Jean D'Amour is a Canadian

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...

 politician, who represents the electoral district of Rivière-du-Loup 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...

. He won the riding in a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 on June 22, 2009, and previously served as mayor of Rivière-du-Loup from 1999 to 2007.

He is currently the president of the Quebec Liberal Party, and was also the party's candidate in Rivière-du-Loup for the 1994

Quebec general election, 1994

The Quebec general election of 1994 was held on September 12, 1994, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by Jacques Parizeau, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.....

 and 2007

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...

 provincial elections.

He faced some controversy during the campaign, as he was arrested for impaired driving on September 24, 2008, and pled guilty on December 19. His driver's license was suspended for one year. He has also faced allegations that he violated provincial ethics laws by lobbying

Lobbying

Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...

 the municipal government of Rivière-du-Loup less than two years after leaving office. Premier Jean Charest

Jean Charest

John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....

 stood behind D'Amour, however, crediting him with being honest and forthcoming with the voters about his mistakes.

D'Amour defeated the Parti Québécois

Parti Québécois

The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

 candidate, former federal Member of Parliament Paul Crête

Paul Crête

Paul Crête is a Canadian politician, who served as a Member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 until 2009, when he announced that he was moving to provincial politics....

, in the by-election. Crête had been considered the likely winner at the start of the by-election campaign, but was hurt by PQ leader Pauline Marois

Pauline Marois

Pauline Marois is the current leader of the Parti Québécois in the province of Quebec, since June 27, 2007 and current Leader of the Official Opposition of the National Assembly of Quebec, representing the riding of Charlevoix...

' public statements that she planned to create a favourable climate for Quebec sovereignty by intentionally seeking to inflame political tensions between Quebec and English Canada

English Canada

English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English-speaking Canadians, as opposed to French-speaking Canadians. It is employed when comparing English- and French-language literature, media, or art...

.

He resigned the Liberal caucus to sit as an independent on November 10, 2009, following revelations that he was under investigation for allegedly accepting an envelope of money from a developer on behalf of Michel Morin, his successor as mayor of Rivière-du-Loup. An investigation by the province's chief electoral officer cleared him of wrongdoing, and he was subsequently readmitted to the Liberal caucus on December 24.

Electoral record

|-

|Liberal
|Jean D'Amour
|align="right"|9,959
|align="right"|47.49
|align="right"|+20.50
|-

|Parti Québécois

Parti Québécois

The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

|Paul Crête

Paul Crête

Paul Crête is a Canadian politician, who served as a Member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 until 2009, when he announced that he was moving to provincial politics....

|align="right"|7,514
|align="right"|35.83
|align="right"|+21.63
|-

|Action démocratique

Action démocratique du Québec

The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ is a centre-right political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defines itself as autonomist, and has support from both soft nationalists and federalists....

|Gilberte Côté
|align="right"|3,089
|align="right"|14.73
|align="right"|-37.04
|-

|Green

Green Party of Quebec

The Parti vert du Québec/Green Party of Quebec or PVQ is a Quebec political party whose platform is the promotion of green values. It has not elected any members to the National Assembly of Quebec...

|Martin Poirier
|align="right"|151
|align="right"|0.72
|align="right"|-1.67
|-

|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...

|Victor-Lévy Beaulieu

Victor-Lévy Beaulieu

Victor-Lévy Beaulieu is a Québécois writer, playwright and editor.Born in Saint-Paul-de-la-Croix, in the area of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Victor-Lévy Beaulieu began primary school at Trois-Pistoles, moving later to Montréal-Nord.He began his public writing career at the Montreal weekly Perspectives,...

|align="right"|93
|align="right"|0.44
|align="right"|-2.34
|-

|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...

|Benoît Renaud
|align="right"|89
|align="right"|0.42
|align="right"|-1.44
|-

|Finance Reform

Parti de la réforme financière

The Nouvelle Alliance Québec-Canada is a political party in Quebec. It was founded in 2009 as the Parti de la réforme financière, and changed to its current name in 2010. Its main aim is for the provincial government to make more sensible choices in the way it spends the people's money...

|Denis Couture
|align="right"|40
|align="right"|0.19
|align="right"|-
|-

|Parti indépendantiste

Parti indépendantiste

The Parti indépendantiste was a provincial party which advocated Quebec sovereignty in Québec, Canada in the second half of the 1980s.-Denis Monière:...

|Éric Tremblay
|align="right"|37
|align="right"|0.18
|align="right"|-
|}
|-

|Action démocratique

Action démocratique du Québec

The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ is a centre-right political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defines itself as autonomist, and has support from both soft nationalists and federalists....

|Mario Dumont

Mario Dumont

Mario Dumont is a television personality and former politician in the province of Quebec. He was a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec , and the leader of the Action démocratique du Québec , from 1994 to 2009...

|align="right"|15,276
|align="right"|58.47
|align="right"|+1.24
|-

|Liberal
|Jean D'Amour
|align="right"|7,390
|align="right"|28.29
|align="right"|+4.53
|-

|Parti Québécois

Parti Québécois

The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

|Hugues Belzile
|align="right"|2,821
|align="right"|10.80
|align="right"|-6.88
|-

|Green

Green Party of Quebec

The Parti vert du Québec/Green Party of Quebec or PVQ is a Quebec political party whose platform is the promotion of green values. It has not elected any members to the National Assembly of Quebec...

|Martin Poirier
|align="right"|639
|align="right"|2.45
|align="right"|+1.12
|-
|}
|-

|Action démocratique

Action démocratique du Québec

The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ is a centre-right political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defines itself as autonomist, and has support from both soft nationalists and federalists....

|Mario Dumont
|align="right"|13,307
|align="right"|54.77
|align="right"|-
|-

|Parti Québécois

Parti Québécois

The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...

|Harold LeBel
|align="right"|6,608
|align="right"|27.20
|align="right"|-14.85
|-

|Liberal
|Jean D'Amour
|align="right"|4,226
|align="right"|17.39
|align="right"|-37.09
|-

|Independent
|L. Richard Cimon
|align="right"|99
|align="right"|0.41
|align="right"|-
|-

|Natural Law
|Armand Pouliot
|align="right"|55
|align="right"|0.23
|align="right"|-
|}