Michel Létourneau

Michel Létourneau (October 10, 1949 – October 1, 2019) was a Canadian politician in the province of Quebec. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2007 as a member of the Parti Québécois (PQ) and was a cabinet minister in the government of Bernard Landry.

Michel Létourneau
MNA for Ungava
In office September 12, 1994 – March 26, 2007
Preceded by	Christian Claveau
Succeeded by	Luc Ferland
Personal details
Born	(1949-10-10)October 10, 1949 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	October 1, 2019(2019-10-01) (aged 69) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Parti Québécois

Early life and career

Létourneau had a Bachelor's degree in recreology from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (1982) and a Master's degree in public administration from the École nationale d'administration publique (1990). He was service director for recreation, culture, and tourism in the municipality of Baie-James from 1979 to 1985; director general of the Lanaudière regional recreation council from 1985 to 1990; and director for the development society of Baie-James from 1990 to 1994. He also served as a municipal councillor in Matagami from 1981 to 1985.^[1]

Legislator

Létourneau was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 1994 provincial election, winning as a Parti Québécois candidate in the vast northern riding of Ungava. The PQ won a majority government in this campaign, and Létourneau entered the legislature as a backbench supporter of Jacques Parizeau's administration. He served as parliamentary assistant to the premier from September 27, 1995, until Parizeau's resignation on January 29, 1996.

He held other parliamentary assistantships over the next three years before again serving as parliamentary assistant to the premier from January 28, 1999 to January 30, 2002. He was also regional secretary for the Nord-du-Québec region from 1996 to 1998. During this period, he worked to improve the often fractious relations between the Quebec government and Cree communities in northern Quebec.^[2] He also took part in a government delegation to Slovenia in 1998, to study political and economic developments in that country.^[3]

Létourneau was appointed to Bernard Landry's cabinet on January 30, 2002, as the junior Minister Responsible for the Development of Northern Quebec (Nord-du-Québec), with responsibility for Côte-Nord.^[4] He received additional responsibility as the junior Minister of Aboriginal Affairs on February 13 of the same year.^[5] He took part in a major deal between the Quebec government and the province's Inuit community in April 2002.^[6] In the same year, he successfully lobbied to have an inukshuk constructed on the grounds of the National Assembly.^[7]

Létourneau was re-elected in the 2003 general election as the PQ lost power to the Liberals. He served as an opposition member for the next four years and was his party's critic for natural resources.^[8] He did not seek re-election in the 2007 election.

After politics

Létourneau pursued a doctorate at the Sorbonne in the geopolitics of northern development.^[1] He died on October 1, 2019, just prior to his 70th birthday.^[9]

Electoral record

v t e 2003 Quebec general election: Ungava
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Parti Québécois	Michel Létourneau	5,744	50.11
	Liberal	Donald Don Bubar	4,258	37.15
	Action démocratique	Gloria Trudeau	1,460	12.74
Total valid votes			11,462	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			192
Turnout			11,654	50.52
Electors on the lists			23,067

v t e 1998 Quebec general election: Ungava
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Parti Québécois	Michel Létourneau	6,482	48.22	−5.97
	Liberal	Claude Eric Gagné	5,517	41.04	+1.04
	Action démocratique	Steve Paquette	1,443	10.74
Total valid votes			13,442	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			180
Turnout			13,622	61.93	+10.12
Electors on the lists			21,997
Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec

v t e 1994 Quebec general election: Ungava
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Parti Québécois	Michel Létourneau	7,276	54.19
	Liberal	Victo Murray	5,371	40.00
	Green	Thomas DeMarco	407	3.03	–
	Natural Law	Marlène Charland	372	2.77
Total valid votes			13,426	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			296
Turnout			13,722	51.81
Electors on the lists			26,483

References

1. "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
2. Elizabeth Thompson, "Bouchard lauds benefits of Cree deals," Montreal Gazette, 14 June 1997, A14; Eileen Travers, "Crees fight for forests: Quebec withholds promised cash, but chiefs defiant," Montreal Gazette, 30 October 1999, A1.
3. Ervin B. Podgorsak, "Seeking answers in Slovenia," Montreal Gazette, 21 March 1998, B5.
4. Gilles Baril was the senior minister responsible for northern development until his sudden resignation from cabinet on February 13. He was replaced by Rémy Trudel. See Rita Legault, "Parti Quebecois cabinet table will now seat 37: More than half of PQ MNAs now have titles," Sherbrooke Record, 31 January 2002, p. 1; Rhéal Séguin, "Lobbyists targeted as minister quits PQ," Globe and Mail, 14 February 2002, A4.
5. He also worked in this portfolio with Rémy Trudel, who was the minister of state responsible for Aboriginal Affairs. See "Biography of Rémy Trudel". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec..
6. Kevin Dougherty, "Landry leaks Inuit-deal details," Montreal Gazette, 9 April 2002, A14.
7. Allison Hanes, "Inukshuk brings Inuit closer to seat of power: Premier Landry agrees to consider setting up a separate seat to represent Nunavik," Montreal Gazette, 25 October 2002, A15.
8. Kevin Dougherty, "Hydro's 6% rate increase called hidden tax grab," Montreal Gazette, 15 August 2003, A1.
9. "L'Ancien ministre Michel Létourneau est décédé".