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81-628: John James " Jean " Charest PC ( French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʃɑʁɛ] ; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, he was a member of Parliament (MP) between 1984 and 1998. After holding several Cabinet posts from 1986 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1993, he was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998. Born in Sherbrooke , Quebec , Charest worked as

162-593: A Privy Council meeting presided over by the governor general occurred on 15 August 1873, in which Governor General the Earl of Dufferin outlined "the terms on which he would agree to a prorogation of Parliament" during the Pacific Scandal . When he served as viceroy, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne , put an end to the practice of the governor general presiding over Privy Council meetings, other than for ceremonial occasions. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King had

243-608: A contemporary newspaper account, the conference, on 27 March, at Rideau Hall , consisted of 12 individuals, including Chief Justice Bora Laskin , who presided over the meeting; Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ; several cabinet ministers; Stanley Knowles of the New Democratic Party ; and Alvin Hamilton of the Progressive Conservative Party . All gathered were informed of the Prince's engagement, nodded their approval, and then toasted

324-473: A counsel role, Charest refused. In January 2024, Charest decided to leave McCarthy Tétrault and joined the Therrien Couture Joli-Cœur group. On March 9, 2022, Charest announced that he would be a candidate for the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election . He had previously considered running in the 2020 leadership election , though he ultimately decided not to. With 16 per cent of

405-646: A historic third consecutive term as he brought the Liberals back to majority governance. It was the first time a party had won a third consecutive term in Quebec since the Quiet Revolution . On August 1, 2012, Charest launched his electoral campaign for the 2012 Quebec general election from the Quebec Jean-Lesage International Airport with the slogan For Quebec . The QLP focused its campaign on

486-583: A lawyer before becoming an MP following the 1984 federal election . In 1986 he joined Brian Mulroney 's government as a minister of state , but resigned from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about an active court case. He returned to cabinet in 1991 as the minister of the environment . Charest ran to succeed Mulroney as party leader and prime minister in the PCs' 1993 leadership election , but placed second to Kim Campbell . Charest served as Campbell's industry minister and deputy prime minister. After

567-572: A member of His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada. I will in all things to be treated, debated and resolved in Privy Council, faithfully, honestly and truly declare my mind and my opinion. I shall keep secret all matters committed and revealed to me in this capacity, or that shall be secretly treated of in Council. Generally, in all things I shall do as a faithful and true servant ought to do for His Majesty. Provincial premiers are not commonly appointed to

648-469: A privy councillor of long standing, be given the style the Right Honourable upon his retirement from Parliament. According to Eugene Forsey , Privy Council meetings—primarily meetings of the full Cabinet or the prime minister and senior ministers, held with the governor general presiding—were not infrequent occurrences in the first 15 years following Canadian Confederation in 1867. One example of

729-464: A traditional Tory stronghold where Reform had made significant inroads. In April 1998, Charest gave in to considerable public and political pressure, especially among business circles, to leave federal politics and become leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. Charest was considered by many to be the best hope for the federalist QLP to defeat the sovereigntist Parti Québécois government. In

810-498: A year for the duration. The proposed plan, described as "a potential centrepiece" of Charest's political legacy, received the full support of the mining industry, the Crees and Inuit representatives but was met with scepticism and downright opposition by the Innus and most environmentalists. Charest also attempted to distinguish himself on the issue of the environment. His vocal opposition to

891-513: Is a branch for all provinces and territories in Canada except for Nunavut . On February 8, 2020, Canadian news outlet The Globe and Mail published a story on the alleged sexual abuse by national coach Dave Scott-Thomas, he was also employed at the University of Guelph as the head of the track and field program and operator of a now-defunct track club, Speed River. The victim of Scott-Thomas's abuse

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972-673: Is distinct but also entwined within the Privy Council, as the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada customarily serves as one of its members and Cabinet ministers receive assistance in the performance of their duties from the Privy Council Office , headed by the clerk of the Privy Council . While the Cabinet specifically deals with the regular, day-to-day functions of the King-in-Council, occasions of wider national importance—such as

1053-659: Is formally referred to as His Majesty's Government , is defined by the Canadian constitution as the sovereign acting on the advice of the Privy Council; what is known as the Governor-in-Council , referring to the governor general of Canada as the King's stand-in. The group of people is described as "a Council to aid and advise in the Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen's Privy Council for Canada", though, by convention ,

1134-554: Is fully bilingual in French and English. In the 1980 Quebec referendum , he failed to vote because he was getting married. Charest worked as a lawyer until he was elected Progressive Conservative member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding (electoral district) of Sherbrooke in the 1984 election . From 1984 to 1986, Charest served as Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole of

1215-557: Is now called Athletics Canada, was established in 1884. It is one of the oldest affiliated bodies with World Athletics (formerly the IAAF). Only the association of Great Britain (1880) has been in existence for a longer period of time. New Zealand followed in 1887 and the United States in 1888. Following preliminary meetings on April 11, 1884, where the athletics associations of Quebec and Ontario sent some 50 representatives to meet at

1296-459: The 1993 election , the PCs suffered the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level. Only two of the party's 295 candidates were elected, Charest and Elsie Wayne . Charest himself was re-elected fairly handily in Sherbrooke, taking 56 per cent of the vote. As the only surviving member of what turned out to be the last PC Cabinet, Charest was appointed interim party leader and confirmed in

1377-461: The 1997 federal election , Charest campaigned on securing national unity in Canada by recognizing Quebec as being a distinct society within Canada, along with the proposal of a "New Covenant" for Canadian confederation to be negotiated between the federal and provincial governments. Charest and the PCs benefited from rapidly rising in popularity amongst all language groups in Quebec, where voters were found to have preferred Charest over Gilles Duceppe ,

1458-668: The 1998 election , the Quebec Liberals received more votes than the PQ, but because the Liberal vote was concentrated in fewer ridings, the PQ won enough seats to form another majority government. Charest won his own riding of Sherbrooke with a majority of 907 votes. In the April 2003 election , Charest led the Quebec Liberals to a majority, ending nine years of PQ rule. He declared he had a mandate to reform health care, cut taxes, reduce spending and reduce

1539-481: The 2012 election to the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois (PQ) and resigned as premier. After politics, Charest worked as a consultant, including for Huawei on the Meng Wanzhou case and for its 5G network plans in Canada, and joined McCarthy Tétrault LLP as a partner. Charest was a candidate in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election , finishing a distant second to Pierre Poilievre . Charest

1620-506: The Charter , and would feature greater protections for minority language rights in the provinces. The recommendations caused Mulroney's environment minister and Quebec lieutenant , Lucien Bouchard , to view the companion accord as a betrayal of Meech. Bouchard later resigned from Cabinet and founded the Bloc Québécois , a pro-sovereigntist party. Charest returned to cabinet as minister of

1701-648: The House of Commons . In 1986, at age 28, Charest was appointed to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as minister of state (youth). He was the youngest cabinet minister in Canadian history. Charest was appointed minister of state (fitness and amateur sport) in 1988, but had to resign from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about a case regarding the Canadian Track and Field Association . Charest

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1782-496: The Privy Council ( PC ), is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, the tenets of responsible government require the sovereign or his viceroy , the governor general of Canada , to almost always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet : a committee within the Privy Council composed usually of elected members of Parliament . Those summoned to

1863-512: The Security Intelligence Review Committee be made privy councillors, if they are not already. To date, only Prime Minister Paul Martin advised that parliamentary secretaries be admitted to the Privy Council. Appointees to the King's Privy Council must recite the requisite oath: I, [name], do solemnly and sincerely swear (declare) that I shall be a true and faithful servant to His Majesty King  Charles III , as

1944-635: The United Nations . Charest also voiced some support for the Calgary Declaration (1997), which recognized Quebec as "unique." During the debate in the Parliament of Canada over recognizing Quebec as a nation within Canada, Charest stated that Quebec was a "nation" no matter what other parts of Canada said—that this was not up to anyone else to define. In 2011, the Charest government decided to increase

2025-613: The Barreau du Québec, among others, expressing concern about possible infringement of constitutional rights. Bill 78 was revoked by the Pauline Marois government. On December 6, 2007, the Opposition urged Charest to testify to the House of Commons of Canada Ethics Committee in its investigation of Karlheinz Schreiber . Schreiber told the committee he paid $ 30,000 in cash to Charest's brother to help fund Charest's 1993 leadership bid for

2106-519: The Canadian Cabinet, and other eminent Canadians. These appointments ended under Lester Pearson , though the traditional style remained in use, limited to only prime ministers and chief justices. In 1992, several eminent privy councillors, most of whom were long-retired from active politics, were granted the style by the Governor General and, in 2002, Jean Chrétien recommended that Herb Gray ,

2187-713: The Canadian Privy Council so as to illustrate the separation between Canada's Crown and that of the UK. The Council has assembled in the presence of the sovereign on two occasions: The first was at 10:00 a.m. on the Thanksgiving Monday of 1957, at the monarch's residence in Ottawa , Rideau Hall . There, Queen Elizabeth II chaired a meeting of 22 of her privy councilors, including her consort , by then titled as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whom Elizabeth had just appointed to

2268-512: The Crown. In addition, the chief justices of Canada and former governors general are appointed. From time to time, the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition and heads of other opposition parties will be appointed to the Privy Council, either as an honour or to facilitate the distribution of sensitive information under the Security of Information Act and, similarly, it is required by law that those on

2349-400: The Government of Canada accepted this name change officially on April 12, 1991. Over the past two decades, Athletics Canada has welcomed under its umbrella the high performance athletes for four disability groups: wheelchair athletes joined the association in 1997 with blind, cerebral palsy, amputee athletes following in 2002. Inclusion of these disability groups was a natural step given that

2430-552: The IAAF (now WA) officially recognized the CTFA as an autonomous group and not part of the AAU of C. The AAU of C subsequently dissolved itself in the early 1970s as all national federations in the different sports went their own ways. On June 17, 1990, at the annual general meeting of the CTFA, a motion was adopted to change the name to Athletics Canada. The Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs of

2511-465: The KPC are appointed for life by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister of Canada , meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former Cabinet ministers, with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters, as well as various signifiers of precedence. The Government of Canada , which

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2592-591: The Liberals would be roundly defeated in the next election. Boisclair did not perform well as Leader of the Opposition, and Charest's numbers recovered somewhat. A poll conducted by Léger Marketing for Le Devoir placed the Liberals at 34 per cent against 32 per cent for the PQ and 24 per cent for the ADQ , with Charest obtaining a higher personal approval rating than the PQ leader. Liberal support, however remained heavily concentrated in Anglophone and Allophone ridings in

2673-469: The PCs' defeat in the 1993 election , Charest succeeded Campbell as party leader. He led the PCs to a minor recovery in the 1997 election . Charest left federal politics in 1998 and was elected to lead the Quebec Liberal Party , the province's main federalist political party. He became premier of Quebec after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election . He won two more elections until he lost

2754-521: The Privy Council at that same meeting. The Queen also approved an order-in-council. Two years later, the Privy Council again met before the Queen, this time in Halifax, Nova Scotia , to confirm the appointment of Georges Vanier as governor general. There was originally some speculation that the coming together of the sovereign and her Council was not constitutionally sound. However, the Prime Minister at

2835-518: The Privy Council convene in 1947 to consent to the marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II ) to Philip Mountbatten , per the Royal Marriages Act 1772 . The Princess' father, King George VI , had offered an invitation for Mackenzie King to attend when the Privy Council of the United Kingdom met for the same purpose. But, the Prime Minister declined and held the meeting of

2916-494: The Privy Council, but have been made members on special occasions, such as the centennial of Confederation in 1967 and the patriation of the constitution of Canada in 1982. On Canada Day in 1992, which also marked the 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation , Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn appointed 18 prominent Canadians to the Privy Council, including the former Premier of Ontario David Peterson , retired hockey star Maurice Richard , and businessman Conrad Black (who

2997-468: The Privy Council. The first non-Canadian sworn of the council was Billy Hughes , Prime Minister of Australia , who was inducted on 18 February 1916, at the request of Robert Borden —to honour a visiting head of government, but also so that Hughes could attend Cabinet meetings on wartime policy. Similarly, Winston Churchill , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , was inducted during a visit to Canada on 29 December 1941. Privy councillors are entitled to

3078-647: The Toronto Fencing Club, the principal business was to ratify a constitution for the newly formed Canadian Amateur Athletics Association, the forerunner of Athletics Canada. Founding fathers of the organization included W.C. Maltby, John Massey, and C.W. Martin. The first Canadian Track and Field Championships were held in Montreal at the Montreal Lacrosse Groundson September 27 of that year, and 20 years later, Étienne Desmarteau would win

3159-664: The Tory leadership in 1993. However Charest himself says it was only $ 10,000 although federal leadership election rules permitted such cash donations. As of 2007, rules against such donations for provincial party leadership campaigns still do not exist in Québec. Charest placed a strong second to Defence Minister Kim Campbell , who had held a large lead going into the convention. Charest served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Science and Technology in Campbell's short-lived cabinet. In

3240-485: The appointment of judges in 2003. In response, the Charest government created the Bastarache commission, where Charest testified in defence. Charest however refused to launch a public inquiry into the collusion and financing of political parties and corruption in the construction industry, despite a 2011 survey indicating that 77 per cent of Quebecers demanded such an inquiry. Charest finally launched an inquiry in 2012 through

3321-409: The city councils of the major cities were substantially weakened by the power of the mayors to go over the heads of opposition councillors and exercise power through their appointees to the agglomeration body. During his mandate as Premier, Charest made some efforts to expand the place of Québec in the international community. The province was granted representation at UNESCO , the cultural branch of

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3402-458: The conventional "treaty" laid out in the preamble to the 1931 Statute of Westminster . Following the announcement of the Prince of Wales' engagement to Camilla Parker-Bowles , however, the Department of Justice announced its conclusion that the Privy Council was not required to meet to give its approval to the marriage, as the union would not result in offspring that would impact the succession to

3483-535: The creation of the Charbonneau commission in response to rising discontent within the Quebec Liberal caucus. The Charest government was deeply unpopular during its first years in office, enjoying a public approval rating of below 50 per cent in most opinion polls and falling to the low twenties in voter support. In the first few weeks after André Boisclair was elected leader of the PQ, polls showed that Charest and

3564-460: The day. The quorum for Privy Council meetings is four. The Constitution Act, 1867 , outlines that persons are to be summoned and appointed for life to the King's Privy Council by the governor general, though convention dictates that this be done on the advice of the sitting prime minister. As its function is to provide the vehicle for advising the Crown, the members of the Privy Council are predominantly all living current and former ministers of

3645-445: The environment in 1991. In that role, he led the Canadian delegation at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. When Mulroney announced his retirement as PC leader and prime minister, Charest was a candidate for the leadership of the party at the 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention . Karlheinz Schreiber alleged he gave $ 30,000 in cash to Charest's campaign for

3726-571: The federal Progressive Conservative party. Charest's third term was marked by several allegations of questionable financing from the Quebec Liberal Party as well as a multitude of scandals in the construction sector in Quebec, the loss of $ 39.8 billion from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec , and the Marc Bellemare (Charest's former justice minister) affair. Bellemare alleged in 2010 that he had been pressured by Quebec Liberal fundraisers during

3807-574: The federal decision to opt out of the Kyoto Accord , and his insistence that Quebec would seek to meet its own Kyoto targets has earned him considerable support. His government set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, petroleum royalties, and a 2011-2020 Action Plan for Electric Vehicles. He also established the Sustainable Development Act, which adds to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

3888-518: The first Olympic gold medal for Canada. George Orton , a Canadian, had won an Olympic gold in 1900, but he was competing at these second Games in Paris on an invitation from the United States . From 1909 until the fall of 1967, the organization was known as the Canadian Track and Field Association (CTFA). However, it operated under the umbrella of the AAU of C (Amateur Athletic Union of Canada). In 1968,

3969-430: The first province in Canada to implement a carbon tax . At the time it was implemented, the tax amounted to 0.8 cents per litre of gas and 0.9 cents per litre of diesel fuel. Much of the fiscal policy of the Charest government was based upon the expectation that new revenues could be obtained from a resolution of the fiscal imbalance believed to exist between the federal and provincial governments. The Harper government

4050-666: The focus of the association broadened to include the delivery of similar services to all track and field high performance athletes. In the current structure, provincial disability organizations report to their respective national associations - the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, the Canadian Blind Sports Association, and the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association - while Athletics Canada works directly with

4131-423: The issues of respect of the law and civil order, referencing the demonstrations of the previous months. They claimed to be the party of the silent majority who did not support the student protest movement. It was the first provincial election in Quebec to feature the newly formed CAQ party led by François Legault on the ballot. On the night of September 4, Charest and his party lost the general election. The result

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4212-409: The last week of the campaign, Charest promised an additional $ 700 million in tax cuts—some of it coming for the additional equalization money from the 2007 federal budget; reduction of hospital wait times; improvement and increase of French courses at school; an increase of the number of daycare spaces; and an increase in tuition fees for university students ($ 50 per semester until 2012). The last measure

4293-690: The leader of the Bloc Québécois. In the election, the Tories received 18.8 per cent of the popular vote and won 20 seats, mostly in Atlantic Canada . Although the party's seat count had recovered (as they won only two seats in 1993), Charest considered the result a disappointment. While the Tories finished only half a point behind Reform in terms of the popular vote, their support was too dispersed west of Quebec to translate into seats. They were also hampered by vote-splitting with Reform in rural central Ontario,

4374-494: The local, national, and international level – providing the rules, officials, coaching education, sports science and athlete development, youth programs, masters (age 40+) competition, and an annual meeting. It also organizes annual Outdoor Track and Field Championships and Indoor Track and Field Championships. Athletics Canada is a member of WA , IOC , IPC , EAA, NACAC, JDFL, CP-ISRA, CGF, ISBA, FISU and WADA . The sport governing body for track and field in Canada, which

4455-497: The monarch's family have been appointed to the Privy Council: Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII ), appointed by his father, King George V , on 2 August 1927; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , appointed by his wife, Queen Elizabeth II , on 14 October 1957; and Prince Charles (now King Charles III ), appointed by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 18 May 2014. On occasion, non-Canadians have been appointed to

4536-656: The national offices of each disability group. In 2009 Gordon Orlikow was named Chairman of the Board of Athletics Canada. He held the position until 2017, and led the Canadian delegation at the 2017 IAAF World Championships & Congress. Athletics Canada (119472975rr0001) was registered with the Canadian Revenue Agency as a Canadian amateur athletic association (RCAAA); therefore, they can issue official donation receipts and are eligible to receive gifts from registered charities since March 29, 1972. Currently there

4617-415: The new "agglomeration councils". The makeup of these councils was based on the population of the municipalities involved, with the mayors having the right to unilaterally appoint all of the individuals who would represent their cities on the council. The resulting structure was seen by many to be less democratic than the one which had preceded it, as demerged municipalities were denied an effective voice, and

4698-410: The points, Charest finished a distant second to winner Pierre Poilievre , who took 68 per cent of points on the first ballot. Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons . King%27s Privy Council for Canada The King's Privy Council for Canada ( French : Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada ), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply

4779-421: The post in April 1995. Charest, therefore, became the first person of francophone descent to lead the Progressive Conservative Party. Charest participated in the 1994 class of the World Economic Forum 's Global Leaders for Tomorrow program. During the 1995 referendum on Quebec's sovereignty , Charest was vice-president of the "No" campaign (Comité national des Québécoises et des Québécois pour le NON). In

4860-419: The proclamation of a new Canadian sovereign following a demise of the Crown or conferring on royal marriages—will be attended to by more senior officials in the Privy Council, such as the prime minister, the chief justice of Canada , and other senior statesmen; though all privy councillors are invited to such meetings in theory, in practice, the composition of the gathering is determined by the prime minister of

4941-474: The right for every person to live in a healthful environment in which biodiversity is preserved. In 2012, Charest was awarded the Fray International Sustainability Award for his work and advocacy towards sustainable development in politics. In the 2003 election, Charest had promised to allow the cities that had been forcibly merged by the Parti Québécois government to hold referendums which would allow to demerge and return to their previous situation. This promise

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5022-402: The royal couple with champagne . David Brown, an official in the Privy Council Office, told The Globe and Mail that, had the Privy Council rejected the Prince of Wales' engagement, none of his children would have been considered legitimate heirs to the Canadian throne , thus setting up a potential break in the unified link to the crown of each of the Commonwealth realms , in contradiction to

5103-453: The size of government. Charest's Liberals won 76 seats, forming a majority government, and won his own riding of Sherbrooke with a majority of 2,597 votes. Charest increased the Quebec sales tax (QST) thrice. In 2011, his government raised the rate from 7.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent before raising it to 9.5 per cent in 2012. The third and last hike came into effect in 2013, with the rate rising to 9.975 per cent. In October 2007, Quebec became

5184-505: The students unions, the PQ and Québec Solidaire of being too hard. On May 4, 2012, the Quebec Liberal Party held a party conference in Victoriaville and a student demonstration was suppressed by Sûreté du Québec police. On May 14, 2012, then Deputy Premier and Education minister , Line Beauchamp resigned and Michelle Courchesne was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Education . The government passed Bill 78 to impose restrictions on protests; this caused controversy, with

5265-490: The style the Honourable (French: L'honorable ) or, for the prime minister, chief justice, or certain other eminent individuals, the Right Honourable (French: Le très honorable ) and the post-nominal letters PC (in French: CP ). Prior to 1967, the style the Right Honourable was only employed in Canada by those appointed to the Imperial Privy Council in London , such persons usually being prime ministers, Supreme Court chief justices, certain senior members of

5346-427: The task of giving the sovereign and governor general advice (in the construct of constitutional monarchy and responsible government , this is typically binding ) on how to exercise the royal prerogative via orders-in-council rests with the Cabinet—a committee of the Privy Council made up of other ministers of the Crown who are drawn from, and responsible to, the House of Commons in the Parliament . This body

5427-401: The throne. To mark the occasion of her Ruby Jubilee , Queen Elizabeth II, on Canada Day , 1992, presided over the swearing in of new members of her Privy Council. The most recent formal meeting of the Privy Council was on 10 September 2022, for the proclamation of the accession of King Charles III . Athletics Canada Athletics Canada is involved in many aspects of the sport at

5508-410: The time, John Diefenbaker , found no legal impropriety in the idea and desired to create a physical illustration of Elizabeth's position of Queen of Canada being separate to that of Queen of the United Kingdom. A formal meeting of the Privy Council was held in 1981 to give formal consent to the marriage of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III ), to Lady Diana Spencer . According to

5589-499: The tuition fees in all Quebec universities. Three major student unions began to organise demonstrations in Montreal and in Quebec City . In March 2012, many CEGEPs and universities voted for a student strike. The government faced major challenges when students demonstrated and went on strike by boycotting classes to protest planned tuition increases. Every month large demonstrations took place in several cities across Quebec . The Premier and his government were accused by some, including

5670-438: The voting process. In some former municipalities, such as Saint Laurent on the Island of Montreal, the turnout of the vote was of 75.2 per cent in favour of a demerger, but it was invalidated because the voter turnout was just 28.6 per cent. The demerger process also resulted in the restructuring of the existing megacities , with both these and the demerged cities handing over massive powers over taxation and local services to

5751-489: The west of Montreal, meaning that the increase in support would not necessarily translate into seats. On February 21, 2007, Charest asked the Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the National Assembly and call an election on March 26, 2007. Charest conducted an extraordinary session the day before with Finance Minister Michel Audet delivering the 2007 budget. Prior to his call for an election, Charest revealed his platform which included income tax cuts of about $ 250 million. In

5832-621: Was a hung parliament, with the Parti Québécois of Pauline Marois being the party with the most seats (54). The Quebec Liberal Party became the official opposition with 50 seats. Charest lost his own seat of Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships , a seat that he had held since 1984, both in the federal and provincial legislatures. Charest announced on September 5 in Quebec City that he would resign as Quebec Liberal Party leader. Charest

5913-530: Was born on June 24, 1958, in Sherbrooke , in Quebec's Eastern Townships . His parents are Rita ( née  Leonard ), an Irish Quebecer , and Claude "Red" Charest, a French Canadian . He obtained a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1981. He is married to Michèle Dionne (since June 21, 1980), and they have three children, Amélie, Antoine, and Alexandra. Charest

5994-451: Was formerly a consultant for Huawei and helped support and advise Huawei for its participation for 5G network plans in Canada and to be a partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP . Charest also claims he helped with the Meng Wanzhou case. After turning 65 in June 2023, Charest reached the mandatory retirement age for equity partners at McCarthy Tétrault. While the law firm offered to keep him on

6075-485: Was involved in the proposal of the Meech Lake Accord (which failed to be ratified in June 1990) which would have given the province of Quebec the status of a " distinct society ", extend provincial powers, and extensively change the constitution. In 1990, he led a commission that recommended a companion accord that would address the concerns of other provinces, assert that the distinct society clause would be subject to

6156-461: Was later expelled from the Privy Council by the Governor General on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper ). The use of Privy Council appointments as purely an honour was not employed again until 6 February 2006, when Harper advised the Governor General to appoint former member of Parliament John Reynolds , along with the new Cabinet . Harper, on 15 October 2007, also advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to appoint Jim Abbott . Members of

6237-521: Was met with criticism from students' associations, and a more-radical student association, the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (formerly known as the CASSEE) had also considered a strike. Charest won a minority government in the election, and held onto his own seat. On election night, early numbers had shown Charest losing his seat of Sherbrooke to his PQ opponent; however, this situation

6318-413: Was reversed once it became apparent that the advanced poll ballot boxes which heavily favoured Charest had not yet been counted. The resulting minority government was the first since 1878 when Charles Boucher de Boucherville was Premier. In November 2008, arguing that Quebecers needed a majority government during difficult economic times, Charest called a snap election for December 8. His party captured

6399-474: Was running prodigy Megan Brown, who was in high school and later a student-athlete at the university at the time of the abuse. The University of Guelph fired Scott-Thomas as its track and field head coach in December 2019. Athletics Canada issued a statement regarding the story on the day it was published. The Athletics Canada Athlete Council, a group of elected athletes which represent athletes who compete in

6480-549: Was seen as key to his victory in many ridings, such as those in the suburbs around Longueuil and Quebec City and the continued support of the Anglophone community in the West Island of Montreal . In office, however, Charest retreated from his promise. Municipalities were allowed to hold demerger referendums if at least 10 per cent of the electorate signed a petition calling for them, and only if more than 35 per cent participated in

6561-543: Was widely expected to address this issue through increased equalization payments , while falling short of Quebec's overall demands. In May 2011, Charest's government launched the Plan Nord , an economic development strategy to develop the natural resources extraction sector in the part of Quebec to the north of the 49th parallel. The plan, to be carried out over 25 years, would foster over C$ 80 billion in energy, mining, and forestry investments and create or consolidate 20,000 jobs

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