Hec Clouthier

Hector Daniel Clouthier (born October 18, 1949 in Pembroke) is a former Federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke in Ontario, Canada. He is known for wearing a flamboyant fedora and his election slogan, "Give 'em Hec".

Prior to being elected, Clouthier was Vice-President of Hec Clouthier and Sons Inc., a well-known lumbering firm in the Upper Ottawa Valley.

As a community activist he volunteered as Campaign Chair for the United Way Upper Ottawa Valley, as Chair of the Ottawa Valley Lumber Association, as President of the Pembroke and Area Chamber of Commerce, as Chair of Quality Assurance , Risk Management and French language services for the Pembroke Regional Hospital and as Chair of Personnel for St. Joseph's Non Profit Housing.

He sought the Liberal nomination in Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke in 1988 contesting the Liberal incumbent Len Hopkins . More than 3,500 people voted with Hopkins winning by a narrow margin .Clouthier announced he would once again seek the nomination in 1993 but his candidacy was denied by then-party leader Jean Chrétien who protected the sitting MP Len Hopkins. Clouthier ran as an Independent candidate in the 1993 federal election getting more than 10,000 votes while finishing second to Hopkins. His vote total was the most of any Independent in Canada .

In 1997 Hopkins announced he would not be a candidate in the next federal election. There was a spirited battle for the Liberal nomination, and over 4,000 memberships were sold. At the convention Clouthier defeated three other candidates to win the nomination. Subsequently he won the general election and became MP for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. He was elected by his fellow Liberal MPs as Chair of Eastern Ontario caucus, and was named by the Prime Minister as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence in 2000.

In the 2000 election he was defeated by Canadian Alliance candidate Cheryl Gallant mainly due to his controversial endorsement of gun control, which had become highly unpopular in the region. After the election he was asked by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to be a Special Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office. He served in the PMO until Paul Martin took over as Prime Minister.

In the fall of 2002 Clouthier met U.S. President George W. Bush in Detroit at a border conference. The American President was "smitten"^[1] by Clouthier's fedora and asked for one. Clouthier had a fedora made for the President and sent it to the White House.

Clouthier served as Executive Director of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) from 2007 till 2010 . Horse racing in Ontario is a multi billion dollar a year industry employing thousands of people. Clouthier resigned as the Executive Director of OHRIA to once again seek political office.

In the 2011 federal election, Clouthier ran as an Independent candidate in his former riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, placing second to incumbent Gallant. His tally of almost 10,000 votes was the most of any Independent in Ontario.

In the 2015 federal election , Clouthier ran again as an Independent finishing in third place and once again he received the most votes and highest percentage of any Independent in Ontario .

He is President and CEO of Hec Clouthier Consulting Ltd.

Augmenting his consulting business Clouthier successfully completed the Strategic Human Resource Management ( SHRM ) program Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration and has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement in Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR ) Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. He was taught by the Jesuits at Loyola College, Montreal.

Clouthier holds a professional harness horse driver's licence. He enjoys downhill skiing, playing ice hockey and is an avid marathon runner . He has ran 33 marathons including the 2015 Boston Marathon which was the 5th time he ran the world's most famous marathon .

Membership in Algonquin Nation

Clouthier is a member of the Algonquins of Greater Golden Lake First Nation according to the "Algonquin Nation Standardized Identification Criteria" of the Algonquin Nation Tribal Council.

Notes

1. Globe and Mail, November 30, 2002

External links

• Hec Clouthier – Parliament of Canada biography