Michelle Courchesne

Michelle Courchesne
Deputy Premier of Quebec
In office May 14, 2012 – September 19, 2012
Premier	Jean Charest
Preceded by	Line Beauchamp
Succeeded by	François Gendron
Member of theNational Assembly of QuebecforFabre
In office April 14, 2003 – September 4, 2012
Preceded by	Joseph Facal
Succeeded by	Gilles Ouimet
Personal details
Born	(1953-05-06)May 6, 1953 Trois-Rivières,Quebec
Political party	Quebec Liberal Party
Spouse	Normand Filiatreault

Michelle Courchesne(born May 6, 1953, inTrois-Rivières,Quebec) is a formerDeputy Premier of Quebec.A member of theQuebec Liberal Party,she was theNational AssemblyMember for the riding ofFabreinLaval, Quebec.She is also the former President of the Treasury Board, Minister responsible for the Laval region,Minister of Educationand Deputy Premier of Quebec. She is a former Minister of Family, Immigration, Employment andSocial Solidarity.

Courchesne attendedCollège Jean-de-Brébeufbefore going to theUniversité de Montréaland obtained abachelor's degreeinsociologyand a master's degree inurban development.She would become anurbanistfrom 1976 to 1981 before being elected to theCity Councilof Laval. She would also work at the Ministry of Culture and Communications as aDeputy Ministerbefore being a member of the administration council of theNational Bank of Canada,Radio-Canada,the National Theater School of Canada and the Quebec Mental Health Foundation. She was then the director of theMontreal Symphony Orchestraand a vice-president for Marketel and Cognicase.

Courchesne entered politics in2003,where she was elected as the MNA for Fabre while the Liberals regained power after nine years of governing by theParti Québécois.She was named byJean Charestin the Cabinet as the Minister responsible for the relations with the Citizens and Immigration and was then promoted to Employment and Social Solidarity following aCabinet shufflein 2005 where she took the position occupied byClaude Béchard.

Following the2007 elections,she was re-elected in a Liberalminority government,and named the Minister of Education, Leisure and Sports as well Minister of Family.

Following the 2008 election, she kept most of the portfolios but gave up the Ministry of Family toLaFontaineMNATony Tomassi.Courchesne lost the Education portfolio to former Environment MinisterLine Beauchampin a 2010 cabinet shuffle and became President of the Treasury Board. She regained the Education Minister position, as well as becoming Deputy Premier of Quebec, on May 14, 2012, following Beauchamp's resignation during the ongoingstudent protests over tuition hikes.

She retired at the 2012 election.

Electoral record

2008 Quebec general election:Fabre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michelle Courchesne	15,349	45.50
	Parti Québécois	François-Gycelain Rocque	12,425	36.83
	Action démocratique	Tom Pentefountas	4,024	11.93
	Green	Erika Alvarez	1,021	3.03	–
	Québec solidaire	Pierre Brien	918	2.72
Total valid votes			33,737	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			517
Turnout			34,254	57.08
Electors on the lists			60,010
Source:Official Results, Government of Quebec

External links

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