Clément Gignac

Clément Gignac
MNA for Marguerite-Bourgeoys
In office 2009–2012
Preceded by	Monique Jérôme-Forget
Succeeded by	Robert Poëti
Personal details
Born	May 7, 1955 Saint-Gilbert, Quebec
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Jocelyne Duval
Cabinet	Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade

Clément Gignac (born May 7, 1955) is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec, who represented the riding of Marguerite-Bourgeoys in the National Assembly of Quebec from 2009 to 2012. A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, he was elected in a by-election on June 22, 2009, following the resignation of Monique Jérôme-Forget.^[1]

On the following day, Gignac was named by Jean Charest as the new Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade — a role which was previously held by Raymond Bachand, who was also the Finance Minister.^[2]

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Gignac was (for a brief period of time) a senior advisor to the deputy minister of Finance in Ottawa.

Prior to this appointment, Gignac was senior vice-president, chief economist and strategist of National Bank Financial and in this role has ranked constantly over the last decade amongst the top strategists and economists in the country.

Biographical Notes

Holding a Master’s degree in economics from Université Laval, Clément Gignac has amassed a wealth of experience after 30 years in the public and private sectors, including as an MNA and minister in the Quebec government. As minister of Economic Development, he introduced the government’s strategy in research and innovation and participated in the creation of its strategy on entrepreneurship.

Before entering politics, Mr. Gignac served as special advisor to the federal deputy minister of finance in 2009. In this position, he had the opportunity to officially represent Canada on a G20 task force.

During the previous 20 years, Mr. Gignac acted as economic consultant and strategist for several prominent financial institutions, notably National Bank Financial, as Vice-President and Chief Economist from 2000 to 2008. For five consecutive years, his group ranked among the top three Canadian economist teams in the annual Brendan Wood International survey of some 100 institutional clients. As one of the country's leading economic strategists of the time, Mr. Gignac was a much sought-after advisor and commentator among the media, business leaders, and governments.

Since December 2012, Clément Gignac has held the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist at iA Financial Group. As well as serving as spokesman on economic matters, he chairs the asset allocation committee and manages diversified funds with assets exceeding $3 billion.

Clément Gignac is an esteemed speaker and is often sought after by the media. In 2012, he was asked by the prestigious World Economic Forum to sit as chair on the Global Agenda Council on Competitiveness,and in May 2015, he received the Gloire de l’Escolle medal for exceptional merit from Université Laval.

Electoral record

Quebec provincial by-election, June 22, 2009: Marguerite-Bourgeoys
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Clément Gignac	7,753	72.41	+6.22
	Parti Québécois	Christine Normandin	1,835	17.14	−4.56
	Action démocratique	Diane Charbonneau	384	3.59	−5.08
	Green	Julian Leclerc	290	2.71	–
	Québec solidaire	Valérie Black St-Laurent	265	2.48	−0.96
	Independent	Sylvie R. Tremblay	73	0.68	–
	Parti indépendantiste	Érik Poulin	66	0.62	–
	Independent	Régent Millette	41	0.38	–
Total valid votes			10,707	99.19	–
Total rejected ballots			87	0.81	–
Turnout			10,794	23.22	−24.87
Electors on the lists			46,478	–	–

External links

• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.

References

1. "Charest's Quebec Liberals easily win byelection". CTV News, June 22, 2009.
2. (French) Remaniement ministériel : jeu de chaise musicale à Québec. LCN, June 23, 2009.