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André Bachand (Progressive Conservative MP)

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André Bachand
MNA for Richmond
Assumed office
October 1, 2018
Preceded byKarine Vallières
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Richmond—Arthabaska
In office
June 2, 1997 – June 28, 2004
Preceded byRiding created
Succeeded byAndré Bellavance
Mayor of Asbestos
In office
1986–1997
Personal details
Born (1961-12-08) December 8, 1961 (age 62)
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Political partyConservative (federal)
CAQ (provincial)
Other political
affiliations
Progressive Conservative (1997-2004)
Occupationadministrator, business executive

André Bachand (born December 8, 1961) is a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Richmond—Arthabaska as member of the Progressive Conservatives from 1997 to 2003.

When the PC Party was merged with the Canadian Alliance into the Conservative Party in December 2003, Bachand declined to join the CPC and sat as an "Independent Progressive Conservative" until the 2004 election, when he retired from the House of Commons.

Born in Quebec City, Quebec, Bachand has been an administrator, and a business executive. He was the mayor of Asbestos, Quebec, from 1986 to 1997, and was the Préfet of the MRC d'Asbestos from 1987 to 1997.

Federal politics

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Young Turk

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Bachand was first elected as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1997, one of five PC MPs elected that year in Quebec. Bachand was one of a handful of new "Young Turk" PC MPs (along with Scott Brison, John Herron and Peter MacKay) who were considered the future youthful leadership material that would restore the ailing Tories to their glory days. In 1998, Jean Charest stepped down as federal Progressive Conservative leader to move to Quebec provincial politics, becoming leader of the federalist Quebec Liberal Party (unaffiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada). Bachand was one of many who unsuccessfully tried to convince Charest to remain in federal politics for at least one more election. Former Prime Minister Joe Clark succeeded Charest as leader of the PC Party and Bachand was supportive of Clark's candidacy.

Difficult times

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The Quebec-wing of the federal PC parliamentary caucus wrestled with several internal policy issues in the late 1990s after Charest's departure, including with respect to bilingualism policies and the autonomy of provinces relative to the federal government. Shortly after Joe Clark was elected leader of the federal Tory Party, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Stéphane Dion brought forward the Clarity Act on behalf of the government. The Clarity Act detailed specifically how the province of Quebec could separate and under what conditions a separation could be legal. Clark and seven other PC MPs chose to support Bachand and the Quebec PC MPs in opposing the Clarity Act, while the remaining PC MPs voted in favour of the Bill regardless of Clark's stance.

Quebec lieutenant

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By 1999, Bachand had emerged as the nominal Quebec lieutenant of the Conservatives, attending most PC events in the province with Clark and acting as the party's chief spokesman for Quebec issues. Bachand was also the chief responder to the multiple defections of Quebec Tory party officials, MPs, and senators to the Liberal Party and Canadian Alliance during this period. In September 2000, three Quebec PC MPs, fearful of their re-election prospects under Clark's leadership, crossed the floor shortly before the federal election to sit as Liberal MPs, leaving Bachand as the only remaining PC MP in Quebec. He was subsequently re-elected in the 2000 election,[1] as were all three of the MPs who crossed the floor. Twelve Tory MPs won election in 2000, just enough for the party to retain official party status.

Deputy leader

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In February 2003, Bachand announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives.[2][3] However, on May 12, he announced that he was dropping out of the race and supporting Peter MacKay.[4] Bachand had been running fifth in the race, and had failed to gather support among party delegates and to raise enough money for his campaign. After MacKay's victory, Bachand briefly served as Deputy Leader of the Progressive Conservatives until early December 2003. Before becoming deputy leader, Bachand served as the deputy house leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, as well as its critic for the Intergovernmental Affairs, Industry, Science Research and Development, and the Deputy Prime Minister portfolios.

Lone independent

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When the party merged with the Canadian Alliance at the end of 2003, Bachand announced that he would retire from politics. Bachand did not sit with the new Conservative Party of Canada Caucus, and became an independent MP until the June 2004 election. During the June 2004 election, Bachand endorsed the Liberal candidate in the Richmond—Arthabaska race over the Conservative and Bloc Québécois challengers. In the event, the BQ won fifty-four of Quebec's seventy-five seats, including Richmond—Arthabaska, where André Bellavance won.

Bachand's departure from federal politics has been lamented by many Tories hailing from Quebec. In a Maclean's article covering the March 2005 founding policy convention of the new Conservative Party, Senator Pierre Claude Nolin mused that if Bachand had remained elected and participatory in the new party, he may served as the new Conservative Party's chief Quebec lieutenant as part of Stephen Harper's attempts to woo Quebec voters.

Return to politics

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In September 2008, Bachand announced that he would be the Conservative Party candidate for the district of Sherbrooke in the 40th Canadian feneral election.[5][6] On election night, Bachand's comeback attempt was unsuccessful. He lost to Bloc Québécois incumbent Serge Cardin, finishing third with 16.4% of the vote.[7]

Shortly after his election defeat, Bachand accepted an appointment from Harper as Canada's ambassador to UNESCO in Paris.[8] As ambassador, Bachand's most high-profile activity was to oppose, on the Canadian government's behalf, the entry of the Palestinian Authority to membership in the organization.

In October 2011, Harper appointed Bachand as his senior advisor on Quebec issues. The post, which previously had been combined with responsibility for being Harper's communications advisor, was reportedly separated from other responsibilities in order to make space for Bachand.[9]

In 2013, Maclean's included Bachand as one of the thirteen members of Harper's "inner circle," of most-trusted advisors, tasked "to try to improve Conservative fortunes in Quebec."[10]

In September 2013, Bachand was hired by the Earnscliffe Strategy Group, an Ottawa public-affairs firm.[11]

Provincial politics

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Bachand ran for the Coalition Avenir Québec in the riding of Richmond, going on to win in the 2018 provincial election.[12]

Electoral record

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Provincial

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2022 Quebec general election: Richmond
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Coalition Avenir Québec André Bachand 21,255 46.75 +7.11
Québec solidaire Philippe Pagé 9,031 19.86 +0.96
Conservative Marylaine Bélair 6,683 14.70 +13.40
Parti Québécois Jacinthe Caron 5,803 12.76 -5.08
Liberal Mona Louis-Jean 2,476 5.45 -14.36
Démocratie directe Richard Magnan 112 0.25
Independent Raymond de Martin 105 0.23
Total valid votes 45,465 98.64
Total rejected ballots 625 1.36
Turnout 46,090 72.10
Electors on the lists 63,923
2018 Quebec general election: Richmond
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Coalition Avenir Québec André Bachand 17,011 39.64 +17.60
Liberal Annie Godbout 8,502 19.81 -21.35
Québec solidaire Colombe Landry 8,110 18.90 +12.11
Parti Québécois Véronique Vigneault 7,654 17.84 -9.76
Green Yves La Madeleine 680 1.58 +0.23
Conservative Karl Brousseau 600 1.40 +0.90
Citoyens au pouvoir Déitane Gendron 353 0.82
Total valid votes 42,910 98.36
Total rejected ballots 716 1.64
Turnout 43,626 72.11
Eligible voters 60,502
Coalition Avenir Québec gain from Liberal Swing +19.475
Source(s)
"Rapport des résultats officiels du scrutin". Élections Québec.

Federal

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2008 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Bloc Québécois Serge Cardin 25,502 50.1% -2.2% $63,527
Liberal Nathalie Goguen 9,947 19.5% +6.4% $12,688
Conservative André Bachand 8,331 16.4% -4.3% $46,261
New Democratic Yves Mondoux 6,676 13.1% +4.2% $11,460
Rhinoceros Sébastien Côrriveau 467 0.9% $180
Total valid votes/Expense limit 50,923 100.0% $86,493
Total rejected ballots 607 1.2%
Turnout 51,530 62.9%
2000 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative André Bachand 18,430 37.2 -4.3
Bloc Québécois André Bellavance 18,067 36.5 -0.5
Liberal Aldéi Beaudoin 10,416 21.0 +0.7
Alliance Philippe Ardilliez 1,930 3.9
Natural Law Christian Simard 375 0.8
New Democratic Vincent Bernier 319 0.6 -0.6
Total valid votes 49,537 100.0
1997 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Conservative André Bachand 21,687 41.5
Bloc Québécois Gaston Leroux 19,319 37.0
Liberal Aldéi Beaudoin 10,613 20.3
New Democratic Martin Bergeron 641 1.2
Total valid votes 52,260 100.0

References

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  1. ^ "Lone PC MP in Quebec hangs on". CBC News. November 28, 2000. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  2. ^ "Bachand 7th candidate for Tory leadership". CBC News. February 24, 2003. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  3. ^ "Bachand joins Tory race". The Globe and Mail. February 24, 2003. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  4. ^ "Bachand bows out of PC race". CBC News. May 12, 2003. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  5. ^ "André Bachand confirme son retour en politique". La Tribune. September 3, 2008. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  6. ^ "Conservatives welcome Bachand, ex PC MP". CBC News. September 11, 2008. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  7. ^ "Canada Votes 2008 results: Sherbrooke". CBC News. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  8. ^ "André Bachand devient ambassadeur du Canada à l'UNESCO". La Tribune. July 21, 2009. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  9. ^ "Former MP André Bachand to become Harper's new Quebec adviser". The Globe and Mail. September 6, 2011. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  10. ^ Wells, Paul (February 11, 2013). "Harper's Inner Circle". Maclean's. p. 27.
  11. ^ "Harper's former Quebec adviser hired by Ottawa public-affairs firm". The Globe and Mail. September 3, 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  12. ^ Authier, Philip (9 March 2018). "Former MP André Bachand chooses CAQ for his jump back into politics". Montreal Gazette. Postmedia. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
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