André Bachand (Progressive Conservative MP)
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with André Bachand (Liberal MP)André Bachand (Liberal MP)André Bachand is a former Canadian politician and lawyer. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Member of the Liberal Party in the 1980 election to represent the riding of Missisquoi...
André Bachand (born December 8, 1961, in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician, who represented the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Richmond—Arthabaska
Richmond—Arthabaska
Richmond—Arthabaska is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-Geography:The riding, north of the city of Sherbrooke, straddles the Quebec regions of Centre-du-Québec and Estrie...
as member of the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
from 1997 to 2003.
When the PC Party was merged with the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
into the Conservative Party in December 2003, Bachand left the party and sat as an "Independent Progressive Conservative" until the 2004 election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, and then retired from the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
.
Bachand has been an administrator, and a business executive. He was the mayor of Asbestos, Quebec
Asbestos, Quebec
-Communities:*Asbestos*Trois-Lacs-External links:***...
from 1986 to 1997, and was the Préfet
Préfet
A prefect in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements...
of the MRC d'Asbestos from 1987 to 1997.
Young Turk
Bachand was first elected as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1997Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, one of five PC MPs elected that year in Quebec on the coattails of Sherbrooke MP Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
. Bachand was one of a handful of new "Young Turk" PC MPs (along with Scott Brison
Scott Brison
Scott A. Brison, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. Brison has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Kings-Hants since the 1997 federal election. Brison was originally elected as a Progressive Conservative but crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party in 2003...
, John Herron
John Herron (New Brunswick politician)
John Herron is a former Canadian politician and Red Tory.Herron was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1997 federal election as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada . He was reelected in the 2000 election...
and Peter MacKay
Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....
) who were considered the future youthful leadership material that would restore the ailing Tories to their glory days. In 1998, Jean Charest stepped down as federal Progressive Conservative leader to make the move to Quebec provincial politics, becoming leader of the federalist Liberal Party of Quebec (unaffiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
). Bachand was one of many who unsuccessfully tried to convince Charest to remain in federal politics for at least one more election. Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
succeeded Charest as leader of the PC Party and Bachand was supportive of Clark's candidacy.
Difficult times
The Quebec-wing of the federal PC Party parliamentary Caucus wrestled with several internal policy issues in the late 1990s after Charest's departure including the party's bilingualism policies and the autonomy of provinces in respect to federal powers. Shortly after Joe Clark was elected leader of the federal Tory Party, the federal government brought forward the Clarity ActClarity Act
The Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following such a vote by one of the provinces. The Clarity Bill was tabled for first reading in the...
. The Clarity Act was a Liberal Party of Canada sponsored Bill introduced by then Minister of Intergovernmental affairs Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
. The Clarity Act detailed specifically how the province of Quebec could separate and under what conditions a separation could be legal. Clark chose to support Bachand and the Quebec PC Caucus MPs in the party and stated that he was against the Clarity Act while the fifteen other English MPs in the PC parliamentary Caucus voted in favour of the Bill regardless of Clark's stance.
Quebec lieutenant
By 1999, Bachand had emerged as the nominal Quebec lieutenantQuebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...
of the Conservatives, attending most PC events in the province with Clark and acting as the party's chief spokesman for Quebec issues. Bachand also was the chief responder to the multiple defections of Quebec Tory party officials, MPs and Senators to the Liberal and Canadian Alliance Parties during this period. In September 2000, three Quebec PC MPs, fearful of their re-election prospects under Clark's leadership, crossed the floor shortly before the federal election to sit as Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
MPs, leaving Bachand as the only remaining PC MP in Quebec. He was subsequently re-elected in the 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, as were all three of the MPs who crossed the floor. The Tories emerged from the election retaining party status.
Deputy Leader
In February 2003, Bachand announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives. However, on May 12, he announced that he was dropping out of the race and supporting Peter MacKay. Bachand had been running fifth in the race, and had failed to gather support among party delegates and to raise enough money for his campaign. After MacKay's victory, Bachand briefly served as Deputy Leader of the Progressive Conservatives until early December 2003. Before becoming Deputy Leader, Bachand served as the Deputy House Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, as well as its critic for the Intergovernmental Affairs, Industry, Science Research and Development, and the Deputy Prime Minister portfolios.Lone independent
When the party merged with the Canadian Alliance at the end of 2003, Bachand announced that he would retire from politics. Bachand did not sit with the new Conservative Party of CanadaConservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
Caucus, and became an independent MP until the June 2004 election. During the June 2004 election, Bachand endorsed the Liberal candidate in the Richmond—Arthabaska race over the Conservative and Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
challengers. The riding was ultimately carried by the BQ in their electoral sweep of the province.
Bachand's departure from federal politics has been lamented by many Tories hailing from Quebec. In a Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
article covering the March 2005 founding policy convention of the new Conservative Party, Senator Pierre Claude Nolin
Pierre Claude Nolin
Pierre Claude Nolin is a Canadian politician and Senator.-Life before politics:Nolin was born in Montreal, Quebec, and attended the University of Ottawa. He received a Degree in Law in 1975. In 1976, Nolin married Camille Desjardins...
mused that if Bachand had remained elected and participatory in the new party, he would have likely replaced Peter MacKay as deputy leader, and would have served as the new Conservative Party's chief Quebec lieutenant as part of Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
's attempts to woo Quebec voters into supporting the Tories. In the 2006 election, the new Conservative Party won 10 seats from Quebec, and some suggest that Bachand may have missed his chance at becoming Deputy Prime Minister.
Return to politics
In September 2008, Bachand announced that he would be the Conservative Party candidate for the district of SherbrookeSherbrooke (electoral district)
Sherbrooke is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925.-Geography:This riding in the south of the province is located in the Quebec region of Estrie...
in the 40th Canadian General Election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
. On election night, Bachand's comeback attempt was unsuccessful. He lost to Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
incumbent Serge Cardin
Serge Cardin
Serge Cardin is a former Canadian Member of Parliament for the Bloc Québécois. He represented the riding of Sherbrooke from 1998 to 2011. He is an accountant...
, finishing third with over 16% of the vote.