Sylvain Simard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sylvain Simard (born April 26, 1945 in Chicoutimi) is a Canadian, Quebec politician and academic. Simard was first involved in the Parti Québécois as a regional organizer in Outaouais. Prior to his first election, Simard was a French literature professor at the University of Ottawa.

He was first elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the Richelieu riding in 1994 and re-elected in 1998 and 2003. He served as minister of International Affairs, minister of Education and president of the Treasury Board.

After the PQ's electoral defeat in 2003, Simard backed Bernard Landry in his efforts to keep his leadership. Simard was a key strategist in trying to deliver a decent confidence vote to Landry in 2005.

He supported André Boisclair in his PQ leadership bid, while he previously convinced Pauline Marois to run.