Lyn Thériault
Encyclopedia
Lyn Thériault, formerly known as Lyn Faust, is a politician in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
. She has served on the Montreal city council
since 2001 as a member of the Vision Montreal
party. Thériault was the borough mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
from 2005 to 2009 and a member of the Montreal executive committee
from 2009 to 2011. She was also a commissioner on the Commission scolaire de Montréal
from 1998 to 2007.
in 1993–94. She has also been a member of Montreal's Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce and has coordinated events such as the Montreal Chamber Music Festival.
as a candidate of the conservative Regroupement scolaire confessionnel
(RSC) party. The RSC was defeated in this election, but later formed a de facto majority on council in alliance with five defectors from the governing Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte
(MÉMO).
Thériault later became a founding member of the Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant
(CRÉE), a successor party to the RSC. In March 2003, she was appointed to the commission's executive. She was re-elected as a CRÉE candidate in the 2003 elections
, in which MÉMO won a landslide majority. After serving in opposition for the next four years, she did not seek re-election in 2007.
for the east-end division of Louis-Riel. Gérald Tremblay
's Montreal Island Citizens Union (MICU) won a majority in this election, and Thériault entered council as a member of the opposition. By virtue of serving on city council, she also served on the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough council
.
, defeating Pierre Bélanger
, a former Parti Québécois
(PQ) cabinet minister who ran for MICU. As a borough mayor, she continued to serve on city council. Gérald Tremblay was re-elected as mayor of Montreal in this election, and MICU won another majority on the Montreal city council; in November 2005, Tremblay appointed Thériault as one of two opposition members on a fifteen-member island council responsible for services such as public transit and the police.
In 2006, Thériault argued that Montreal's formula for determining borough budgets discriminated against her area of the city. She later opposed a proposal to rename Montreal's Park Avenue and Bleury Street after former Quebec premier
Robert Bourassa
, and in early 2007 she criticized a municipal plan to grant a ten-year untendered contract for a non-profit organization to oversee Montreal's recyclable waste.
Thériault lost the Vision Montreal borough mayor nomination to Réal Ménard
, a Bloc Québécois
(BQ) member of the Canadian House of Commons
, in the buildup to the 2009 municipal election
. She instead ran for and was re-elected to city council for the Louis-Riel division, defeating Union Montreal
incumbent Richer Dompierre
. Thériault also continues to serve on the borough council.
was re-elected to a third term as mayor of Montreal
in the 2009 election, and his Union Montreal party again won a majority of seats on council. After the election, Tremblay broke with tradition by appointing members of opposition parties to the Montreal executive committee
(i.e., the municipal cabinet). Thériault was chosen as Vision Montreal's representative, with responsibility for social and community development, family, and seniors. She held this position until 2011.
Reports from the Montreal Gazette indicate that the presence of opposition members in Tremblay's cabinet did not change the adversarial nature of Montreal municipal politics. Thériault absented herself when Vision Montreal voted against Tremblay's 2010 budget.
Tremblay removed Thériault from the executive committee on March 22, 2011, after she and sixteen other Vision Montreal councillors were cited by Quebec's chief electoral officer for making illegal loan guarantees for their party in the 2009 election. Vision Montreal contended that the guarantees were made in error and that the party had itself raised the matter with Quebec election officials. Tremblay said that Thériault had performed well on the executive, but that he could not keep her in government following the citation.
in Bourget in 2008, centring her campaign what she described as "a pro-family theme." She was defeated by Parti Québécois candidate Maka Kotto
.
Provincial
School trustee
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, 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....
, Canada
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...
. She has served on the Montreal city council
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...
since 2001 as a member of the Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has been in existence since 1994 and presently forms the Official opposition on Montreal City Council under leader Louise Harel.-Origins:...
party. Thériault was the borough mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is a borough of Montreal, Quebec.-History:In 1860, Hochelaga developed as a village counting a little more than 1000 inhabitants. In 1874, Hudon — a cotton factory- moved in...
from 2005 to 2009 and a member of the Montreal executive committee
Montreal Executive Committee
The Montreal Executive Committee is the executive branch of the municipal government of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The committee reports directly to city hall and is responsible for generating documents such as budgets and by-laws, which are then sent to the Montreal city council for approval...
from 2009 to 2011. She was also a commissioner on the Commission scolaire de Montréal
Commission scolaire de Montréal
Commission scolaire de Montréal is a French-language school board located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The school board was created on July 1, 1998, as a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from denominational to linguistic...
from 1998 to 2007.
Private career
Thériault has held administrative positions with the Fédération des comités de parents de la province de Québec, the Fédération des comités de parents de l'Île de Montréal and the Association canadienne d'éducation de la langue française; as well, she was a parent school commissioner on the Montreal Catholic School CommissionMontreal Catholic School Commission
The Montreal Catholic School Commission was a Roman Catholic school district in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which operated both French-language and English-language schools. It was the largest school board in Quebec, and was created on June 9, 1846, at the same time as a Protestant school board...
in 1993–94. She has also been a member of Montreal's Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce and has coordinated events such as the Montreal Chamber Music Festival.
School commissioner
Thériault was elected to the Commission scolaire de Montréal in the 1998 electionsCommission scolaire de Montréal election, 1998
The first elections for trustee positions on the newly created Commission scolaire de Montréal, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held on 14 June 1998...
as a candidate of the conservative Regroupement scolaire confessionnel
Regroupement scolaire confessionnel
The Regroupement scolaire confessionnel was a political party in the educational system of Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1990 to 2003. The party governed the Montreal Catholic School Commission from 1990 to 1998 and later formed the official opposition on the successor Commission scolaire de...
(RSC) party. The RSC was defeated in this election, but later formed a de facto majority on council in alliance with five defectors from the governing Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte
Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte
Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte is a political party in the educational system of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has governed the Commission scolaire de Montréal since the commission's founding in 1998, under the leadership of Diane De Courcy.-Origins:MÉMO was founded in August 1987 to...
(MÉMO).
Thériault later became a founding member of the Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant
Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant
The Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant was a short-lived political party in the educational system of Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
(CRÉE), a successor party to the RSC. In March 2003, she was appointed to the commission's executive. She was re-elected as a CRÉE candidate in the 2003 elections
Commission scolaire de Montréal election, 2003
Elections for trustee positions on the Commission scolaire de Montréal, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held on 16 November 2003. The Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte won eighteen seats to form a majority, while the Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant ...
, in which MÉMO won a landslide majority. After serving in opposition for the next four years, she did not seek re-election in 2007.
City councillor
Thériault was first elected to the Montreal city council in the 2001 municipal electionMontreal municipal election, 2001
The 2001 Montreal municipal election took place on November 4, 2001, to elect a mayor and city councillors in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Gérald Tremblay defeated incumbent Pierre Bourque to become mayor of the newly amalgamated city....
for the east-end division of Louis-Riel. Gérald Tremblay
Gérald Tremblay
Gérald Tremblay is a Canadian politician and businessman currently serving his third term as mayor of Montreal and as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community...
's Montreal Island Citizens Union (MICU) won a majority in this election, and Thériault entered council as a member of the opposition. By virtue of serving on city council, she also served on the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough council
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough council
The Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough council is the local governing body of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, a borough in the City of Montreal...
.
Borough mayor
Thériault was elected as borough mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in the 2005 municipal electionMontreal municipal election, 2005
The 2005 Montreal municipal election was held on November 6, 2005, to elect a city mayor, borough mayors, city councillors, and borough councillors in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
, defeating Pierre Bélanger
Pierre Bélanger
Pierre Bélanger is a lawyer and politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1992 to 1998 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Lucien Bouchard....
, a former Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
(PQ) cabinet minister who ran for MICU. As a borough mayor, she continued to serve on city council. Gérald Tremblay was re-elected as mayor of Montreal in this election, and MICU won another majority on the Montreal city council; in November 2005, Tremblay appointed Thériault as one of two opposition members on a fifteen-member island council responsible for services such as public transit and the police.
In 2006, Thériault argued that Montreal's formula for determining borough budgets discriminated against her area of the city. She later opposed a proposal to rename Montreal's Park Avenue and Bleury Street after former Quebec premier
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...
, and in early 2007 she criticized a municipal plan to grant a ten-year untendered contract for a non-profit organization to oversee Montreal's recyclable waste.
Thériault lost the Vision Montreal borough mayor nomination to Réal Ménard
Réal Ménard
Réal Ménard is a Canadian politician, who was a Bloc Québécois member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2009. He was the second Canadian Member of Parliament to come out as gay .Ménard is a political scientist with B.A. and M.A...
, a 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...
(BQ) member of the Canadian 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...
, in the buildup to the 2009 municipal election
Montreal municipal election, 2009
The city of Montreal, Quebec, held a municipal election at the same time as numerous other municipalities in Quebec, on November 1, 2009. Voters elected the Mayor of Montreal, Montreal City Council, and the mayors and councils of each of the city's boroughs....
. She instead ran for and was re-elected to city council for the Louis-Riel division, defeating Union Montreal
Union Montreal
Union Montreal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It currently governs Montreal's city government.-Origins:It was established as the Montreal Island Citizens Union in the aftermath of the province-wide municipal merger of 2001 and not long before the municipal election...
incumbent Richer Dompierre
Richer Dompierre
Richer Dompierre is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served on the Montreal city council from 1998 to 2009, initially as a member of Vision Montreal and later for the rival Union Montreal ....
. Thériault also continues to serve on the borough council.
Municipal executive
Gérald TremblayGérald Tremblay
Gérald Tremblay is a Canadian politician and businessman currently serving his third term as mayor of Montreal and as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community...
was re-elected to a third term as mayor of Montreal
Mayor of Montreal
The Mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of Montreal City Council.The Mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and provincial laws within Montreal....
in the 2009 election, and his Union Montreal party again won a majority of seats on council. After the election, Tremblay broke with tradition by appointing members of opposition parties to the Montreal executive committee
Montreal Executive Committee
The Montreal Executive Committee is the executive branch of the municipal government of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The committee reports directly to city hall and is responsible for generating documents such as budgets and by-laws, which are then sent to the Montreal city council for approval...
(i.e., the municipal cabinet). Thériault was chosen as Vision Montreal's representative, with responsibility for social and community development, family, and seniors. She held this position until 2011.
Reports from the Montreal Gazette indicate that the presence of opposition members in Tremblay's cabinet did not change the adversarial nature of Montreal municipal politics. Thériault absented herself when Vision Montreal voted against Tremblay's 2010 budget.
Tremblay removed Thériault from the executive committee on March 22, 2011, after she and sixteen other Vision Montreal councillors were cited by Quebec's chief electoral officer for making illegal loan guarantees for their party in the 2009 election. Vision Montreal contended that the guarantees were made in error and that the party had itself raised the matter with Quebec election officials. Tremblay said that Thériault had performed well on the executive, but that he could not keep her in government following the citation.
Provincial politics
Thériault ran as a Quebec Liberal Party candidate in a provincial by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in Bourget in 2008, centring her campaign what she described as "a pro-family theme." She was defeated by Parti Québécois candidate Maka Kotto
Maka Kotto
Maka Kotto , is a provincial level politician from Quebec, Canada and a former member of the Canadian House of Commons. He is the husband of Longueuil mayor Caroline St-Hilaire. He is also a published author and has appeared in film...
.
Electoral record
MunicipalProvincial
School trustee