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Alexandre Boulerice

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Alexandre Boulerice
MP
Boulerice in September 2016
Deputy Leader of the New Democratic Party
Assumed office
March 11, 2019
Serving with Sheri Benson (2019)
LeaderJagmeet Singh
Preceded byDavid Christopherson
Shadow Minister for Labour
In office
April 19, 2012 – November 19, 2015
LeaderThomas Mulcair
Preceded byYvon Godin
Succeeded byGerard Deltell
Shadow Minister for the Treasury Board
In office
May 26, 2011 – April 18, 2012
LeaderJack Layton
Nycole Turmel
Preceded bySiobhan Coady
Succeeded byMathieu Ravignat
Member of Parliament
for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
Assumed office
May 2, 2011
Preceded byBernard Bigras
Personal details
Born (1973-06-18) June 18, 1973 (age 51)
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada
Political partyNew Democratic Party
SpouseLisa Djevahirdjian
Residence(s)Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alma mater
Profession
  • Communications adviser
  • community activist
  • journalist
Websiteboulerice.org Edit this at Wikidata

Alexandre Boulerice MP (born June 18, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has represented the riding of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since the 2011 election.[1] He is currently the NDP's Quebec lieutenant and ethics critic. Boulerice was appointed as the Deputy Leader of the New Democratic Party on March 11, 2019, by party leader Jagmeet Singh. As of the 2019 federal election, Boulerice is the only NDP MP from Quebec and since the 2021 federal election, he is the only NDP MP from any province east of Ontario.[2][3]

Early life and career

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Alexandre Boulerice was born June 18, 1973,[4] in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. He started working at age 15 as a lifeguard for the municipality and then went on to become pool manager. After his cégep years, he studied sociology at the Université de Montréal and completed graduate coursework in political science at McGill University, though he did not earn a master's degree.

Subsequently, he worked as a TV journalist (LCN, TVA), while being involved in his local union as vice-president of local 687 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). He has also worked for a community group, l'Union des travailleurs et travailleuses accidentés de Montréal (UTTAM). He then became a communications consultant for CUPE.[5]

Federal politics

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With Jack Layton during the 2011 federal campaign

Alexandre Boulerice has been active in the New Democratic Party since the late 1990s. He first ran in the 2008 federal election and finished a distant third with 16.26 percent of the vote, well behind Bloc Québécois incumbent Bernard Bigras. He then became the vice president of communications for the Quebec section of the NDP, under the presidency of Françoise Boivin.

In the May 2, 2011, federal election, the NDP received 30.6 per cent of the votes, which translated into 103 seats in the House of Commons, of which more than half (fifty-nine) were from Quebec. This result allowed the NDP to form the Official Opposition in the House of Commons for the first time in history. This electoral breakthrough is now known as "la vague orange" (Orange Crush). One of those seats belonged to Boulerice, who won a decisive victory with 50.8 per cent of the vote, finishing 9,700 votes ahead of Bigras.[6] The NDP had never finished higher than third in the riding or its predecessors before.

On May 26, 2011, NDP leader Jack Layton appointed Boulerice to the Shadow Cabinet as opposition critic for the Treasury Board of Canada. In April 2012, new leader Tom Mulcair reassigned him to be Labour critic, and then as deputy Ethics and Access to Information critic.[7]

In the 2012 leadership election, he supported Brian Topp.[8]

After the 2015 election, in which the NDP fell back to third place in the federal seat count and the Liberal Party won a majority government, Mulcair appointed Boulerice to be the NDP's Quebec lieutenant, as well as its critic for Ethics and deputy critic for Democratic Reform in the 42nd Canadian Parliament.[9] He also served as one of two New Democrats on the Special Committee on Electoral Reform.

Following the 2016 federal NDP convention's non-confidence vote in Tom Mulcair's leadership, various media outlets mentioned Alexandre Boulerice as a potential candidate, including The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and columnists such as Lysiane Gagon. CBC TV quoted him a few days after the convention saying it was "too early" to decide whether to run. He eventually supported Peter Julian's candidacy[10] and did not back any of the remaining candidates (Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton, Guy Caron, or eventual victor Jagmeet Singh) after Julian withdrew[11] from the race.

In early 2017, Boulerice was named Finance critic for the NDP.

He was re-elected in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections and was subsequently the only NDP MP returned from Quebec.

Bill C-307

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In fall 2011, Boulerice tabled Bill C-307, a private member's bill "For the reassignment of pregnant and lactating women",[12] to protect the rights of pregnant and lactating women who must leave their jobs to protect their health or the health of their child. This bill was intended to allow all workers to receive a reassignment under the provisions in force in their respective provinces. Quebec workers covered by the Labour Code of Quebec can receive benefits from the Workplace Health and Safety (OSH) in the program, "For safe motherhood." This bill was intended to allow workers covered by the Labour Code of Canada receive the same benefits and not be penalized during their pregnancy.

This bill was rejected with 169 votes against and 108 votes in favour in May 2012.

Canada Post

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In December 2013, Canada Post's board of directors announced that it would be gradually putting an end to door-to-door mail delivery, leading to the elimination of 6,000 to 8,000 jobs.[13] Boulerice was one of the first to oppose the cuts by promptly launching a petition[14] to inform citizens of the consequences of such a decision. Bolstered by broad public mobilization and mounting political reactions, he collaborated with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to tour Quebec in order to explain the changes and to garner support against the decision.[15] He ended his campaign by submitting a brief before the Commission sur le développement social et la diversité of the City of Montreal, which studied the impacts of ending door-to-door mail delivery on the installation of community mailboxes in densely populated areas, and on the quality of life of seniors and disabled people.

Vimy Ridge comments

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On April 10, 2007, Boulerice wrote on a Quebec left-wing politics blog, Presse-Toi A Gauche,[16] praising those who objected to and actively resisted Canada's participation in the First World War stating it was "a purely capitalist war on the backs of the workers and peasants". Boulerice further criticised the celebration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, led by the Conservative government under then Prime Minister Stephen Harper, saying that "thousands of poor wretches were slaughtered to take possession of a hill."[17]

Electoral record

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2021 Canadian federal election: Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Alexandre Boulerice 26,708 48.6 +6.2
Liberal Nancy Drolet 12,738 23.2 -1.01
Bloc Québécois Shophika Vaithyanathasarma 11,751 21.4 -2.36
Conservative Surelys Perez Hernandez 2,199 4.0 +1.67
Green Franco Fiori 1,308 2.4 -3.48
Marxist–Leninist Gisèle Desrochers 284 0.5 +0.37
Total valid votes 54,988 98.11
Total rejected ballots 1,062 1.89
Turnout 56,050
Eligible voters
New Democratic hold Swing
Source: Elections Canada[18]
2019 Canadian federal election: Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Alexandre Boulerice 25,575 42.48 -6.69 $108,791.68
Liberal Geneviève Hinse 14,576 24.21 +3.53 $67,673.40
Bloc Québécois Claude André 14,306 23.76 +2.73 $16,536.02
Green Jean Désy 3,539 5.88 +2.82 $4,206.72
Conservative Johanna Sarfati 1,405 2.33 -1.96 $2,398.66
Rhinoceros Jos Guitare Lavoie 346 0.57 -0.28
People's Bobby Pellerin 293 0.49 $1,385.02
Communist Normand Raymond 86 0.14
Marxist–Leninist Gisèle Desrochers 80 0.13 -0.16
Total valid votes/expense limit 60,206 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 718
Turnout 60,924
Eligible voters 85,290
New Democratic hold Swing -5.11
Source: Elections Canada[19][20]
2015 Canadian federal election: Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Alexandre Boulerice 28,692 49.17 -1.9
Bloc Québécois Claude André 12,276 21.03 -11.82 –
Liberal Nadine Medawar 12,069 20.68 +11.53 –
Conservative Jeremy Dohan 2,506 4.29 -0.03 –
Green Sameer Muldeen 1,787 3.06 +1.39 –
Rhinoceros Laurent Aglat 495 0.85 +0.08 –
Libertarian Peter d'Entremont 353 0.60 – –
Marxist–Leninist Stéphane Chénier 171 0.29 +0.03 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit – 100.0     $221,758.95
Total rejected ballots – – –
Turnout 58,349 69.13 +2.22
Eligible voters 83,936
New Democratic hold Swing −1.9
Source: Elections Canada[21][22]
2011 Canadian federal election: Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Alexandre Boulerice 27,484 51.00 +34.74
Bloc Québécois Bernard Bigras 17,702 32.85 -19.15
Liberal Kettly Beauregard 4,920 9.13 -9.54
Conservative Sébastien Forté 2,328 4.32 -3.07
Green Sameer Muldeen 899 1.67 -2.92
Rhinoceros Jean-Patrick Berthiaume 417 0.77 +0.16
Marxist–Leninist Stéphane Chénier 140 0.26 -0.06
Total valid votes/Expense limit 53,890 100.00
Total rejected ballots 589 1.08
Turnout 54,479 66.91
2008 Canadian federal election: Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Bloc Québécois Bernard Bigras 27,260 52.00 -3.99 $52,571
Liberal Marjorie Théodore 9,785 18.67 +2.91 $30,634
New Democratic Alexandre Boulerice 8,522 16.26 +4.71 $21,117
Conservative Sylvie Boulianne 3,876 7.39 -1.91 $85,619
Green Vincent Larochelle 2,406 4.59 -2.01 $903
Rhinoceros Jean-Patrick Berthiaume 319 0.61 – $228
Marxist–Leninist Stéphane Chérnier 170 0.32 –
Independent Michel Dugré 83 0.16 – $690
Total valid votes/Expense limit 52,421 100.00 $86,436
Total rejected ballots 614 1.16
Turnout 53,035 64.65

References

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  1. ^ "Alexandre Boulerice". www.parl.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  2. ^ "NDP all but disappears in Quebec as Liberals form minority government". Global News. Archived from the original on 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  3. ^ "Cheadle, Hunter part of Infrastructure Minister McKenna's team". The Hill Times. 2020-02-27. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  4. ^ Alexandre Boulerice – Parliament of Canada biography
  5. ^ "Bio on NDP website". Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  6. ^ Election 2011: Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie Archived 2011-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2011.
  7. ^ "Shadow Cabinet NDP website". Archived from the original on 2015-11-11. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  8. ^ "Alexandre Boulerice donne son appui à Brian Topp". Blogue d'Alexandre Boulerice. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  9. ^ Kirkup, Kristy (12 November 2015). "Tom Mulcair taps Nathan Cullen, Charlie Angus, Guy Caron for top critic roles". CBC News. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  10. ^ Crête, Mylène (April 12, 2017). "Alexandre Boulerice appuie Peter Julian". Métro (in Canadian French). The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017.
  11. ^ Wherry, Aaron; Zimonjic, Peter (July 6, 2017). "Peter Julian quitting NDP leadership race after failing to secure enough donations". CBC News. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017.
  12. ^ "Parliament of Canada website". Archived from the original on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  13. ^ "Canada Post changes mean 8,000 fewer jobs". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  14. ^ "Stop service cuts at Canada Post". I Support Boulerice. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  15. ^ "Le NPD en croisade pour Postes Canada | Baptiste Ricard-Châtelain | Politique". La Presse (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  16. ^ Boulerice, Alexandre (April 10, 2017). "La butte de Vimy – Presse-toi à gauche !". www.pressegauche.org (in French). Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  17. ^ "Sun News: NDP MP slammed Canada's role in First World War". Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  18. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  19. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  20. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  21. ^ "Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, 30 September 2015". Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  22. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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