André Boisclair

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

André Boisclair, born April 14, 1966, in Montreal, is a Canadian politician from Quebec who led the Parti Québécois (PQ). He joined the PQ in 1984 and was elected to the Quebec National Assembly in 1989 at age 23, becoming the youngest MNA in Quebec history. He held several ministerial roles from 1996 to 2003, including Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Social Solidarity Minister, and Environment Minister. In 2005 he won the PQ leadership, becoming the first openly gay leader of a party with seats in Quebec’s legislature. He said he would push for a sovereignty referendum within two years if the PQ won.

In the 2007 election, the PQ performed poorly and lost its status as Official Opposition. Boisclair announced his resignation as party leader on May 8, 2007, and left politics later that year. He worked as a consultant and in public roles, including being named Quebec’s delegate-general in New York in November 2012; he served until September 2013 when he was dismissed.

In 2022 Boisclair pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault in separate cases and was sentenced to two years less a day in prison. His parole applications were denied in late 2022 but granted in March 2023. In 2024 a civil lawsuit was filed by one victim seeking damages. Earlier in his career, Boisclair acknowledged using cocaine between 1996 and 2003 while a member of the legislature.