Robert Benoît
Encyclopedia
Robert Benoît is a politician in the Canadian
province of Quebec
. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec
from 1989 to 2003 as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party. His name is also spelled as Robert Benoit.
and studied commerce and administration at the Collège Paul-Valéry in Montreal
. He received an investment dealer's diploma in 1968 and was hired by Dominion Securities Quebec in the same year. He became active with the Liberal Party in 1978 and campaigned for the "non" side in the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.
Benoît was president of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1985 to 1989 and led the party's finance committee for at least part of this time. At the party's 1987 conference, he called for Liberals to shift from a purely economic focus and devote more attention to social issues, creating policies to benefit the homeless and unemployed. The following year, Benoît helped persuade the party's youth wing to endorse the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement
. He also supported the unsuccessful Meech Lake Accord
on reforming the Canadian constitution.
For twenty-three years, Benoît was the next-door neighbour of Canadian author Mordechai Richler.
, despite objections from some local organizers who regarded him as a candidate of the party establishment. He was easily elected. The Liberals won a second consecutive majority government
, and Benoît entered legislature as a backbench supporter of Robert Bourassa
's government. He was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the premier
on November 29, 1989, and served in this position until December 14, 1993.
Benoît campaigned in Quebec's Eastern Townships
in support of the Charlottetown Accord
on Canadian constitutional reform in 1992. The accord was defeated in a referendum. In April 1993, Benoît said he would support a liberalization of Quebec's Charter of the French Language
, which restricts the public use of languages other than French. He was re-elected in the 1994 election
as the Liberals lost government to the Parti Québécois
. After the election, he served as his party's critic for the environment and industry.
In 1995, Benoît supported Progressive Conservative
candidate Guy Lever in a federal by-election
in Brome—Missisquoi
. Lever finished a distant third against Denis Paradis
of the Liberal Party of Canada
. Benoît later became one of the first Quebec Liberal MNAs to encourage federal Progressive Conservative leader Jean Charest
to seek the Quebec Liberal leadership in 1998. Charest was eventually chosen as leader without opposition.
Benoît was elected to a third term in the 1998 provincial election
. The Parti Québécois were re-elected provincially, and Benoît once again served as his party's critic for the environment. In 2002, he negotiated with Parti Québécois minister André Boisclair
to secure the amalgamation of Magog, Quebec
with neighbouring communities. He did not seek re-election in 2003, standing aside for star candidate
Pierre Reid
.
's Master of Business Administration
program.
Benoît strongly opposed the Charest government's decision to sell part of the Mont-Orford National Park
to private developers in 2006. He helped form the group SOS Parc Mont-Orford to lobby against the sale and tried to overturn the decision via an emergency resolution within the Liberal Party.
He called for fundamental changes to the Liberal Party in 2010, saying that it had become simply "a machine for collecting money."
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...
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....
. He served 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...
from 1989 to 2003 as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party. His name is also spelled as Robert Benoit.
Early life and career
Benoît was born in Saint-Hyacinthe, QuebecSaint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
Saint-Hyacinthe is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 55,823. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region, and is traversed by the Yamaska River which flows...
and studied commerce and administration at the Collège Paul-Valéry in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He received an investment dealer's diploma in 1968 and was hired by Dominion Securities Quebec in the same year. He became active with the Liberal Party in 1978 and campaigned for the "non" side in the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.
Benoît was president of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1985 to 1989 and led the party's finance committee for at least part of this time. At the party's 1987 conference, he called for Liberals to shift from a purely economic focus and devote more attention to social issues, creating policies to benefit the homeless and unemployed. The following year, Benoît helped persuade the party's youth wing to endorse the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement
Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement
The Free Trade Agreement was a trade agreement signed by Canada and the United States on October 4, 1988. The agreement, finalized by October 1987, removed several trade restrictions in stages over a ten year period, and resulted in a great increase in cross-border trade...
. He also supported the unsuccessful Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
on reforming the Canadian constitution.
For twenty-three years, Benoît was the next-door neighbour of Canadian author Mordechai Richler.
Legislator
Benoît was chosen as the Liberal candidate for Orford in the 1989 provincial electionQuebec general election, 1989
The Quebec general election of 1989 was held on September 25, 1989, to elect members of the National Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada...
, despite objections from some local organizers who regarded him as a candidate of the party establishment. He was easily elected. The Liberals won a second consecutive majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
, and Benoît entered legislature as a backbench supporter of Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...
's government. He was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the premier
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
on November 29, 1989, and served in this position until December 14, 1993.
Benoît campaigned in Quebec's Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
in support of the Charlottetown Accord
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.-Background:...
on Canadian constitutional reform in 1992. The accord was defeated in a referendum. In April 1993, Benoît said he would support a liberalization of Quebec's Charter of the French Language
Charter of the French Language
The Charter of the French Language , also known as Bill 101 and Loi 101, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the only official language of Quebec, and framing fundamental language rights for everyone in the province...
, which restricts the public use of languages other than French. He was re-elected in the 1994 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.....
as the Liberals lost government to 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...
. After the election, he served as his party's critic for the environment and industry.
In 1995, Benoît supported Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
candidate Guy Lever in a federal by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in Brome—Missisquoi
Brome—Missisquoi
Brome—Missisquoi is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925...
. Lever finished a distant third against Denis Paradis
Denis Paradis
Denis Paradis, PC is a politician and lawyer from the Canadian province of Quebec. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1995 to 2006 and was a minister in the governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin...
of the Liberal Party of Canada
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...
. Benoît later became one of the first Quebec Liberal MNAs to encourage federal Progressive Conservative leader 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....
to seek the Quebec Liberal leadership in 1998. Charest was eventually chosen as leader without opposition.
Benoît was elected to a third term in the 1998 provincial 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...
. The Parti Québécois were re-elected provincially, and Benoît once again served as his party's critic for the environment. In 2002, he negotiated with Parti Québécois minister André Boisclair
André Boisclair
André Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and separatist party in Quebec....
to secure the amalgamation of Magog, Quebec
Magog, Quebec
Magog is a city in southeastern Quebec, Canada, about east of Montreal at the confluence of Lake Memphremagog--after which the city was named—with the Rivière aux Cerises and the Magog River...
with neighbouring communities. He did not seek re-election in 2003, standing aside for star candidate
Star candidate
A star candidate refers to a high profile individual who has been recruited as a candidate by a political party. Star candidates have usually excelled in fields outside of politics such as academia, business, the media, journalism and/or sports...
Pierre Reid
Pierre Reid
Pierre Reid is a politician and educator in the Canadian province of Quebec. He has served in the National Assembly of Quebec since 2003, representing Orford as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party...
.
Out of the legislature
After leaving the legislature, Benoît taught history at the college level and tutored in the Université de SherbrookeUniversité de Sherbrooke
The Université de Sherbrooke is a large university with campuses located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It is one of two universities, and the only French language university, in the Estrie region of Quebec.In 2007, the...
's Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
program.
Benoît strongly opposed the Charest government's decision to sell part of the Mont-Orford National Park
Mont-Orford National Park
Mont-Orford National Park is a national park of Quebec, Canada. It is located west of the city of Sherbrooke, in southeastern Quebec.-External links:*...
to private developers in 2006. He helped form the group SOS Parc Mont-Orford to lobby against the sale and tried to overturn the decision via an emergency resolution within the Liberal Party.
He called for fundamental changes to the Liberal Party in 2010, saying that it had become simply "a machine for collecting money."
Electoral record
External links
- Biography: Robert Benoit, National Assembly of QuebecNational Assembly of QuebecThe 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...