Action démocratique du Québec candidates, 2003 Quebec provincial election

The Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) party ran a full slate of 125 candidates in the 2003 Quebec provincial election and elected four members to emerge as the third-largest party in the National Assembly. Some candidates have their own biography pages; information about others may be found here.

Contents

Candidates

Argenteuil: Sylvain Demers

Sylvain Demers received 4,372 votes (18.44%), finishing third against Liberal incumbent David Whissell.[1]

Brome—Missisquoi: Pierre Plante

Pierre Plante (born April 11, 1951) has been a filmmaker since 1980. He made a documentary entitled Le jeu, ça change pas le monde sauf que... in 2000, exploring problem gambling and the practices of Loto-Québec.[2] The work was cited as documentary of the year by the Quebec Cinema Critics Association.[3] He moved to Iron Hill in Brome—Missisquoi in 1998.[4]

Plante once supported Quebec sovereignty, though he said in 2003 that it was not a viable option.[5] He opposed the Quebec government's reliance of legalized gambling in the campaign, arguing that the practice targeted the least affluent members of society.[6] He received 6,018 votes (18.05%), finishing third against Liberal Party incumbent Pierre Paradis.[7]

Chapleau: Berthe Miron

Berthe Miron was born in Rouyn-Noranda and was sixty years old at the time of the 2003 election. She was a teacher for thirty years and a municipal councillor for Gatineau's La Baie ward from 1983 to 1999.[8] She ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Gatineau in 1999.

Miron called for private medical clinics and education vouchers in the 2003 ekectuib.[9] Considered the strongest ADQ candidate in the Outaouais region,[10] she finished third against the high-profile incumbent Liberal, Benoît Pelletier.

She was named as Gatineau's Citoyenne méritante de l'année in 2009.[11]

Electoral record (partial)
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1987 Gatineau municipal Council, Ward Seven n/a 1,127 51.77 1/3 herself
1999 municipal Mayor of Gatineau n/a c. 13,800 c. 43 2/3 Robert Labine
2003 provincial Chapleau Action démocratique 3,949 13.12 3/6 Benoît Pelletier, Liberal

Gaspé: Denis Paradis

Denis Paradis is a lawyer in Gaspé. He received 1,743 votes (9.15%) in 2003, finishing third against Parti Québécois incumbent Guy Lelièvre. Paradis later joined the newly formed Conservative Party of Canada and supported Belinda Stronach's bid to lead the party in its 2004 leadership election. There are conflicting reports as to whether or not he was an organizer for Stronach's campaign.[12]

Paradis is not to be confused with the former Canadian cabinet minister Denis Paradis.

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve: Louise Blackburn

Louise Blackburn was a volunteer in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve before running for public office. She has been a candidate in two Montreal municipal elections and one Quebec provincial election.[13]

Electoral record (partial)
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
2001 Montreal municipal Councillor, Saint-Léonard division Vision Montreal 6,190 8.02 6/8 Frank Zampino, Yvette Bissonnet, Dominic Perri (all from the Montreal Island Citizens Union)[14]
2003 provincial Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Action démocratique 2,449 10.40 3/8 Louise Harel, Parti Québécois[15]
2009 Montreal municipal Councillor, Saint-Léonard-Est division Action civique Montréal 749 9.65 4/4 Robert Zambito, Union Montreal[16]

Jean-Lesage: Aurel Bélanger

Aurel Bélanger is an agronomist and data processing specialist. He had worked with the United Nations for sixteen years before the 2003 election, focusing the establishment of coffee plantations.[17] He focused on health issues during the campaign, arguing that his party would resolve the problem of waiting lists.[18] He received 8,912 votes (25.35%), finishing third against Liberal candidate Michel Després.

Richelieu: Micheline Ulrich

Micheline Ulrich is a nurse and administrator. She co-authored a book entitled Soins d'urgence: perspective infirmière in 1994 and was elected as treasurer of the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec in 1996, 1997, and 1998.[19] In 2000, she took part in efforts to recruit nurses to Quebec from France.[20]

When the 2003 election was called, she was working for the Ministry of Health and Social Services in the recruitment of infirmary nurses.[21] Considered a prominent ADQ candidate, she represented her party in a high-profile provincial debate on health care.[22] She received 3,756 votes (13.11%), finishing third against Parti Québécois incumbent Sylvain Simard.

In 2005, she was hired as director of infirmary nurses at the Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal.[23]

References

  1. ^ Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec, accessed 21 January 2011. There was a prominent union activist at a General Motors plant in Boisbriand, Quebec in the early 2000s, but it is not clear if this was the same person. See "GM employees at doomed plant in Boisbriand, Que., accept company's deal," Canadian Press, 7 June 2002, 17:58.
  2. ^ Pierre Plante: Le jeu, ça change pas le monde sauf que..., accessed 14 December 2010.
  3. ^ Maurice Crossfield, "Pierre Paradis, the Goliath of Brome-Missisquoi," Sherbrooke Record, 27 March 2003, p. 8.
  4. ^ Maurice Crossfield, "Pierre Plante opts for ADQ," Sherbrooke Record, 5 March 2003, p. 3.
  5. ^ Maurice Crossfield, "Pierre Plante opts for ADQ," Sherbrooke Record, 5 March 2003, p. 3.
  6. ^ "ADQ launches Brome-Missisquoi campaign," Sherbrooke Record, 19 March 2003, p. 4.
  7. ^ Official results, Government of Quebec, accessed 14 December 2010.
  8. ^ In 1988, she voted against a significant pay raise for council. See David Gamble, "Gatineau council gives itself 36% raise," Ottawa Citizen, 21 June 1988, C3.
  9. ^ Paul Gessell, "Chapleau: Flirted with PQ in '76 election," Ottawa Citizen, 31 March 2003, D2.
  10. ^ Paul Gessell, "PQ 'cannon fodder' fight in hostile territory," Ottawa Citizen, 31 March 2003, D1.
  11. ^ Daniel Leblanc, "Une Berthe Miron sans voix est honorée par ses pairs," info07.com, 30 April 2009, accessed 9 November 2010.
  12. ^ Graeme Hamilton, "Gaspe imbroglio conservative leadership race: Name on party membership list," National Post, 13 March 2004, A4.
  13. ^ "Hochelaga-Maisonneuve : Que proposent les candidats?", arrondissement.com, 25 March 2003, accessed 17 July 2011.
  14. ^ Election results, 1833-2005 (in French), City of Montreal, accessed 17 July 2011.
  15. ^ Official Results (Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, 2003), Le Directeur général des élections du Québec, accessed 17 July 2011.
  16. ^ Election results, 2009, City of Montreal, accessed 17 July 2011.
  17. ^ "Précision," Le Soleil, 8 February 2003, A15.
  18. ^ Guy Benjamin, "Match revanche dans Jean-Lesage," Le Soleil, 29 March 2003, A10.
  19. ^ Denis Lavoie, no title, La Presse, 6 November 1996, A12; Denis Lavoie, no title, La Presse, 29 October 1997, A8; Denis Lavoie, no title, La Presse, 27 November 1998, A6.
  20. ^ Jean-Francois Bégin, "Recrutement de 95 infirmières en France," La Presse, 14 June 2000, A1.
  21. ^ "Pénurie d'infirmières au Québec", Canada Newswire, 21 March 2003.
  22. ^ "Elections 2003 - Débat public sur les pratiques alternatives en santé", Canada Newswire, 25 March 2003.
  23. ^ LE JOURNAL DU CENTRE HOSPITALIER DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL, Vol. 9 No. 7, p. 4.