Suzanne Tremblay Explained

Suzanne Tremblay
Office:Opposition House Leader
Term Start:March 17, 1997
Term End:April 25, 1997
Leader:Gilles Duceppe
Predecessor:Gilles Duceppe
Successor:Randy White
Office1:Member of the Canadian Parliament for Rimouski-Neigette-et-La Mitis

Term Start1:October 25, 1993
Term End1:June 28, 2004
Predecessor1:Monique Vézina
Successor1:Riding dissolved
Party:Bloc Québécois
Birth Date:24 January 1937
Birth Place:Montreal, Quebec
Death Place:Rimouski, Quebec
Residence:Le Bic, Quebec

Suzanne Tremblay (in French pronounced as /syzan tʁɑ̃blɛ/; January 24, 1937 – September 26, 2020) was a Canadian politician from Quebec who served as a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2004.

Early life

Born in Montreal, Tremblay received a Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship to attend Tufts University in the United States, where she earned a Master's degree in pre-school education. She then completed a certificate in educational studies at the Université de Lyon and a certificate in child care studies at the University of London.

Political career

Tremblay was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1993 federal election for the riding of Rimouski—Témiscouata. She was re-elected in the 1997 election for the riding of Rimouski-Mitis and in the 2000 election for Rimouski-Neigette-et-La Mitis. She announced her intention not to run again in the 2004 federal election.

She was occasionally a controversial figure, once pointing out that Quebec Premier Jean Charest's first name was really "John" in an attempt to discredit him as a representative of the true Quebec;[1] the Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe distanced himself from this comment. Tremblay also made similar comments attacking Radio-Canada journalist Joyce Napier for not having a francophone name,[2] and pop singer Céline Dion for purportedly turning her back on her Québécoise identity in her pursuit of pop stardom.[3]

Following Tremblay's announcement of her retirement from the House of Commons, Louise Thibault, a municipal councillor in Le Bic, became the Bloc Québécois candidate in the new riding of Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, and won the 2004 election. Tremblay ran in the resulting by-election to fill Thibault's municipal council seat, running primarily on a campaign of opposing the then-proposed amalgamation of Le Bic with Rimouski.[4] She lost narrowly to Pierre Garon, a local farmer and trucker who had not previously been active in politics.

Death

Tremblay died on September 26, 2020, from cancer.[5] [6]

Notes and References

  1. "Name-calling reaches a new low". Financial Post, May 28, 1997, pg. 14.
  2. "Non-Quebecois accent sounds ignorant to MP". Vancouver Sun, October 18, 1995.
  3. "Does Céline like poutine?" The Globe and Mail, April 13, 1999.
  4. http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/nouvelles/200410/24/004-suzanne-tremblay-elex-bic.shtml "Défaite surprise pour Suzanne Tremblay"
  5. Web site: Colleagues recall spirit of former Bloc Quebecois MP Suzanne Tremblay, dead at 83. 26 September 2020.
  6. Web site: L'Ancienne députée bloquiste Suzanne Tremblay s'éteint.