André Ouellet

André Ouellet, PC QC (born April 6, 1939) is a former chairman of Canada Post, and a longtime Liberal politician in Canada.

First elected to the Canadian House of Commons in a 1967 by-election, Ouellet served in a number of different positions in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien. In his capacity as Registrar General of Canada, he was one of the four signatories of the Proclamation of the Constitution Act of 1982 (along with Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Trudeau, and Justice Minister Jean Chrétien). Ouellet represented the safe Liberal seat of Papineau in Montreal for almost thirty years. His hold on the seat was only seriously threatened when the Liberals were crushed by the Progressive Conservative Party in the election of 1984, when he retained his seat by only 500 votes. In opposition, Ouellet became the Liberal's leading figure in the constitutional negotiations that led to the Charlottetown Accord, and was a strong advocate for the constitutional reform proposal, which was rejected in a 1992 referendum.

With the return to power of the Liberals after the 1993 election, Ouellet was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by the new prime minister, Jean Chrétien. Despite his experience, Ouellet was not popular in Quebec, and the lasting legacy of the Charlottetown Accord hurt him. After the close result of the 1995 Quebec referendum, Chrétien wanted to present a new face of his government in Quebec. In 1996, Chrétien appointed Ouellet to head the Canada Post Corporation. Ouellet's seat in the Canadian House of Commons was taken by Pierre Pettigrew in a by-election later that year.

As cabinet minister, Ouellet had served as Postmaster General. As chairman of Canada Post, he implemented reform that led to record profits in the corporation. In 2004, controversy surrounded Ouellet as Canada Post was one of the organizations embroiled in the Sponsorship Scandal. As a result, Ouellet was suspended from his position at Canada Post in February 2004 by Prime Minister Paul Martin. He resigned as chairman of Canada Post on August 12, 2004, after it was revealed that he failed to provide invoices for hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal expenses, and that he handed out untendered contracts.

External links

26th Ministry – Cabinet of Jean Chrétien
Cabinet Posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
legislation enacted Minister of Foreign Affairs
1995–1996		 Lloyd Axworthy
Perrin Beatty Secretary of State for External Affairs
1993–1995
styled as Minister of Foreign Affairs		 legislation enacted
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by
Guy Favreau		 Member of Parliament for Papineau
1967–1988 		Succeeded by
The electoral district was abolished in 1987.
Preceded by
The electoral district was created in 1987.		 Member of Parliament for Papineau—Saint-Michel
1988–1996 		Succeeded by
Pierre Pettigrew

Electoral record (partial)

Canadian federal election, 1993: Papineau—Saint-Michel
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalAndré Ouellet 20,064 51.98 +5.99 $41,411
  Bloc Québécois Daniel Boucher 15,148 39.24 $18,649
  Progressive Conservative Carmen de Pontbriand 1,686 4.37 −28.86 $26,388a
  New Democratic Party Gisèle Charlebois 708 1.83 −13.27 $477
  Natural Law André Beaudoin 678 1.76 $386
  Marxist-Leninist Serge Lachapelle 141 0.37 −0.12 $80
  Abolitionist P.A. D'Aoust 98 0.25 $0
  Commonwealth Normand Normandeau 78 0.20 −0.24 $0
Total valid votes 38,601 100.00
Total rejected ballots 1,241
Turnout 39,842 75.45 +5.31
Electors on the lists 52,808
a Does not include unpaid claims.

Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from the official contributions and expenses submitted by the candidates, provided by Elections Canada.
Canadian federal election, 1988: Papineau
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalAndré Ouellet 18,122 45.99 – $43,413
     Progressive Conservative Frank Venneri 13,094 33.23 $39,468
New DemocraticGiovanni Adamo 5,948 15.10 $22,192
RhinocerosCarole Ola Clermont 987 2.51 – $0
GreenH. Joseph Vega 469 1.19 – $0
CommunistLine Chabot 235 0.60 $18
     N/A (Marxist-Leninist) Francine Tremblay 193 0.49 $130
     N/A (Revolutionary Workers League) Michel Dugré 178 0.45 $513
Commonwealth of CanadaNormand Bélanger 174 0.44 $0
Total valid votes 39,400 100.00
Total rejected ballots 907
Turnout 40,307 70.14
Electors on the lists 57,470
Source: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Thirty-fourth General Election, 1988.
Canadian federal election, 1984: Papineau
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalAndré Ouellet 12,754 38.99
     Progressive Conservative Tony Iacobaccio 12,053 36.85
New DemocraticPaul Comtois 4,295 13.13
RhinocerosChristian Jolicoeur 1,925 5.89
Parti nationalisteGilles Maillé 1,169 3.57
CommunistSuzanne Dagenais 147 0.45
Social CreditRoland Mireault 147 0.45
Commonwealth of CanadaGilles Gervais 113 0.35
     Non-affiliated Doris Lacroix 104 0.32
Total valid votes 32,707 100.00
Total rejected ballots 659
Turnout 33,366 70.36
Electors on the lists 47,423
Source: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Thirty-third General Election, 1984.
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