Bernard Valcourt

The Honourable Bernard Valcourt PC QC
Member of Parliament for Madawaska—Victoria
In office September 4, 1984 – October 25, 1993
Preceded by	Eymard Corbin
Succeeded by	Pierrette Ringuette
MLA for Edmundston
In office 1995–1999
Preceded by	Roland Beaulieu
Succeeded by	Madeleine Dubé
Member of Parliament for Madawaska—Restigouche
In office 2011–2015
Preceded by	Jean-Claude D'Amours
Succeeded by	René Arseneault
Personal details
Born	February 18, 1952 Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick
Political party	Conservative (2011–)
Other political affiliations	Progressive Conservative (1984–1993)
Residence	Edmundston, New Brunswick
Profession	lawyer

Bernard Valcourt, PC QC (born February 18, 1952) is a Canadian politician and lawyer, who served as Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Madawaska—Restigouche, New Brunswick until he was defeated in the 2015 federal election.

Early federal political career and Mulroney cabinet

Valcourt was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1984 election that brought Brian Mulroney to power. He was appointed to the Cabinet of Canada in 1986 as a Minister of State. In January 1989, he was promoted to Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs,^[1] but was forced to resign from Cabinet in August when he was involved in a drunk driving motorcycle accident that cost him an eye.^[2]

He returned to Cabinet seven months later as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.^[1] In 1991, he was promoted to Minister of Employment and Immigration,^[1] and held the position until the government of Mulroney's successor as Progressive Conservative Party leader and prime minister, Kim Campbell, was defeated in the 1993 election. Valcourt was defeated in that election, along with every Tory MP in Atlantic Canada except Elsie Wayne.

Provincial leader

In May 1995, Valcourt was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.^[3] While he won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 1995 provincial election, his party only won six seats against 48 for Frank McKenna's Liberals. Valcourt resigned as leader in 1997 following a lukewarm endorsement of his leadership at a party convention, and was succeeded by Bernard Lord.^[4]

Return to federal politics

On March 28, 2011, Valcourt declared his candidacy in the 2011 federal election, running in the riding of Madawaska—Restigouche, which covers the bulk of the territory he'd represented two decades earlier.^[5][6] He was elected on May 2, 2011, defeating Liberal incumbent Jean-Claude D'Amours. He was subsequently appointed to cabinet as Minister of State for both the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and La Francophonie. His sister Martine Coulombe was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2010 provincial election.^[7] On July 4, 2012, he was given the additional portfolio of Associate Minister of Defence.^[8] Valcourt was part of the AEG initiative, saying co-operation between both the federal and provincial governments, as well as utilities, is key. “The Atlantic Energy Gateway initiative has brought the critical players in the region’s energy sector together to not only work toward an affordable, secure, clean energy future, but to also maximize the business and job growth potential of further developing our region’s clean and renewable energy industries,” said Valcourt in a release.^[9]

On February 22, 2013, Valcourt became Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development in a cabinet shuffle.^[10] Valcourt stirred controversy when he claimed that the high rates of suicide among aboriginal youths were "the responsibility of their parents".^[11]

On June 2, 2015, Valcourt generated national attention during the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report. When a call to launch a national inquiry into the over 1,000 murdered and missing aboriginal women, everyone in attendance clapped and gave a standing ovation except for Valcourt.^[12]

In the 2015 federal election, Valcourt was defeated by Liberal René Arseneault finishing third with just over 16% of the vote.^[13]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Madawaska—Restigouche
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	René Arseneault	20,778	55.70	+20.91	–
	New Democratic	Rosaire L'Italien	9,670	25.92	+6.58	–
	Conservative	Bernard Valcourt	6,151	16.49	-23.99	–
	Green	Françoise Aubin	707	1.90	+0.10	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			37,306	100.00		$198,575.82
Total rejected ballots			348	0.92	–
Turnout			37,654	74.02	–
Eligible voters			50,871
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+22.45
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]

Canadian federal election, 2011: Madawaska—Restigouche
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bernard Valcourt	14,224	40.64	+7.41	$52,308.15
	Liberal	Jean-Claude D'Amours	12,309	35.17	-12.23	$60,570.18
	New Democratic	Wilder Jules	6,562	18.75	+3.13	$6,934.01
	Independent	Louis Bérubé	1,290	3.69	–	$113.00
	Green	Lynn Morrison	612	1.75	-2.00	$0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit			34,997	100.0		$81,731.56
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			577	1.62	+0.04
Turnout			35,574	69.80	+3.03
Eligible voters			50,966
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+9.82
Sources:[16][17]

New Brunswick general election, 1995: Edmundston
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Bernard Valcourt	4,215	59.20	+38.41
	Liberal	Roland Beaulieu	2,803	39.37	-26.91
	New Democratic	Maureen Michaud	102	1.43	-11.50
Total valid votes			7,120	100.0
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+32.66

Canadian federal election, 1993: Madawaska—Victoria

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Pierrette Ringuette-Maltais	16,058	48.8	+5.0
	Progressive Conservative	Bernard Valcourt	15,045	45.7	-2.5
	Reform	Kimberly Spikings	955	2.9	+2.9
	New Democratic Party	Parise Martin	844	2.6	-5.4
Total			32,902

Canadian federal election, 1988: Madawaska—Victoria

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Progressive Conservative	Bernard Valcourt	14,747	48.2	-3.7
	Liberal	Romeo Rossignol	13,385	43.8	+1.9
	New Democratic Party	Réal Couturier	2,441	8.0	+1.8
Total			30,573

Canadian federal election, 1984: Madawaska—Victoria

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Progressive Conservative	Bernard Valcourt	16,411	51.9	+29.0
	Liberal	Gerald Clavette	13,245	41.9	-23.9
	New Democratic Party	Floranne McLaughlin-St-Amand	1,968	6.2	-5.1
Total			31,624

References

1. "Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation". Retrieved June 7, 2010.
2. "No more Mr. Nice Guys?". The Globe and Mail. May 21, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
3. "New Brunswick's new top Tory set to make political sparks fly...". Toronto Star. May 15, 1995. Retrieved June 7, 2010 (Pay-per-View). Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
4. "Valcourt resigns as leader of NB Tories Former high flyer had little...". Toronto Star. May 20, 1997 (Pay-per-View). May 20, 1997. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
5. "Valcourt plans political comeback in N.B. riding". CBC News. March 28, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
6. "Former Mulroney Tory cabinet minister attempting comeback in N.B. riding". Winnipeg Free Press. March 28, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
7. "Valcourt's sister hopes to tap ex-MP's popularity". CBC News. September 9, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
8. Canadian Press (July 4, 2012). "Julian Fantino to replace Bev Oda as international co-operation minister". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
9. "CBC news - Regional co-operation focus of energy meeting". CBC news. CBC news. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
10. "Bernard Valcourt, new aboriginal affairs minister, a 'straight talker' who knows the file". Ottawa Citizen. February 22, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
11. "Canada's Aboriginal Minister Shrugs Off Responsibility for Youth Suicides on Reserves, Says It's Parents' Problem". VICE NEws. VICE News. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
12. "Truth and Reconciliation report brings calls for action, not words". CBC News. June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
13. "Madawaska-Restigouche elects Liberal René Arseneault". CBC News. October 19, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
14. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Madawaska—Restigouche, 30 September 2015
15. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
16. Elections Canada – Official voting results, Forty-first general election, 2011
17. Elections Canada – Candidate's electoral campaign return, 41st general election

External links

• Bernard Valcourt official site
• Profile at Parliament of Canada
• Bernard Valcourt – Parliament of Canada biography
• Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca