Richard Martineau (born July 23, 1961) is a French-Canadian[1] commentator. He is a columnist for Le Journal de Montréal newspaper. His columns also appear in the Infopresse and Elle Québec magazines. He also hosts Franchement Martineau, a public affairs programme which airs on Le Canal Nouvelles.
Since 1998, he has co-hosted Télé-Québec's Les Francs-tireurs, first with Benoit Dutrizac and Laurent Saulnier, and since 2006 with La Presse journalist Patrick Lagacé.
Richard Martineau became known for his column "Ondes de choc" (English: shockwave), which appeared in the Montreal weekly newspaper Voir until 2006. Martineau has also participated in evening debates on Télévision Quatre-Saisons, and was the moderator of those debates between May and September 2006. He hosted a radio programme until 2007. Radio Canada has described his work as "established him as a leftist chronicler, then he forged deep to the right and to a posture more and more pamphleteering working within the Quebecor empire".[2]
In February, 2020, Martineau falsely accused McGill Professor Daniel Weinstock of supporting female genital mutilation.[3] Weinstock was subsequently disinvited by Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge from speaking at a conference on the Province's ethics and religious culture program. On February 21, Martineau published a non-apology, correcting his error.[4] Roberge apologized publicly to Weinstock on February 23[5]
Martineau was born in Verdun[6] on July 23, 1961, to a French mother (born 1940) and an American father (born 1934). He lives in Outremont[7] with his partner Sophie Durocher and their son.[8] He previously lived with fellow journalist Nathalie Collard, with whom he has two daughters.[9]