal in 1944...
.
Two of her best-recognised public successes have been the 1995 Women's March against Poverty and the 2000 World March of Women against Poverty and Violence.
In addition to her work experience, Françoise David is a member of numerous community organizations. In January 2000, she participated in the non-governmental observation mission to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and in December 2001 she traveled to Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
with the Service universitaire canadien outre-mer (SUCO).
In 1999, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
.
David ran in the riding of Gouin
Gouin (electoral district)
Gouin is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal between the Canadian Pacific Railway and Jean-Talon Street and west of 6th Avenue...
in central Montreal in the 2007 Quebec Provincial Election
Quebec general election, 2007
The Quebec general election of 2007 was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on March 26, 2007 to elect members of the 38th National Assembly of Quebec. The Quebec Liberal Party led by Jean Charest managed to win a plurality of seats, but were reduced to a minority government, Quebec's first in...
, finishing second to the PQ incumbent Nicolas Girard
Nicolas Girard
Nicolas Girard is a politician in Quebec, Canada, and member of the National Assembly of Quebec. He was elected to the National Assembly in a by-election as a Parti Québécois member on September 20, 2004 in riding of Gouin in the Montreal region.- Student activism:Girard was involved in politics...
. David received 7913 votes, amounting to 26% of the vote in her riding, behind Girard's 11,318 votes (37%). Quebec Solidaire received 3.7% of the vote provincewide.
David ran in Gouin a second time in the 2008 Quebec Provincial Election, receiving 7987 votes, or approximately 32% of the total, but again losing out to Girard, who received 10,276 votes (41%). Quebec Solidaire received 3.8% of the vote provincewide and David's co-leader Amir Khadir won the party's first seat in the National Assembly of Quebec
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
in the neighboring riding of Mercier
Mercier (provincial electoral district)
Mercier is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal. It is bounded to the north and east by the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the south by Rue Rachel and to the west by Avenue de l'Esplanade. The...
.