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Wikipedia

Jean Charest

John James "Jean" Charest PC (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʃɑʁɛ]; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, he was a member of Parliament (MP) between 1984 and 1998. After holding several Cabinet posts from 1986 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1993, he was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998.

Jean Charest
Charest in 2017
29th Premier of Quebec
In office
April 29, 2003 – September 19, 2012
MonarchElizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor
Deputy
Preceded byBernard Landry
Succeeded byPauline Marois
5th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
In office
June 25, 1993 – November 4, 1993
Prime MinisterKim Campbell
Preceded byDon Mazankowski
Succeeded bySheila Copps
Leadership positions
Leader of the Opposition in Quebec
In office
April 30, 1998 – April 29, 2003
Preceded byMonique Gagnon-Tremblay
Succeeded byBernard Landry
Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party
In office
April 30, 1998 – September 5, 2012
Preceded byMonique Gagnon-Tremblay (interim)
Succeeded byJean-Marc Fournier (interim)
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
In office
December 14, 1993 – April 2, 1998
Interim: December 14, 1993 – April 29, 1995
Preceded byKim Campbell
Succeeded byElsie Wayne (interim)
Canadian cabinet
Minister of Industry
In office
June 25, 1993 – November 4, 1993
Prime MinisterKim Campbell
Preceded byPierre H. Vincent (Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs; Registrar General of Canada)
Michael Wilson (Minister of Industry, Science and Technology)
Succeeded byJohn Manley
Minister of the Environment
In office
April 21, 1991 – June 24, 1993
Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney
Preceded byRobert de Cotret
Succeeded byPierre H. Vincent
Minister of State (Fitness and Amateur Sport)
In office
March 31, 1988 – January 23, 1990
Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney
MinisterJake Epp
Perrin Beatty
Preceded byOtto Jelinek
Succeeded byMarcel Danis
Minister of State (Youth)
In office
June 30, 1986 – January 23, 1990
Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney
MinisterDavid Crombie
Lucien Bouchard
Gerry Weiner
Preceded byAndrée Champagne
Succeeded byMarcel Danis
House of Commons roles
Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons
Assistant Deputy Chair of the Committees of the Whole
In office
October 31, 1984 – June 29, 1986
SpeakerJohn Bosley
Preceded byJacques Guilbault
Succeeded byAndrée Champagne
Parliamentary constituencies
Member of the
National Assembly of Quebec
for Sherbrooke
In office
November 30, 1998 – September 4, 2012
Preceded byMarie Malavoy
Succeeded bySerge Cardin
Member of Parliament
for Sherbrooke
In office
September 4, 1984 – April 30, 1998
Preceded byIrénée Pelletier
Succeeded bySerge Cardin
Personal details
Born
John James Charest

(1958-06-24) June 24, 1958 (age 65)
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Political partyConservative (federal)
Quebec Liberal (provincial)
Other political
affiliations
Progressive Conservative (before 2003)
Spouse
Michèle Dionne
(m. 1980)
Residence(s)Westmount, Quebec, Canada
Alma materUniversité de Sherbrooke
Websitewww.jeancharest.ca

Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Charest worked as a lawyer before becoming an MP following the 1984 federal election. In 1986 he joined Brian Mulroney's government as a minister of state, but resigned from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about an active court case. He returned to cabinet in 1991 as the minister of the environment. Charest ran to succeed Mulroney as party leader and prime minister in the PCs' 1993 leadership election, but placed second to Kim Campbell. Charest served as Campbell's industry minister and deputy prime minister. After the PCs' defeat in the 1993 election, Charest succeeded Campbell as party leader. He led the PCs to a minor recovery in the 1997 election.

Charest left federal politics in 1998 and was elected to lead the Quebec Liberal Party, the province's main federalist political party. He became premier of Quebec after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election. He won two more elections until he lost the 2012 election to the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois (PQ) and resigned as premier. After politics, Charest worked as a consultant, including for Huawei on the Meng Wanzhou case and for its 5G network plans in Canada, and joined McCarthy Tétrault LLP as a partner. Charest was a candidate in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, finishing a distant second to Pierre Poilievre.

Early life and education edit

Charest was born on June 24, 1958, in Sherbrooke, in Quebec's Eastern Townships.[1] His parents are Rita (née Leonard), an Irish Quebecer, and Claude "Red" Charest, a French Canadian.[2] He obtained a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1981. He is married to Michèle Dionne (since June 21, 1980), and they have three children, Amélie, Antoine, and Alexandra.[3]

Charest is fully bilingual in French and English. In the 1980 Quebec referendum, he failed to vote because he was getting married.[4]

Federal politics (1984–1998) edit

Charest worked as a lawyer[5] until he was elected Progressive Conservative member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding (electoral district) of Sherbrooke in the 1984 election. From 1984 to 1986, Charest served as Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole of the House of Commons.

Minister of state (1986–1990) edit

In 1986, at age 28, Charest was appointed to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as minister of state (youth).[6] He was the youngest cabinet minister in Canadian history.[7]

Charest was appointed minister of state (fitness and amateur sport) in 1988,[6] but had to resign from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about a case regarding the Canadian Track and Field Association.[8]

Role in Meech Lake Accord (1990–1991) edit

Charest was involved in the proposal of the Meech Lake Accord (which failed to be ratified in June 1990[9]) which would have given the province of Quebec the status of a "distinct society", extend provincial powers, and extensively change the constitution. In 1990, he led a commission that recommended a companion accord that would address the concerns of other provinces, assert that the distinct society clause would be subject to the Charter, and would feature greater protections for minority language rights in the provinces.[10] The recommendations caused Mulroney's environment minister and Quebec lieutenant, Lucien Bouchard, to view the companion accord as a betrayal of Meech.[11] Bouchard later resigned from Cabinet and founded the Bloc Québécois, a pro-sovereigntist party.[12]

Minister of the environment (1991–1993) edit

Charest returned to cabinet as minister of the environment in 1991. In that role, he led the Canadian delegation at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[13]

1993 PC leadership bid edit

When Mulroney announced his retirement as PC leader and prime minister, Charest was a candidate for the leadership of the party at the 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention.

Karlheinz Schreiber alleged he gave $30,000 in cash to Charest's campaign for the Tory leadership in 1993. However Charest himself says it was only $10,000 although federal leadership election rules permitted such cash donations.[14] As of 2007, rules against such donations for provincial party leadership campaigns still do not exist in Québec.[15]

Charest placed a strong second to Defence Minister Kim Campbell, who had held a large lead going into the convention. Charest served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Science and Technology in Campbell's short-lived cabinet.

PC Party leader (1993–1998) edit

In the 1993 election, the PCs suffered the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level. Only two of the party's 295 candidates were elected, Charest and Elsie Wayne. Charest himself was re-elected fairly handily in Sherbrooke, taking 56 per cent of the vote. As the only surviving member of what turned out to be the last PC Cabinet, Charest was appointed interim party leader and confirmed in the post in April 1995. Charest, therefore, became the first person of francophone descent to lead the Progressive Conservative Party.[16]

Charest participated in the 1994 class of the World Economic Forum's Global Leaders for Tomorrow program.[17]

During the 1995 referendum on Quebec's sovereignty, Charest was vice-president of the "No" campaign (Comité national des Québécoises et des Québécois pour le NON).

In the 1997 federal election, Charest campaigned on securing national unity in Canada by recognizing Quebec as being a distinct society within Canada, along with the proposal of a "New Covenant" for Canadian confederation to be negotiated between the federal and provincial governments.[18] Charest and the PCs benefited from rapidly rising in popularity amongst all language groups in Quebec, where voters were found to have preferred Charest over Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Québécois.[19] In the election, the Tories received 18.8 per cent of the popular vote and won 20 seats, mostly in Atlantic Canada. Although the party's seat count had recovered (as they won only two seats in 1993), Charest considered the result a disappointment. While the Tories finished only half a point behind Reform in terms of the popular vote, their support was too dispersed west of Quebec to translate into seats. They were also hampered by vote-splitting with Reform in rural central Ontario, a traditional Tory stronghold where Reform had made significant inroads.

Early provincial political career (1998–2003) edit

In April 1998, Charest gave in to considerable public and political pressure,[20] especially among business circles, to leave federal politics and become leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. Charest was considered by many to be the best hope for the federalist QLP to defeat the sovereigntist Parti Québécois government.

In the 1998 election, the Quebec Liberals received more votes than the PQ, but because the Liberal vote was concentrated in fewer ridings, the PQ won enough seats to form another majority government. Charest won his own riding of Sherbrooke with a majority of 907 votes.

In the April 2003 election, Charest led the Quebec Liberals to a majority, ending nine years of PQ rule. He declared he had a mandate to reform health care, cut taxes, reduce spending and reduce the size of government.[21] Charest's Liberals won 76 seats, forming a majority government, and won his own riding of Sherbrooke with a majority of 2,597 votes.

Premier of Quebec (2003–2012) edit

Economic policy edit

Charest increased the Quebec sales tax (QST) thrice. In 2011, his government raised the rate from 7.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent before raising it to 9.5 per cent in 2012. The third and last hike came into effect in 2013, with the rate rising to 9.975 per cent.[22][23]

In October 2007, Quebec became the first province in Canada to implement a carbon tax. At the time it was implemented, the tax amounted to 0.8 cents per litre of gas and 0.9 cents per litre of diesel fuel.[24]

 
Charest with United States Consul General Peter O'Donohue in November 2010

Much of the fiscal policy of the Charest government was based upon the expectation that new revenues could be obtained from a resolution of the fiscal imbalance believed to exist between the federal and provincial governments. The Harper government was widely expected to address this issue through increased equalization payments, while falling short of Quebec's overall demands.[25]

Plan Nord edit

In May 2011, Charest's government launched the Plan Nord, an economic development strategy to develop the natural resources extraction sector in the part of Quebec to the north of the 49th parallel. The plan, to be carried out over 25 years, would foster over C$80 billion in energy, mining, and forestry investments and create or consolidate 20,000 jobs a year for the duration.[26] The proposed plan, described as "a potential centrepiece" of Charest's political legacy, received the full support of the mining industry, the Crees and Inuit representatives but was met with scepticism and downright opposition by the Innus and most environmentalists.[27]

Environmental policy edit

 
Régis Labeaume (left), Stephen Harper (centre) and Jean Charest at the Forum mondial de la langue française in Quebec City on July 2, 2012.

Charest also attempted to distinguish himself on the issue of the environment. His vocal opposition to the federal decision to opt out of the Kyoto Accord, and his insistence that Quebec would seek to meet its own Kyoto targets has earned him considerable support. His government set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, petroleum royalties, and a 2011-2020 Action Plan for Electric Vehicles.[28] He also established the Sustainable Development Act, which adds to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms the right for every person to live in a healthful environment in which biodiversity is preserved. In 2012, Charest was awarded the Fray International Sustainability Award for his work and advocacy towards sustainable development in politics.[29]

Other policy edit

In the 2003 election, Charest had promised to allow the cities that had been forcibly merged by the Parti Québécois government to hold referendums which would allow to demerge and return to their previous situation. This promise was seen as key to his victory in many ridings, such as those in the suburbs around Longueuil and Quebec City and the continued support of the Anglophone community in the West Island of Montreal. In office, however, Charest retreated from his promise. Municipalities were allowed to hold demerger referendums if at least 10 per cent of the electorate signed a petition calling for them, and only if more than 35 per cent participated in the voting process.[30] In some former municipalities, such as Saint Laurent on the Island of Montreal, the turnout of the vote was of 75.2 per cent in favour of a demerger, but it was invalidated because the voter turnout was just 28.6 per cent.[31]

The demerger process also resulted in the restructuring of the existing megacities, with both these and the demerged cities handing over massive powers over taxation and local services to the new "agglomeration councils". The makeup of these councils was based on the population of the municipalities involved, with the mayors having the right to unilaterally appoint all of the individuals who would represent their cities on the council. The resulting structure was seen by many to be less democratic than the one which had preceded it, as demerged municipalities were denied an effective voice, and the city councils of the major cities were substantially weakened by the power of the mayors to go over the heads of opposition councillors and exercise power through their appointees to the agglomeration body.

During his mandate as Premier, Charest made some efforts to expand the place of Québec in the international community. The province was granted representation at UNESCO, the cultural branch of the United Nations. Charest also voiced some support for the Calgary Declaration (1997), which recognized Quebec as "unique."[32]

During the debate in the Parliament of Canada over recognizing Quebec as a nation within Canada, Charest stated that Quebec was a "nation" no matter what other parts of Canada said—that this was not up to anyone else to define.

2012 student protests edit

In 2011, the Charest government decided to increase the tuition fees in all Quebec universities. Three major student unions began to organise demonstrations in Montreal and in Quebec City. In March 2012, many CEGEPs and universities voted for a student strike. The government faced major challenges when students demonstrated and went on strike by boycotting classes to protest planned tuition increases. Every month large demonstrations took place in several cities across Quebec. The Premier and his government were accused by some, including the students unions, the PQ and Québec Solidaire of being too hard. On May 4, 2012, the Quebec Liberal Party held a party conference in Victoriaville and a student demonstration was suppressed by Sûreté du Québec police.[33] On May 14, 2012, then Deputy Premier and Education minister, Line Beauchamp resigned[34] and Michelle Courchesne was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Education.[35] The government passed Bill 78 to impose restrictions on protests; this caused controversy, with the Barreau du Québec, among others, expressing concern about possible infringement of constitutional rights. Bill 78 was revoked by the Pauline Marois government.

Controversies edit

On December 6, 2007, the Opposition urged Charest to testify to the House of Commons of Canada Ethics Committee in its investigation of Karlheinz Schreiber. Schreiber told the committee he paid $30,000 in cash to Charest's brother to help fund Charest's 1993 leadership bid for the federal Progressive Conservative party.[36]

Charest's third term was marked by several allegations of questionable financing from the Quebec Liberal Party as well as a multitude of scandals in the construction sector in Quebec, the loss of $39.8 billion from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the Marc Bellemare (Charest's former justice minister) affair. Bellemare alleged in 2010 that he had been pressured by Quebec Liberal fundraisers during the appointment of judges in 2003. In response, the Charest government created the Bastarache commission, where Charest testified in defence.[37] Charest however refused to launch a public inquiry into the collusion and financing of political parties and corruption in the construction industry, despite a 2011 survey indicating that 77 per cent of Quebecers demanded such an inquiry.[38] Charest finally launched an inquiry in 2012 through the creation of the Charbonneau commission in response to rising discontent within the Quebec Liberal caucus.[39]

Elections edit

2007 Quebec election edit

The Charest government was deeply unpopular during its first years in office, enjoying a public approval rating of below 50 per cent in most opinion polls and falling to the low twenties in voter support. In the first few weeks after André Boisclair was elected leader of the PQ, polls showed that Charest and the Liberals would be roundly defeated in the next election. Boisclair did not perform well as Leader of the Opposition, and Charest's numbers recovered somewhat. A poll conducted by Léger Marketing for Le Devoir placed the Liberals at 34 per cent against 32 per cent for the PQ and 24 per cent for the ADQ, with Charest obtaining a higher personal approval rating than the PQ leader. Liberal support, however remained heavily concentrated in Anglophone and Allophone ridings in the west of Montreal, meaning that the increase in support would not necessarily translate into seats.

On February 21, 2007, Charest asked the Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the National Assembly and call an election on March 26, 2007. Charest conducted an extraordinary session the day before with Finance Minister Michel Audet delivering the 2007 budget.

Prior to his call for an election, Charest revealed his platform which included income tax cuts of about $250 million. In the last week of the campaign, Charest promised an additional $700 million in tax cuts—some of it coming for the additional equalization money from the 2007 federal budget;[40] reduction of hospital wait times; improvement and increase of French courses at school; an increase of the number of daycare spaces; and an increase in tuition fees for university students ($50 per semester until 2012).[41] The last measure was met with criticism from students' associations, and a more-radical student association, the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (formerly known as the CASSEE) had also considered a strike.[42]

Charest won a minority government in the election, and held onto his own seat. On election night, early numbers had shown Charest losing his seat of Sherbrooke to his PQ opponent; however, this situation was reversed once it became apparent that the advanced poll ballot boxes which heavily favoured Charest had not yet been counted.[43] The resulting minority government was the first since 1878 when Charles Boucher de Boucherville was Premier.

2008 Quebec election edit

 
Charest in 2012

In November 2008, arguing that Quebecers needed a majority government during difficult economic times, Charest called a snap election for December 8.[44] His party captured a historic third consecutive term as he brought the Liberals back to majority governance. It was the first time a party had won a third consecutive term in Quebec since the Quiet Revolution.[45]

2012 Quebec election edit

On August 1, 2012, Charest launched his electoral campaign for the 2012 Quebec general election from the Quebec Jean-Lesage International Airport[46] with the slogan For Quebec. The QLP focused its campaign on the issues of respect of the law and civil order, referencing the demonstrations of the previous months. They claimed to be the party of the silent majority who did not support the student protest movement. It was the first provincial election in Quebec to feature the newly formed CAQ party led by François Legault on the ballot. On the night of September 4, Charest and his party lost the general election. The result was a hung parliament, with the Parti Québécois of Pauline Marois being the party with the most seats (54). The Quebec Liberal Party became the official opposition with 50 seats.[47] Charest lost his own seat of Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships, a seat that he had held since 1984, both in the federal and provincial legislatures. Charest announced on September 5 in Quebec City that he would resign as Quebec Liberal Party leader.[48]

After politics edit

Charest was formerly a consultant for Huawei and helped support and advise Huawei for its participation for 5G network plans in Canada and to be a partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Charest also claims he helped with the Meng Wanzhou case.[49][50][51]

After turning 65 in June 2023, Charest reached the mandatory retirement age for equity partners at McCarthy Tétrault. While the law firm offered to keep him on a counsel role, Charest refused. In January 2024, Charest decided to leave McCarthy Tétrault and joined the Therrien Couture Joli-Cœur group.[52]

2022 Conservative leadership bid edit

On March 9, 2022, Charest announced that he would be a candidate for the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. He had previously considered running in the 2020 leadership election, though he ultimately decided not to.[53]

With 16 per cent of the points, Charest finished a distant second to winner Pierre Poilievre, who took 68 per cent of points on the first ballot.[54]

Electoral record edit

Leaderships edit

2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership results by ballot
First round (points allocated)
Poilievre
68.15%
Charest
16.07%
Lewis
9.69%
Baber
5.03%
Aitchison
1.06%
First round (votes cast)
Poilievre
70.7%
Charest
11.6%
Lewis
11.1%
Baber
5.4%
Aitchison
1.2%
1998 Quebec Liberal leadership convention results
Candidate Votes cast %
  Jean Charest Acclaimed
Total N/A
1995 Progressive Conservative leadership convention results
Candidate Yes No
Votes cast % Votes cast %
  Jean Charest 1,187 96.04% 49 3.96%
Total 1,236
1993 Progressive Conservative leadership election results by ballot[55]
Candidate 1st ballot 2nd ballot
Votes cast % Votes cast %
  Kim Campbell 1,664 48.0% 1,817 52.7%
  Jean Charest 1,369 39.5% 1,630 47.3%
JE Jim Edwards 307 8.8% Endorsed Campbell
  Garth Turner 76 2.2% Withdrew; Did not endorse
PB Patrick Boyer 53 1.5% Endorsed Charest
Total 3,469 100.0% 3,447 100.0%

Provincial edit

2012 Quebec general election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Parti Québécois Serge Cardin 15,909 42.12 +4.53
Liberal Jean Charest 13,267 35.13 -10.11
Coalition Avenir Québec Philippe Girard 4,457 11.80 +4.95*
Québec solidaire Christian Bibeau 2,586 6.85 +0.41
Option nationale Évelyne Beaudin 1,069 2.83
Green Suzanne Richer 407 1.08 -2.28
Parti indépendantiste Christian Clavet 73 0.19
Total valid votes 37,768 99.10
Total rejected ballots 344 0.90
Turnout 38,112 78.10 +15.49
Electors on the lists 48,799
2008 Quebec general election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Jean Charest 13,694 45.24 +8.68
Parti Québécois Laurent-Paul Maheux 11,380 37.59 +4.74
Action démocratique Jacques Joly 2,074 6.85 -10.99
Québec solidaire Christian Bibeau 1,948 6.44 +0.14
Green Steve Dubois 1,016 3.36 -2.77
Independent Hubert Richard 158 0.52 +0.20
Total valid votes 30,270 98.68
Total rejected ballots 405 1.32
Turnout 30,675 62.61 -11.62
Electors on the lists 48,995
2007 Quebec general election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Jean Charest 13,136 36.56 -10.39
Parti Québécois Claude Forgues 11,804 32.85 -6.67
Action démocratique Michel Dumont 6,409 17.84 +5.91
Québec solidaire Christian Bibeau 2,263 6.30 +4.88*
Green Steve Dubois 2,203 6.13
Independent Hubert Richard 115 0.32
Total valid votes 35,930 99.13
Total rejected ballots 316 8.87
Turnout 36,246 74.23 +0.74
Electors on the lists 48,831
2003 Quebec general election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Jean Charest 16,403 46.95 -0.46
Parti Québécois Marie Malavoy 13,806 39.52 -5.04
Action démocratique Peter Downey 4,169 11.93 +5.11
UFP Normand Gilbert 496 1.42 +0.89
People's Front Serge Lachapelle 64 0.18
1998 Quebec general election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Jean Charest 15,093 47.41 +4.56
Parti Québécois Marie Malavoy 14,186 44.56 -2.75
Action démocratique Patrick C. Rouillard 2,171 6.82 -1.41
Independent Normand Gilbert 169 0.53
Bloc Pot Christian Meunier 166 0.52
Natural Law Christian Simard 53 0.17 -0.88
Liberal gain from Parti Québécois Swing +3.66

Federal edit

1997 Canadian federal election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 32,228 59.5% +7.2%
Bloc Québécois Jacques Blanchette 16,086 29.7% -8.2%
Liberal Martin Bureau 4,720 8.7% +0.9%
New Democratic Tom Vouloumanos 628 1.2% +0.4%
Natural Law Christian Simard 477 0.9% 0.0%
Total valid votes 54,139 100.0%
1993 Canadian federal election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 29,740 52.3% −11.0%
Bloc Québécois Guy Boutin 21,559 37.9%
Liberal Jean Paul Pelletier 4,462 7.9% -14.7%
Natural Law Serge Trépanier 516 0.9%
New Democratic Martine Caouette 445 0.8% −10.9%
Abolitionist Jean-Guy Trépanier 91 0.2%
Total valid votes 56,813 100.0%
1988 Canadian federal election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 34,538 63.3% +11.8%
Liberal Dennis Wood 12,314 22.6% -11.3%
New Democratic Alain Poirier 6,373 11.7% +1.9%
Rhinoceros Bébé Sept Heures Pierre Granger 1,040 1.9% -0.5%
Independent Normand Guy 148 0.3%
Communist Yves Lawler 143 0.3% 0.0%
Total valid votes 54,556 100.0%
1984 Canadian federal election: Sherbrooke
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 22,232 51.5% +42.2%
Liberal Irénée Pelletier 14,607 33.8% -38.0%
New Democratic Daniel Berthold 4,230 9.8% -0.2%
Rhinoceros Gilbert Peupa Ash 1,054 2.4% -1.3%
Parti nationaliste Lorraine Déry 687 1.6%
Social Credit Fernand Bourret 197 0.5% -3.7%
Communist Yves Lawler 92 0.2%
Commonwealth of Canada Françoise Chanteau 72 0.2%
Total valid votes 43,171 100.0%

Honours edit

Ribbon bars of The Honourable Jean Charest
       

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Jean Charest's life in politics". CBC News. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  2. ^ James, Yolande (June 17, 2007). . The Gazette (Montreal). Archived from the original on November 20, 2015.
  3. ^ Charest, Antoine Dionne (July 11, 2019). "Taxe sur le carbone : Qu'est-ce qui ne tourne pas rond avec le gouvernement Legault ?". La Presse.
  4. ^ "Quebec remembers 1st referendum". Cbc.ca. May 20, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  5. ^ Charest, Jean. "Jean Charest". McCarthy LLP. McCarthy Tétrault. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Canada, Government of. "Twenty-Fourth Ministry - Ministers of State - Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation". guide-ministries.canada.ca. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Graeme Hamilton, "Charest's bumpy ride to the top", Times-Colonist, Victoria, B.C.: April 20, 2003, pg. D.1.Fro.
  8. ^ "Political scandal: a chronology", The Vancouver Sun, September 24, 1993, pg. A.6.
  9. ^ Gall, Gerald (February 7, 2006). "Meech Lake Accord". Canadian Encyclopedia. from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  10. ^ MacDonald, L. Ian (2002). From Bourassa to Bourassa: Wilderness to Restoration (2nd ed.). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 303. ISBN 0-7735-2392-8.
  11. ^ MacDonald, L. Ian (2002). From Bourassa to Bourassa: Wilderness to Restoration (2nd ed.). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 304–305. ISBN 0-7735-2392-8.
  12. ^ "Lucien Bouchard says 'wounds' remain with Brian Mulroney". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Canadian Press. August 21, 2014. from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  13. ^ "Jean Charest". Canaidan Encyclopedia. April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  14. ^ "Mulroney deal wasn't Airbus kickback, says Schreiber". CBC.ca. December 4, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  15. ^ . The Gazette (Montreal). December 8, 2007. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007.
  16. ^ Terrance Wills, "Farewell to the Commons: MPs bid Charest adieu", The Montreal Gazette, April 3, 1998, pg. A.1.FRO.
  17. ^ (PDF). World Economic Forum. 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  18. ^ Frizzell, Alan (ed.); Pammett, Jon H (ed.). 1998. Pp. 49.
  19. ^ Clarke, Harold D.; Kornberg, Allan;Wearing, Peter. A Polity on the Edge: Canada. Pp. 246.
  20. ^ The Canadian Press, "Charest takes Liberal reins: New leader heaps scorn on Quebec separatists," Calgary Herald May 1, 1998, pg. A.4.
  21. ^ Kevin Dougherty, "Thousands of Quebecers protest Charest labour plans," Calgary Herald, November 30, 2003, pg. A.8.
  22. ^ "Charest budget aims to keep a tight lid on spending". The Globe and Mail. March 16, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  23. ^ Joannette, Mélanie (November 1, 2012). "The QST rate will increase from 9.5% to 9.975%". Impôts Ici!. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  24. ^ "Quebec to collect nation's 1st carbon tax". CBC News. June 7, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  25. ^ "Quebec argues Ottawa shorted province $1B in federal budget". CBC News. January 27, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  26. ^ Government of Quebec (2011). (PDF). p. 6. ISBN 978-2-550-61430-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2012.
  27. ^ The Canadian Press (May 9, 2011). "Charest unveils $80B plan for northern Quebec". CBC.ca. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  28. ^ "Action Plan". Transports électriques. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  29. ^ "Jean Charest is awarded the Fray International Sustainability Award". www.flogen.org. FLOGEN Star OUTREACH.
  30. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  31. ^ . Radio-Canada.ca. August 19, 2009. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  32. ^ "Quebecers should have a choice, Chevrette says". CBC News. April 8, 1998. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  33. ^ "Une victime de la manifestation de Victoriaville en 2012 poursuit la SQ". Radio-Canada.ca.
  34. ^ "Quebec Liberals' majority narrows as Education Minister Line Beauchamp resigns amid student crisis". nationalpost.
  35. ^ "Michelle Courchesne redevient ministre de l'Éducation". La Tribune. May 14, 2012.
  36. ^ "Quebec opposition parties want Charest to testify on Schreiber link". North Bay Nugget. Quebec City, Quebec. The Canadian Press. December 6, 2007. p. A8. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "Témoignage du premier ministre Jean Charest devant la Commission Bastarache". September 23, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  38. ^ "Les Québécois exigent une commission". September 16, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  39. ^ "Après la controverse, la commission Charbonneau". Le Devoir. May 19, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  40. ^ (in French) "Jean Charest promet 700 M$ en baisses d'impôt" March 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. LCN, March 20, 2007.
  41. ^ (in French) "Le PLQ présente ses grandes orientations" Archived July 12, 2012, at archive.today. LCN, February 16, 2007.
  42. ^ (in French) "Les étudiants menacent de déclencher une grève" Archived July 10, 2012, at archive.today. LCN, February 19, 2007.
  43. ^ "Charest keeps seat as Liberals cling to power in Quebec". CBC News. March 27, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  44. ^ "Quebec premier seeks 'clear mandate' in calling Dec. 8 election". CBC News. Montreal, Quebec. November 5, 2008. from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  45. ^ Macpherson, Don (December 9, 2008). "Just enough voters turned up for Liberal win". and "Charest first to win three in a row since Duplessis". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. pp. A1–A2. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
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  49. ^ Boutilier, Alex. "Huawei says Charest focused on 5G issues when working with the Chinese telecom". Global News. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  50. ^ Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (January 8, 2020). "Charest advising Huawei in Meng Wanzhou case and on 5G networks". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  51. ^ Fife, Robert; Bailey, Ian (March 3, 2022). "Jean Charest says he's not afraid of a tough battle for Conservative leadership". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  52. ^ Doolittle, Robyn (January 17, 2024). "Jean Charest leaves law firm McCarthy Tetrault to join Quebec-based TCJ". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario. from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  53. ^ Dougherty, Kevin (January 21, 2020). "Charest backs out of Tory leadership bid". iPolitics. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  54. ^ Cullen, Catherine (March 9, 2022). "Jean Charest confirms he's running to lead the Conservative Party". CBC News. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  55. ^ "1993 Progressive Conservative Leadership Convention". CPAC. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  56. ^ . Baviere-quebec.org. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011.
  57. ^ Marshall, Tabitha; Hillmer, Norman; Snyder, Lorraine (April 17, 2013). . The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Historica-Dominion Institute. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

External links edit

  • "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours. National Assembly of Quebec.
  • Jean Charest – Parliament of Canada biography
25th Ministry – Cabinet of Kim Campbell
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Don Mazankowski Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
June 25 – November 4, 1993
Sheila Copps
Michael Wilson Minister of Industry, Science and Technology
June 25 – November 4, 1993
styled as Minister of Industry
John Manley
Pierre H. Vincent Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs
June 25 – November 4, 1993
styled as Minister of Industry
John Manley
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor Title Successor
position created Minister responsible for the Federal Office
of Regional Development - Quebec

1993
Paul Martin
24th Ministry – Cabinet of Brian Mulroney
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Robert de Cotret Minister of the Environment
1991–1993
Pierre H. Vincent
Otto Jelinek Minister of State (Fitness and Amateur Sport)
1988–1990
Marcel Danis
as Minister of State (Youth)(Fitness and Amateur Sport)
Andrée Champagne Minister of State (Youth)
1986–1988
Marcel Danis
as Minister of State (Youth)(Fitness and Amateur Sport)
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party
1995–1998
Interim
1993–1995
Succeeded by
Elsie Wayne
Interim
Preceded by Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party
1998–2012
Succeeded by

jean, charest, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, tal. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Jean Charest news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message John James Jean Charest PC French pronunciation ʒɑ ʃɑʁɛ born June 24 1958 is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 Prior to that he was a member of Parliament MP between 1984 and 1998 After holding several Cabinet posts from 1986 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1993 he was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 The HonourableJean CharestPCCharest in 201729th Premier of QuebecIn office April 29 2003 September 19 2012MonarchElizabeth IILieutenant GovernorLise ThibaultPierre DuchesneDeputySee list Monique Gagnon TremblayJacques DupuisNathalie NormandeauLine BeauchampMichelle CourchesnePreceded byBernard LandrySucceeded byPauline Marois5th Deputy Prime Minister of CanadaIn office June 25 1993 November 4 1993Prime MinisterKim CampbellPreceded byDon MazankowskiSucceeded bySheila CoppsLeadership positionsLeader of the Opposition in QuebecIn office April 30 1998 April 29 2003Preceded byMonique Gagnon TremblaySucceeded byBernard LandryLeader of the Quebec Liberal PartyIn office April 30 1998 September 5 2012Preceded byMonique Gagnon Tremblay interim Succeeded byJean Marc Fournier interim Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of CanadaIn office December 14 1993 April 2 1998Interim December 14 1993 April 29 1995Preceded byKim CampbellSucceeded byElsie Wayne interim Canadian cabinetMinister of IndustryIn office June 25 1993 November 4 1993Prime MinisterKim CampbellPreceded byPierre H Vincent Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs Registrar General of Canada Michael Wilson Minister of Industry Science and Technology Succeeded byJohn ManleyMinister of the EnvironmentIn office April 21 1991 June 24 1993Prime MinisterBrian MulroneyPreceded byRobert de CotretSucceeded byPierre H VincentMinister of State Fitness and Amateur Sport In office March 31 1988 January 23 1990Prime MinisterBrian MulroneyMinisterJake EppPerrin BeattyPreceded byOtto JelinekSucceeded byMarcel DanisMinister of State Youth In office June 30 1986 January 23 1990Prime MinisterBrian MulroneyMinisterDavid CrombieLucien BouchardGerry WeinerPreceded byAndree ChampagneSucceeded byMarcel Danis House of Commons rolesDeputy Speaker of the House of CommonsAssistant Deputy Chair of the Committees of the WholeIn office October 31 1984 June 29 1986SpeakerJohn BosleyPreceded byJacques GuilbaultSucceeded byAndree Champagne Parliamentary constituenciesMember of theNational Assembly of Quebec for SherbrookeIn office November 30 1998 September 4 2012Preceded byMarie MalavoySucceeded bySerge CardinMember of Parliamentfor SherbrookeIn office September 4 1984 April 30 1998Preceded byIrenee PelletierSucceeded bySerge CardinPersonal detailsBornJohn James Charest 1958 06 24 June 24 1958 age 65 Sherbrooke Quebec CanadaPolitical partyConservative federal Quebec Liberal provincial Other politicalaffiliationsProgressive Conservative before 2003 SpouseMichele Dionne m 1980 wbr Residence s Westmount Quebec CanadaAlma materUniversite de SherbrookeWebsitewww wbr jeancharest wbr ca Born in Sherbrooke Quebec Charest worked as a lawyer before becoming an MP following the 1984 federal election In 1986 he joined Brian Mulroney s government as a minister of state but resigned from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about an active court case He returned to cabinet in 1991 as the minister of the environment Charest ran to succeed Mulroney as party leader and prime minister in the PCs 1993 leadership election but placed second to Kim Campbell Charest served as Campbell s industry minister and deputy prime minister After the PCs defeat in the 1993 election Charest succeeded Campbell as party leader He led the PCs to a minor recovery in the 1997 election Charest left federal politics in 1998 and was elected to lead the Quebec Liberal Party the province s main federalist political party He became premier of Quebec after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election He won two more elections until he lost the 2012 election to the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois PQ and resigned as premier After politics Charest worked as a consultant including for Huawei on the Meng Wanzhou case and for its 5G network plans in Canada and joined McCarthy Tetrault LLP as a partner Charest was a candidate in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election finishing a distant second to Pierre Poilievre Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Federal politics 1984 1998 2 1 Minister of state 1986 1990 2 2 Role in Meech Lake Accord 1990 1991 2 3 Minister of the environment 1991 1993 2 4 1993 PC leadership bid 2 5 PC Party leader 1993 1998 3 Early provincial political career 1998 2003 4 Premier of Quebec 2003 2012 4 1 Economic policy 4 1 1 Plan Nord 4 2 Environmental policy 4 3 Other policy 4 4 2012 student protests 4 5 Controversies 4 6 Elections 4 6 1 2007 Quebec election 4 6 2 2008 Quebec election 4 6 3 2012 Quebec election 5 After politics 6 2022 Conservative leadership bid 7 Electoral record 7 1 Leaderships 7 2 Provincial 7 3 Federal 8 Honours 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksEarly life and education editCharest was born on June 24 1958 in Sherbrooke in Quebec s Eastern Townships 1 His parents are Rita nee Leonard an Irish Quebecer and Claude Red Charest a French Canadian 2 He obtained a law degree from the Universite de Sherbrooke and was admitted to the Barreau du Quebec in 1981 He is married to Michele Dionne since June 21 1980 and they have three children Amelie Antoine and Alexandra 3 Charest is fully bilingual in French and English In the 1980 Quebec referendum he failed to vote because he was getting married 4 Federal politics 1984 1998 editCharest worked as a lawyer 5 until he was elected Progressive Conservative member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding electoral district of Sherbrooke in the 1984 election From 1984 to 1986 Charest served as Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole of the House of Commons Minister of state 1986 1990 edit In 1986 at age 28 Charest was appointed to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as minister of state youth 6 He was the youngest cabinet minister in Canadian history 7 Charest was appointed minister of state fitness and amateur sport in 1988 6 but had to resign from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about a case regarding the Canadian Track and Field Association 8 Role in Meech Lake Accord 1990 1991 edit Charest was involved in the proposal of the Meech Lake Accord which failed to be ratified in June 1990 9 which would have given the province of Quebec the status of a distinct society extend provincial powers and extensively change the constitution In 1990 he led a commission that recommended a companion accord that would address the concerns of other provinces assert that the distinct society clause would be subject to the Charter and would feature greater protections for minority language rights in the provinces 10 The recommendations caused Mulroney s environment minister and Quebec lieutenant Lucien Bouchard to view the companion accord as a betrayal of Meech 11 Bouchard later resigned from Cabinet and founded the Bloc Quebecois a pro sovereigntist party 12 Minister of the environment 1991 1993 edit Charest returned to cabinet as minister of the environment in 1991 In that role he led the Canadian delegation at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro Brazil 13 1993 PC leadership bid edit When Mulroney announced his retirement as PC leader and prime minister Charest was a candidate for the leadership of the party at the 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention Karlheinz Schreiber alleged he gave 30 000 in cash to Charest s campaign for the Tory leadership in 1993 However Charest himself says it was only 10 000 although federal leadership election rules permitted such cash donations 14 As of 2007 rules against such donations for provincial party leadership campaigns still do not exist in Quebec 15 Charest placed a strong second to Defence Minister Kim Campbell who had held a large lead going into the convention Charest served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry Science and Technology in Campbell s short lived cabinet PC Party leader 1993 1998 edit In the 1993 election the PCs suffered the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level Only two of the party s 295 candidates were elected Charest and Elsie Wayne Charest himself was re elected fairly handily in Sherbrooke taking 56 per cent of the vote As the only surviving member of what turned out to be the last PC Cabinet Charest was appointed interim party leader and confirmed in the post in April 1995 Charest therefore became the first person of francophone descent to lead the Progressive Conservative Party 16 Charest participated in the 1994 class of the World Economic Forum s Global Leaders for Tomorrow program 17 During the 1995 referendum on Quebec s sovereignty Charest was vice president of the No campaign Comite national des Quebecoises et des Quebecois pour le NON In the 1997 federal election Charest campaigned on securing national unity in Canada by recognizing Quebec as being a distinct society within Canada along with the proposal of a New Covenant for Canadian confederation to be negotiated between the federal and provincial governments 18 Charest and the PCs benefited from rapidly rising in popularity amongst all language groups in Quebec where voters were found to have preferred Charest over Gilles Duceppe the leader of the Bloc Quebecois 19 In the election the Tories received 18 8 per cent of the popular vote and won 20 seats mostly in Atlantic Canada Although the party s seat count had recovered as they won only two seats in 1993 Charest considered the result a disappointment While the Tories finished only half a point behind Reform in terms of the popular vote their support was too dispersed west of Quebec to translate into seats They were also hampered by vote splitting with Reform in rural central Ontario a traditional Tory stronghold where Reform had made significant inroads Early provincial political career 1998 2003 editIn April 1998 Charest gave in to considerable public and political pressure 20 especially among business circles to leave federal politics and become leader of the Quebec Liberal Party Charest was considered by many to be the best hope for the federalist QLP to defeat the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois government In the 1998 election the Quebec Liberals received more votes than the PQ but because the Liberal vote was concentrated in fewer ridings the PQ won enough seats to form another majority government Charest won his own riding of Sherbrooke with a majority of 907 votes In the April 2003 election Charest led the Quebec Liberals to a majority ending nine years of PQ rule He declared he had a mandate to reform health care cut taxes reduce spending and reduce the size of government 21 Charest s Liberals won 76 seats forming a majority government and won his own riding of Sherbrooke with a majority of 2 597 votes Premier of Quebec 2003 2012 editEconomic policy edit Charest increased the Quebec sales tax QST thrice In 2011 his government raised the rate from 7 5 per cent to 8 5 per cent before raising it to 9 5 per cent in 2012 The third and last hike came into effect in 2013 with the rate rising to 9 975 per cent 22 23 In October 2007 Quebec became the first province in Canada to implement a carbon tax At the time it was implemented the tax amounted to 0 8 cents per litre of gas and 0 9 cents per litre of diesel fuel 24 nbsp Charest with United States Consul General Peter O Donohue in November 2010 Much of the fiscal policy of the Charest government was based upon the expectation that new revenues could be obtained from a resolution of the fiscal imbalance believed to exist between the federal and provincial governments The Harper government was widely expected to address this issue through increased equalization payments while falling short of Quebec s overall demands 25 Plan Nord edit In May 2011 Charest s government launched the Plan Nord an economic development strategy to develop the natural resources extraction sector in the part of Quebec to the north of the 49th parallel The plan to be carried out over 25 years would foster over C 80 billion in energy mining and forestry investments and create or consolidate 20 000 jobs a year for the duration 26 The proposed plan described as a potential centrepiece of Charest s political legacy received the full support of the mining industry the Crees and Inuit representatives but was met with scepticism and downright opposition by the Innus and most environmentalists 27 Environmental policy edit nbsp Regis Labeaume left Stephen Harper centre and Jean Charest at the Forum mondial de la langue francaise in Quebec City on July 2 2012 Charest also attempted to distinguish himself on the issue of the environment His vocal opposition to the federal decision to opt out of the Kyoto Accord and his insistence that Quebec would seek to meet its own Kyoto targets has earned him considerable support His government set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets petroleum royalties and a 2011 2020 Action Plan for Electric Vehicles 28 He also established the Sustainable Development Act which adds to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms the right for every person to live in a healthful environment in which biodiversity is preserved In 2012 Charest was awarded the Fray International Sustainability Award for his work and advocacy towards sustainable development in politics 29 Other policy edit In the 2003 election Charest had promised to allow the cities that had been forcibly merged by the Parti Quebecois government to hold referendums which would allow to demerge and return to their previous situation This promise was seen as key to his victory in many ridings such as those in the suburbs around Longueuil and Quebec City and the continued support of the Anglophone community in the West Island of Montreal In office however Charest retreated from his promise Municipalities were allowed to hold demerger referendums if at least 10 per cent of the electorate signed a petition calling for them and only if more than 35 per cent participated in the voting process 30 In some former municipalities such as Saint Laurent on the Island of Montreal the turnout of the vote was of 75 2 per cent in favour of a demerger but it was invalidated because the voter turnout was just 28 6 per cent 31 The demerger process also resulted in the restructuring of the existing megacities with both these and the demerged cities handing over massive powers over taxation and local services to the new agglomeration councils The makeup of these councils was based on the population of the municipalities involved with the mayors having the right to unilaterally appoint all of the individuals who would represent their cities on the council The resulting structure was seen by many to be less democratic than the one which had preceded it as demerged municipalities were denied an effective voice and the city councils of the major cities were substantially weakened by the power of the mayors to go over the heads of opposition councillors and exercise power through their appointees to the agglomeration body During his mandate as Premier Charest made some efforts to expand the place of Quebec in the international community The province was granted representation at UNESCO the cultural branch of the United Nations Charest also voiced some support for the Calgary Declaration 1997 which recognized Quebec as unique 32 During the debate in the Parliament of Canada over recognizing Quebec as a nation within Canada Charest stated that Quebec was a nation no matter what other parts of Canada said that this was not up to anyone else to define 2012 student protests edit Main article 2012 Quebec student protests In 2011 the Charest government decided to increase the tuition fees in all Quebec universities Three major student unions began to organise demonstrations in Montreal and in Quebec City In March 2012 many CEGEPs and universities voted for a student strike The government faced major challenges when students demonstrated and went on strike by boycotting classes to protest planned tuition increases Every month large demonstrations took place in several cities across Quebec The Premier and his government were accused by some including the students unions the PQ and Quebec Solidaire of being too hard On May 4 2012 the Quebec Liberal Party held a party conference in Victoriaville and a student demonstration was suppressed by Surete du Quebec police 33 On May 14 2012 then Deputy Premier and Education minister Line Beauchamp resigned 34 and Michelle Courchesne was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Education 35 The government passed Bill 78 to impose restrictions on protests this caused controversy with the Barreau du Quebec among others expressing concern about possible infringement of constitutional rights Bill 78 was revoked by the Pauline Marois government Controversies edit On December 6 2007 the Opposition urged Charest to testify to the House of Commons of Canada Ethics Committee in its investigation of Karlheinz Schreiber Schreiber told the committee he paid 30 000 in cash to Charest s brother to help fund Charest s 1993 leadership bid for the federal Progressive Conservative party 36 Charest s third term was marked by several allegations of questionable financing from the Quebec Liberal Party as well as a multitude of scandals in the construction sector in Quebec the loss of 39 8 billion from the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and the Marc Bellemare Charest s former justice minister affair Bellemare alleged in 2010 that he had been pressured by Quebec Liberal fundraisers during the appointment of judges in 2003 In response the Charest government created the Bastarache commission where Charest testified in defence 37 Charest however refused to launch a public inquiry into the collusion and financing of political parties and corruption in the construction industry despite a 2011 survey indicating that 77 per cent of Quebecers demanded such an inquiry 38 Charest finally launched an inquiry in 2012 through the creation of the Charbonneau commission in response to rising discontent within the Quebec Liberal caucus 39 Elections edit 2007 Quebec election edit Main article 2007 Quebec general election The Charest government was deeply unpopular during its first years in office enjoying a public approval rating of below 50 per cent in most opinion polls and falling to the low twenties in voter support In the first few weeks after Andre Boisclair was elected leader of the PQ polls showed that Charest and the Liberals would be roundly defeated in the next election Boisclair did not perform well as Leader of the Opposition and Charest s numbers recovered somewhat A poll conducted by Leger Marketing for Le Devoir placed the Liberals at 34 per cent against 32 per cent for the PQ and 24 per cent for the ADQ with Charest obtaining a higher personal approval rating than the PQ leader Liberal support however remained heavily concentrated in Anglophone and Allophone ridings in the west of Montreal meaning that the increase in support would not necessarily translate into seats On February 21 2007 Charest asked the Lieutenant Governor to dissolve the National Assembly and call an election on March 26 2007 Charest conducted an extraordinary session the day before with Finance Minister Michel Audet delivering the 2007 budget Prior to his call for an election Charest revealed his platform which included income tax cuts of about 250 million In the last week of the campaign Charest promised an additional 700 million in tax cuts some of it coming for the additional equalization money from the 2007 federal budget 40 reduction of hospital wait times improvement and increase of French courses at school an increase of the number of daycare spaces and an increase in tuition fees for university students 50 per semester until 2012 41 The last measure was met with criticism from students associations and a more radical student association the Association pour une solidarite syndicale etudiante formerly known as the CASSEE had also considered a strike 42 Charest won a minority government in the election and held onto his own seat On election night early numbers had shown Charest losing his seat of Sherbrooke to his PQ opponent however this situation was reversed once it became apparent that the advanced poll ballot boxes which heavily favoured Charest had not yet been counted 43 The resulting minority government was the first since 1878 when Charles Boucher de Boucherville was Premier 2008 Quebec election edit Main article 2008 Quebec general election nbsp Charest in 2012 In November 2008 arguing that Quebecers needed a majority government during difficult economic times Charest called a snap election for December 8 44 His party captured a historic third consecutive term as he brought the Liberals back to majority governance It was the first time a party had won a third consecutive term in Quebec since the Quiet Revolution 45 2012 Quebec election edit On August 1 2012 Charest launched his electoral campaign for the 2012 Quebec general election from the Quebec Jean Lesage International Airport 46 with the slogan For Quebec The QLP focused its campaign on the issues of respect of the law and civil order referencing the demonstrations of the previous months They claimed to be the party of the silent majority who did not support the student protest movement It was the first provincial election in Quebec to feature the newly formed CAQ party led by Francois Legault on the ballot On the night of September 4 Charest and his party lost the general election The result was a hung parliament with the Parti Quebecois of Pauline Marois being the party with the most seats 54 The Quebec Liberal Party became the official opposition with 50 seats 47 Charest lost his own seat of Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships a seat that he had held since 1984 both in the federal and provincial legislatures Charest announced on September 5 in Quebec City that he would resign as Quebec Liberal Party leader 48 After politics editCharest was formerly a consultant for Huawei and helped support and advise Huawei for its participation for 5G network plans in Canada and to be a partner with McCarthy Tetrault LLP Charest also claims he helped with the Meng Wanzhou case 49 50 51 After turning 65 in June 2023 Charest reached the mandatory retirement age for equity partners at McCarthy Tetrault While the law firm offered to keep him on a counsel role Charest refused In January 2024 Charest decided to leave McCarthy Tetrault and joined the Therrien Couture Joli Cœur group 52 2022 Conservative leadership bid editOn March 9 2022 Charest announced that he would be a candidate for the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election He had previously considered running in the 2020 leadership election though he ultimately decided not to 53 With 16 per cent of the points Charest finished a distant second to winner Pierre Poilievre who took 68 per cent of points on the first ballot 54 Electoral record editLeaderships edit 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership results by ballot First round points allocated Poilievre 68 15 Charest 16 07 Lewis 9 69 Baber 5 03 Aitchison 1 06 First round votes cast Poilievre 70 7 Charest 11 6 Lewis 11 1 Baber 5 4 Aitchison 1 2 1998 Quebec Liberal leadership convention results Candidate Votes cast nbsp Jean Charest Acclaimed Total N A 1995 Progressive Conservative leadership convention results Candidate Yes No Votes cast Votes cast nbsp Jean Charest 1 187 96 04 49 3 96 Total 1 236 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership election results by ballot 55 Candidate 1st ballot 2nd ballot Votes cast Votes cast nbsp Kim Campbell 1 664 48 0 1 817 52 7 nbsp Jean Charest 1 369 39 5 1 630 47 3 JE Jim Edwards 307 8 8 Endorsed Campbell nbsp Garth Turner 76 2 2 Withdrew Did not endorse PB Patrick Boyer 53 1 5 Endorsed Charest Total 3 469 100 0 3 447 100 0 Provincial edit 2012 Quebec general election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Parti Quebecois Serge Cardin 15 909 42 12 4 53 Liberal Jean Charest 13 267 35 13 10 11 Coalition Avenir Quebec Philippe Girard 4 457 11 80 4 95 Quebec solidaire Christian Bibeau 2 586 6 85 0 41 Option nationale Evelyne Beaudin 1 069 2 83 Green Suzanne Richer 407 1 08 2 28 Parti independantiste Christian Clavet 73 0 19 Total valid votes 37 768 99 10 Total rejected ballots 344 0 90 Turnout 38 112 78 10 15 49 Electors on the lists 48 799 2008 Quebec general election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Liberal Jean Charest 13 694 45 24 8 68 Parti Quebecois Laurent Paul Maheux 11 380 37 59 4 74 Action democratique Jacques Joly 2 074 6 85 10 99 Quebec solidaire Christian Bibeau 1 948 6 44 0 14 Green Steve Dubois 1 016 3 36 2 77 Independent Hubert Richard 158 0 52 0 20 Total valid votes 30 270 98 68 Total rejected ballots 405 1 32 Turnout 30 675 62 61 11 62 Electors on the lists 48 995 2007 Quebec general election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Liberal Jean Charest 13 136 36 56 10 39 Parti Quebecois Claude Forgues 11 804 32 85 6 67 Action democratique Michel Dumont 6 409 17 84 5 91 Quebec solidaire Christian Bibeau 2 263 6 30 4 88 Green Steve Dubois 2 203 6 13 Independent Hubert Richard 115 0 32 Total valid votes 35 930 99 13 Total rejected ballots 316 8 87 Turnout 36 246 74 23 0 74 Electors on the lists 48 831 2003 Quebec general election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Liberal Jean Charest 16 403 46 95 0 46 Parti Quebecois Marie Malavoy 13 806 39 52 5 04 Action democratique Peter Downey 4 169 11 93 5 11 UFP Normand Gilbert 496 1 42 0 89 People s Front Serge Lachapelle 64 0 18 1998 Quebec general election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Liberal Jean Charest 15 093 47 41 4 56 Parti Quebecois Marie Malavoy 14 186 44 56 2 75 Action democratique Patrick C Rouillard 2 171 6 82 1 41 Independent Normand Gilbert 169 0 53 Bloc Pot Christian Meunier 166 0 52 Natural Law Christian Simard 53 0 17 0 88 Liberal gain from Parti Quebecois Swing 3 66 Federal edit 1997 Canadian federal election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 32 228 59 5 7 2 Bloc Quebecois Jacques Blanchette 16 086 29 7 8 2 Liberal Martin Bureau 4 720 8 7 0 9 New Democratic Tom Vouloumanos 628 1 2 0 4 Natural Law Christian Simard 477 0 9 0 0 Total valid votes 54 139 100 0 1993 Canadian federal election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 29 740 52 3 11 0 Bloc Quebecois Guy Boutin 21 559 37 9 Liberal Jean Paul Pelletier 4 462 7 9 14 7 Natural Law Serge Trepanier 516 0 9 New Democratic Martine Caouette 445 0 8 10 9 Abolitionist Jean Guy Trepanier 91 0 2 Total valid votes 56 813 100 0 1988 Canadian federal election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 34 538 63 3 11 8 Liberal Dennis Wood 12 314 22 6 11 3 New Democratic Alain Poirier 6 373 11 7 1 9 Rhinoceros Bebe Sept Heures Pierre Granger 1 040 1 9 0 5 Independent Normand Guy 148 0 3 Communist Yves Lawler 143 0 3 0 0 Total valid votes 54 556 100 0 1984 Canadian federal election Sherbrooke Party Candidate Votes Progressive Conservative Jean Charest 22 232 51 5 42 2 Liberal Irenee Pelletier 14 607 33 8 38 0 New Democratic Daniel Berthold 4 230 9 8 0 2 Rhinoceros Gilbert Peupa Ash 1 054 2 4 1 3 Parti nationaliste Lorraine Dery 687 1 6 Social Credit Fernand Bourret 197 0 5 3 7 Communist Yves Lawler 92 0 2 Commonwealth of Canada Francoise Chanteau 72 0 2 Total valid votes 43 171 100 0 Honours edit125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal 1992 Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 2002 Bavarian Order of Merit 2007 56 Commander of France s Legion of Honour February 2 2009 57 Ribbon bars of The Honourable Jean Charest nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp See also editList of premiers of Quebec Politics of Canada Politics of QuebecReferences edit Jean Charest s life in politics CBC News Retrieved March 17 2022 James Yolande June 17 2007 Minister breaks age colour and language barriers The Gazette Montreal Archived from the original on November 20 2015 Charest Antoine Dionne July 11 2019 Taxe sur le carbone Qu est ce qui ne tourne pas rond avec le gouvernement Legault La Presse Quebec remembers 1st referendum Cbc ca May 20 2010 Retrieved April 2 2014 Charest Jean Jean Charest McCarthy LLP McCarthy Tetrault Retrieved March 17 2022 a b Canada Government of Twenty Fourth Ministry Ministers of State Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation guide ministries canada ca Retrieved March 7 2022 Graeme Hamilton Charest s bumpy ride to the top Times Colonist Victoria B C April 20 2003 pg D 1 Fro Political scandal a chronology The Vancouver Sun September 24 1993 pg A 6 Gall Gerald February 7 2006 Meech Lake Accord Canadian Encyclopedia Archived from the original on June 24 2022 Retrieved December 23 2023 MacDonald L Ian 2002 From Bourassa to Bourassa Wilderness to Restoration 2nd ed Montreal McGill Queen s University Press p 303 ISBN 0 7735 2392 8 MacDonald L Ian 2002 From Bourassa to Bourassa Wilderness to Restoration 2nd ed Montreal McGill Queen s University Press p 304 305 ISBN 0 7735 2392 8 Lucien Bouchard says wounds remain with Brian Mulroney Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Press August 21 2014 Archived from the original on August 20 2018 Retrieved March 15 2018 Jean Charest Canaidan Encyclopedia April 17 2013 Retrieved December 24 2023 Mulroney deal wasn t Airbus kickback says Schreiber CBC ca December 4 2007 Retrieved October 13 2021 No smoking gun in Schreiber cash for Charest The Gazette Montreal December 8 2007 Archived from the original on December 9 2007 Terrance Wills Farewell to the Commons MPs bid Charest adieu The Montreal Gazette April 3 1998 pg A 1 FRO Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1994 PDF World Economic Forum 1994 Archived from the original PDF on August 16 2016 Retrieved July 29 2022 Frizzell Alan ed Pammett Jon H ed 1998 Pp 49 Clarke Harold D Kornberg Allan Wearing Peter A Polity on the Edge Canada Pp 246 The Canadian Press Charest takes Liberal reins New leader heaps scorn on Quebec separatists Calgary Herald May 1 1998 pg A 4 Kevin Dougherty Thousands of Quebecers protest Charest labour plans Calgary Herald November 30 2003 pg A 8 Charest budget aims to keep a tight lid on spending The Globe and Mail March 16 2011 Retrieved December 24 2023 Joannette Melanie November 1 2012 The QST rate will increase from 9 5 to 9 975 Impots Ici Retrieved December 27 2023 Quebec to collect nation s 1st carbon tax CBC News June 7 2007 Retrieved December 27 2023 Quebec argues Ottawa shorted province 1B in federal budget CBC News January 27 2009 Retrieved April 2 2014 Government of Quebec 2011 Building Northern Quebec Together The Project of a Generation PDF p 6 ISBN 978 2 550 61430 2 Archived from the original PDF on March 30 2012 The Canadian Press May 9 2011 Charest unveils 80B plan for northern Quebec CBC ca Retrieved March 21 2012 Action Plan Transports electriques Gouvernement du Quebec Retrieved February 19 2018 Jean Charest is awarded the Fray International Sustainability Award www flogen org FLOGEN Star OUTREACH 03 f009s pm6 PDF Archived from the original PDF on March 27 2009 Retrieved July 1 2010 Fusion defusion A l heure des referendums Radio Canada ca August 19 2009 Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Quebecers should have a choice Chevrette says CBC News April 8 1998 Retrieved May 17 2018 Une victime de la manifestation de Victoriaville en 2012 poursuit la SQ Radio Canada ca Quebec Liberals majority narrows as Education Minister Line Beauchamp resigns amid student crisis nationalpost Michelle Courchesne redevient ministre de l Education La Tribune May 14 2012 Quebec opposition parties want Charest to testify on Schreiber link North Bay Nugget Quebec City Quebec The Canadian Press December 6 2007 p A8 Retrieved January 23 2024 via newspapers com Temoignage du premier ministre Jean Charest devant la Commission Bastarache September 23 2010 Retrieved December 28 2023 Les Quebecois exigent une commission September 16 2011 Retrieved December 28 2023 Apres la controverse la commission Charbonneau Le Devoir May 19 2012 Retrieved December 28 2023 in French Jean Charest promet 700 M en baisses d impot Archived March 23 2007 at the Wayback Machine LCN March 20 2007 in French Le PLQ presente ses grandes orientations Archived July 12 2012 at archive today LCN February 16 2007 in French Les etudiants menacent de declencher une greve Archived July 10 2012 at archive today LCN February 19 2007 Charest keeps seat as Liberals cling to power in Quebec CBC News March 27 2007 Retrieved October 13 2021 Quebec premier seeks clear mandate in calling Dec 8 election CBC News Montreal Quebec November 5 2008 Archived from the original on December 5 2023 Retrieved January 23 2024 Macpherson Don December 9 2008 Just enough voters turned up for Liberal win and Charest first to win three in a row since Duplessis The Gazette Montreal Quebec pp A1 A2 Retrieved January 23 2024 via newspapers com Le Quebec en campagne electorale Videos ICI Radio Canada ca Radio Canada Elections generales Elections Quebec Jean Charest demissionne TVA Nouvelles Boutilier Alex Huawei says Charest focused on 5G issues when working with the Chinese telecom Global News Retrieved March 15 2022 Fife Robert Chase Steven January 8 2020 Charest advising Huawei in Meng Wanzhou case and on 5G networks The Globe and Mail Retrieved March 8 2022 Fife Robert Bailey Ian March 3 2022 Jean Charest says he s not afraid of a tough battle for Conservative leadership The Globe and Mail Retrieved March 8 2022 Doolittle Robyn January 17 2024 Jean Charest leaves law firm McCarthy Tetrault to join Quebec based TCJ The Globe and Mail Toronto Ontario Archived from the original on January 23 2024 Retrieved January 23 2024 Dougherty Kevin January 21 2020 Charest backs out of Tory leadership bid iPolitics Retrieved January 21 2020 Cullen Catherine March 9 2022 Jean Charest confirms he s running to lead the Conservative Party CBC News Retrieved March 9 2022 1993 Progressive Conservative Leadership Convention CPAC Retrieved June 11 2019 The Prime Minister of Quebec Jean Charest receives the Bavarian Order of Merit Baviere quebec org July 12 2007 Archived from the original on July 18 2011 Marshall Tabitha Hillmer Norman Snyder Lorraine April 17 2013 Jean J Charest The Canadian Encyclopedia The Historica Dominion Institute Archived from the original on August 18 2021 Retrieved August 19 2021 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jean Charest Biography Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Quebec de 1792 a nos jours National Assembly of Quebec Jean Charest Parliament of Canada biography 25th Ministry Cabinet of Kim Campbell Cabinet posts 3 Predecessor Office Successor Don Mazankowski Deputy Prime Minister of CanadaJune 25 November 4 1993 Sheila Copps Michael Wilson Minister of Industry Science and TechnologyJune 25 November 4 1993styled as Minister of Industry John Manley Pierre H Vincent Minister of Consumer and Corporate AffairsJune 25 November 4 1993styled as Minister of Industry John Manley Special Cabinet Responsibilities Predecessor Title Successor position created Minister responsible for the Federal Officeof Regional Development Quebec1993 Paul Martin 24th Ministry Cabinet of Brian Mulroney Cabinet posts 3 Predecessor Office Successor Robert de Cotret Minister of the Environment1991 1993 Pierre H Vincent Otto Jelinek Minister of State Fitness and Amateur Sport 1988 1990 Marcel Danisas Minister of State Youth Fitness and Amateur Sport Andree Champagne Minister of State Youth 1986 1988 Marcel Danisas Minister of State Youth Fitness and Amateur Sport Party political offices Preceded byKim Campbell Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party1995 1998 Interim1993 1995 Succeeded byElsie Wayne Interim Preceded byDaniel Johnson Jr Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party1998 2012 Succeeded byJean Marc Fournier Interim Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jean Charest amp oldid 1225374474, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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