Michel Rivard 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, senator, and former member of 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...

.

Career

Rivard holds a certificate in administrative sciences from Université Laval

Université Laval

Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...

. Throughout the 1970s he held various managerial positions in the Quebec business world.

From 1980 to 1984 he was mayor of Beauport, and from 1985 to 1988 he was director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Federation of Canadian Municipalities

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a civic advocacy group representing many Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence debate and policy, as it is main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal...

. From 1991 to 1994 he served on the executive committee of the Society of Economic Development for the Region of Quebec.

In the 1994 Quebec election

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.....

, Rivard ran in the riding of Limoilou

Jean-Lesage

Jean-Lesage is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Quebec City and includes eastern portions of the city. The riding was called Limoilou from 1965 to 2003...

 representing 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...

 and was elected. He served in various backbench roles in the PQ government, including as Assistant to the Minister responsible for the Quebec region (from January 19, 1996 to October 28, 1998). As a PQ member he campaigned for Quebec sovereignty

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...

 during the 1995 Quebec referendum.

In the 1998 election

Quebec general election, 1998

The Quebec general election of 1998 was held on November 30, 1998, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Parti Québécois, led by Lucien Bouchard, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Charest.After the narrow defeat of...

, Rivard lost his seat to Liberal candidate Michel Després

Michel Després

Michel Després is an administrator, consultant and a former Quebec politician. He was the former MNA member of the former riding of Limoilou from 1985 to 1994 and 1998 to 2003 and the former member of the riding of Jean-Lesage from 2003 and 2007 when he was defeated...

.

In the 2000 Canadian federal election

Canadian federal election, 2000

The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....

, he attempted a political comeback running in the riding of Québec under the banner of the Canadian Alliance

Canadian Alliance

The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...

, a considerable departure from his previous political affiliation. He lost to Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 candidate Christiane Gagnon

Christiane Gagnon

Christiane Gagnon is a Canadian politician.Gagnon was born in Chicoutimi, Quebec. A real estate agent, she was first elected in the 1993 federal election. She was the Bloc Québécois candidate in the riding of Québec . She was re-elected in the Canadian federal election, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, and...

.

In December 2008 he was appointed to the Senate of Canada as a Conservative

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

 by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

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External links

• Biography from the National Assembly (French)