François-Philippe Champagne

François-Philippe Champagne PC MP (born June 25, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has been Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry since 2021. He was formerly the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He was elected to represent the riding of Saint-Maurice—Champlain in the House of Commons in the 2015 election for the Liberal Party.^[3][4] He became Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry on January 12, 2021, after a cabinet reshuffle.^[1]

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne PC MP
Champagne in 2017
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Registrar General of Canada
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2021
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Navdeep Bains
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office November 20, 2019 – January 12, 2021
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Chrystia Freeland
Succeeded by	Marc Garneau^[1]
Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
In office July 18, 2018 – November 20, 2019
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Amarjeet Sohi
Succeeded by	Catherine McKenna
Minister of International Trade
In office January 10, 2017 – July 18, 2018
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Chrystia Freeland
Succeeded by	Jim Carr
Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice—Champlain
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Lise St-Denis
Personal details
Born	(1970-06-25) June 25, 1970 (age 53) Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Shawinigan^[2]
Alma mater	Université de Montréal Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Profession	Lawyer Businessman

Early life

Champagne was born in Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada on June 25, 1970, and raised in Shawinigan, Quebec.^[5][6] He studied law at the Université de Montréal and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. After several years working as a senior attorney for Elsag Bailey Process Automation, he joined ABB Group in 1999, eventually rising to group vice president and senior counsel. In 2008, he joined Amec PLC as a strategic development director, and was designated a "young global leader" by the World Economic Forum. Following his return to Canada, he became involved in a variety of business and non-profit ventures.

Political career

 

Champagne in 2022

In an interview with The Globe and Mail in London, 2009, Champagne expressed his desire to eventually return to Canada and enter politics, citing fellow Shawinigan resident Jean Chrétien as an inspiration.^[7] Ahead of the 2015 Canadian federal election, he was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Saint-Maurice—Champlain, a riding represented at the time by New Democratic-turned-Liberal MP Lise St-Denis, and was elected to Parliament on October 19, 2015.^[8]

After his election in 2015, Champagne was appointed as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance until 2017, when he was appointed Minister of International Trade.^[9]

Minister of Infrastructure and Communities (2018-2019)

In 2018, Champagne was named Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and oversaw the federal government’s ambitious $187 billion infrastructure investment plan.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019-2021)

In November 2019, Champagne became Minister of Foreign Affairs, taking the helm of Trudeau's foreign policy.

In June 2020, it was reported that Champagne had two more mortgages with the state-owned Bank of China, raising questions of potential vulnerability to foreign influence.^[10]

Champagne welcomed Trump's peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as a positive and historic step toward a peaceful and secure Middle East, adding Canada was gladdened by suspension of Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.^[11]

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (2021-present)

In the 2021 Canadian cabinet reshuffle, Champagne was moved out of the Foreign Affairs portfolio, and became Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.^[12]

Language

Champagne is trilingual, speaking English, French and Italian.^[7]

Electoral record

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Saint-Maurice—Champlain
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	François-Philippe Champagne	23,104	39.55	-1.97	$101,231.55
	Bloc Québécois	Nicole Morin	19,950	34.15	+14.99	$4,638.18
	Conservative	Bruno-Pier Courchesne	9,542	16.33	+0.06	none listed
	New Democratic	Barthélémy Boisguérin	3,071	5.26	-15.51	none listed
	Green	Stéphanie Dufresne	1,809	3.10	+1.16	none listed
	People's	Julie Déziel	938	1.61	–	none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			58,414	100.0
Total rejected ballots			1,307	2.19
Turnout			59,721	65.20
Eligible voters			91,594
	Liberal hold		Swing		-8.48
Source: Elections Canada^[13]^[14]

2015 Canadian federal election: Saint-Maurice—Champlain
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	François-Philippe Champagne	24,475	41.52	+30.59	$107,029.87
	New Democratic	Jean-Yves Tremblay	12,245	20.77	−20.51	$29,855.51
	Bloc Québécois	Sacki Carignan Deschamps	11,295	19.16	−9.31	$32,567.29
	Conservative	Jacques Grenier	9,592	16.27	−0.86	$49,358.13
	Green	Martial Toupin	1,144	1.94	−0.09	$3,832.69
	Marxist–Leninist	Jean-Paul Bédard	196	0.33	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			58,947	100.0		$269,923.91
Total rejected ballots			1,175	–	–
Turnout			60,122	–	–
Eligible voters			92,086
Source: Elections Canada^[15]^[16]

References

1. "PM to shuffle cabinet with Navdeep Bains retiring from politics". CTVNews. January 11, 2021.
2. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
3. "Le libéral François-Philippe Champagne remporte son pari dans Saint-Maurice-Champlain". Radio Canada. October 19, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
4. "François-Philippe Champagne to be Canada's next foreign affairs minister". CBC News. November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
5. "The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P." Library of Parliament. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
6. Lum, Zi-Ann (July 3, 2023). "Canada's closer: How Trudeau's pitchman is outplaying America". POLITICO. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
7. Pitts, Gordon (June 8, 2009). "Another 'little guy from Shawinigan'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
8. François-Philippe Champagne Biography, Liberal.ca.
9. "The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne". Prime Minister of Canada. October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
10. Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (June 10, 2020). "Foreign Affairs Minister has two mortgages with state-run Bank of China". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
11. Sevunts, Levon (August 14, 2020). "Canada welcomes normalization of relations between Israel and U.A.E." Radio Canada International.
12. "Trudeau shuffles cabinet as poll shows Liberals flirting with majority territory". Global News. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
13. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
14. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
15. Canada, Elections. "Voter Information Service - Find your electoral district". www.elections.ca.
16. Canada, Elections. "Error page". www.elections.ca.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to François-Philippe Champagne.

• Official Website
• Bio & mandate from the Prime Minister
• François-Philippe Champagne in the Global Affairs Canada Official Website
• François-Philippe Champagne – Parliament of Canada biography
• Appearances on C-SPAN

29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Cabinet posts (4)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Navdeep Bains	Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry January 12, 2021 – present	Incumbent
Chrystia Freeland	Minister of Foreign Affairs November 20, 2019 – January 12, 2021	Marc Garneau
Amarjeet Sohi	Minister of Infrastructure and Communities July 18, 2018 – November 20, 2019	Catherine McKenna
Chrystia Freeland	Minister of International Trade January 10, 2017 – July 18, 2018	Jim Carr