Gilles Bernier (Quebec politician)
| Gilles Bernier | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Beauce | |
|
In office November 5, 1984 – June 2, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Normand Lapointe |
| Succeeded by | Claude Drouin |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Haiti | |
|
In office 1997–2001 | |
| Preceded by | J. Christopher Poole |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Murray Cook |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 15, 1934 Montreal, Quebec |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative → Independent |
| Residence | Saint-Georges, Quebec |
| Occupation | broadcaster |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Gilles Bernier (born July 15, 1934) is a former Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament representing the riding of Beauce from 1984 to 1997, initially as a Progressive Conservative and later as an Independent. He later served as Canada's ambassador to Haiti from 1997 to 2001.
Life and career
Bernier was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Annette (Letourneau) and Amedee Bernier.[1] Bernier moved to the Beauce in 1953[2] to pursue a radio career at CKRB in Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, and quickly became a local celebrity. Capitalizing on his popularity, he decided to go into politics in the 1984 election. He served two terms as a Tory but was forced to run as an independent in the 1993 election after Kim Campbell barred him from running under the PC banner due to fraud charges, from which he was later acquitted.
In 1997 Jean Chrétien named him ambassador to Haiti,[3] and Liberal candidate Claude Drouin succeeded him in the 1997 election.
Bernier's son, Maxime Bernier, won the riding in turn from Drouin in the 2006 federal election, as a candidate of the merged Conservative Party of Canada. Maxime Bernier would serve as Minister of Industry and Minister of Foreign Affairs before resigning from the cabinet in 2008.
Electoral record
| Canadian federal election, 1993 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Independent | Gilles Bernier | 20,238 | ||||||
| Bloc Québécois | Jean-Guy Breton | 18,271 | ||||||
| Liberal | Pierre Gravel | 7,336 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative | Jeannine Bourque | 4,098 | ||||||
| New Democratic | Tom Vouloumanos | 364 | ||||||
| Canadian federal election, 1988 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gilles Bernier | 36,212 | ||||||
| Liberal | Pierre-Maurice Vachon | 13,641 | ||||||
| New Democratic | Danielle Wolfe | 2,856 | ||||||
| Canadian federal election, 1984 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gilles Bernier | 25,028 | ||||||
| Liberal | Normand Lapointe | 20,323 | ||||||
| New Democratic | Serge L'Italien | 1,217 | ||||||
| Parti nationaliste | Paul-Emile Grondin | 569 | ||||||