Line Beauchamp

Line Beauchamp
MNA for Bourassa-Sauvé
In office November 30, 1998 – May 14, 2012
Preceded by	first member
Succeeded by	Rita de Santis
Minister of Culture and Communications
In office April 29, 2003 – April 18, 2007
Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks
In office April 18, 2007 – August 10, 2012
Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports
In office August 11,2010 – May 14, 2012
Preceded by	Michelle Courchesne
Succeeded by	Michelle Courchesne
Deputy Premier of Quebec
In office September 7, 2011 – May 14, 2012
Preceded by	Nathalie Normandeau
Succeeded by	Michelle Courchesne
Personal details
Born	February 24, 1963 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec
Political party	Quebec Liberal Party
Residence	Montreal, Quebec

Line Beauchamp (born February 24, 1963) is a female Quebec politician. She served as the Liberal Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the Sauvé riding, and for Bourassa-Sauvé at the Quebec National Assembly from November 30, 1988 to May 14, 2012. She also served as Minister of Culture and Communications from April 29, 2003 to April 18, 2007, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks from April 18, 2007 to August 12, 2012, and served as Minister of Education, Recreation, and Sports from August 11, 2010, and as Deputy Premier of Quebec from September 7, 2011, until she resigned on May 14, 2012 as a result of the 2012 Quebec student strike.

In January 2013, she founded her strategic consulting company and took on a variety of contracts with clients from an array of sectors including, but not limited to, culture, education, real estate, and professional services. She is also a guest columnist for le Journal de Montréal.

Born in Valleyfield, Line Beauchamp earned a BAC in psychology from Université de Montréal in 1985. From 1984 to 1985, she worked as a teaching assistant in that same institution and in 1987 became the Director of Info-croissance, a consumer protection association dealing with psychotherapy, self-help, and cults. From 1991-1993 Line Beauchamp worked as Executive Director for the 101,5 CIBL-FM radio station. In 1993, she became the Executive Director for Pro-Est, the society for the promotion and socio-economic partnerships of Montreal East, until 1998. Between 1989 and 1998, Line Beauchamp was a member of several executive committees, including the l'Association coopérative d'économie familiale du Centre de Montréal (ACEF) from 1989-1993, the Corporation de développement de l'Est (CDEST) from 1993-1997, Collège de Maisonneuve from 1995-1998, and the Régie des installations olympiques (RIO) from 1996-1998, in addition to being a member of the Réseau des gens d'affaires de l'Est from 1993-1998.

In 2013 and 2014 she was a member of the Executive Committee for Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Rivière-des-Prairies Hospital's Fondation les Petits Trésors, Fondation Père-Ménard, Zoofest and Mondial des jeux.

Political career

During the 1998 Quebec general election, Line Beauchamp won the Sauvé riding. Elected under the banner of the Quebec Liberal Party, she thus became a member of the official opposition, with the Parti Québécois in power (the Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry government). She was the Official Opposition Critic in matters of culture and communications. She was also one of the ministers tasked with leading diplomatic missions in Belgium, Catalonia and Europe.

Re-elected during the 2003 elections, Line Beauchamp became the Minister of Culture and Communications on April 29, 2003, following the election of the Quebec Liberal Party. As of February 18, 2005, she also became the minister responsible for the Montreal region.

In the weeks before the 2007 election, Line Beauchamp was named Director of the Quebec Liberal Party electoral campaign. The day of the election, she took home a third victory in her riding. A little over three weeks later, she was named Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Parks.^[1]

During the August 2010 cabinet shuffle, she became the Minister of Education, Recreation, and Sports, replacing Michelle Courchesne, who joined Treasury Board.^[2] On September 7, 2011, following the resignation of Nathalie Normandeau, Line Beauchamp became the 15th Deputy Premier of Quebec.^[3][4]

During the spring of 2012, while serving as the Minister of Education, Recreation, and Sports, she was at the heart of the student strike against raising tuition fees. This strike was the longest student strike in the history of Quebec. The student crisis caused her to resign from her position as MNA for Bourassa-Sauvé, as Minister of Education, Recreation, and Sports, and as Deputy Premier of Quebec on May 14, 2012, after 13 weeks of protests. During a press conference she stated that she was “no longer part of the solution”, and that the gesture was her “ultimate compromise” to resolve the crisis.^[5][6][7]

Electoral record (incomplete)

Quebec general election, 2003: Bourassa-Sauvé
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Line Beauchamp (incumbent)	20,175	61.07
	Parti Québécois	Kettly Beauregard	8,243	24.95
	Action démocratique	Michelle Allaire	3,771	11.42
	Green	Francis Mallette	327	0.99
	Ind. (Communist) (UFP ally)	Sylvain Archambault	261	0.79
	Christian Democracy	Denis Gagné	119	0.36
	Marxist–Leninist	Claude Brunelle	94	0.28
	Equality	Boris Mospan	44	0.13
Total valid votes			33,034	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			573
Turnout			33,607	64.22
Electors on the lists			52,332
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.

Quebec general election, 1998: Sauvé
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Line Beauchamp	14,125	58.45
	Parti Québécois	Umberto di Genova	7,413	30.68
	Action démocratique	Eric Sigouin	2,084	8.62
	Communist	Sylvain Archambault	192	0.79
	Socialist Democracy	Eric Fontaine	172	0.71
	Innovator	Nicole Corbeil	123	0.51
	Natural Law	Franklin Valois	57	0.24
Total valid votes			24,166	100.00
Total rejected ballots			332
Turnout			24,498	76.27
Electors			32,122
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.

References

1. "Women prominent in Quebec's streamlined cabinet". CBC News. August 18, 2007. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
2. "One new member, but all familiar faces, in Cabinet shuffle". CTV News. August 11, 2010. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
3. "Jean Charest shuffles cabinet after deputy premier quits". The Globe and Mail. September 7, 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
4. "Jean Charest names new deputy premier in Quebec". CTV News. September 7, 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
5. "Education Minister Line Beauchamp resigns, replaced by Michelle Courchesne". CTV News. May 14, 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
6. "Education minister's exit leaves Charest holding the bag". The Globe and Mail. May 14, 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
7. "Quebec education minister quits over tuition dispute". CBC News. May 14, 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-19.

External links

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