Madeleine Bélanger
Madeleine Bélanger (née Audet, born April 7, 1932) is a Quebec politician, she previously served as the member for Mégantic-Compton in the Quebec National Assembly as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1983 until 2003. Following the death of her second husband Fabien Bélanger on October 2, 1983, she was elected as his replacement on December 5, 1983 and took her oath of office shortly thereafter. Her daughter Johanne Gonthier,[1] also served Mégantic-Compton as a Liberal Member of the National Assembly of Quebec. Her nephew Gérard Gosselin served as a Parti Québécois member for Sherbrooke.[2]
Madeleine Bélanger | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Mégantic-Compton | |
| In office December 5, 1983 – April 14, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Fabien Bélanger |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Bouchard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 7, 1932 Saint-Sébastien, Quebec |
| Political party | Quebec Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Jules Gonthier Fabien Bélanger (1973-1983) |
| Children | Johanne Gonthier |
| Profession | Educator |
Biography
Bélanger was born in Saint-Sébastien, the daughter of a farmer. She was an elementary school teacher at Saint-Samuel-Station for three years. She owned two hairdressing salons and was also and administrator and manager of a home electrical installation company for three years, then a director of two residential development companies.
Political career
Bélanger's husband Fabien Bélanger[3] died suddenly on October 2, 1983. She secured the Liberal nomination for Mégantic-Compton and won the ensuing by-election and was re-elected in 1985, 1989, 1994 and 1998, never once facing a serious challenge and winning by at least ten percent each time, except for her last run for office. Bélanger served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs during the very brief government of Daniel Johnson Jr. and later became Chair of the Committee on Planning and the Public Domain as well as the Chairperson of the Committee on Education during her time in office.
Electoral record
Provincial
| 1998 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Madeleine Bélanger | 12,675 | 50.49 | -3.46 | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Suzanne Durivage | 10,339 | 41.18 | -1.18 | ||||
| Action démocratique | Olivier Chalifoux | 1,835 | 7.31 | – | ||||
| Socialist Democracy | Yves Couturier | 174 | 0.69 | – | ||||
| Equality | Frank Moller | 81 | 0.32 | -1.50 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 25,104 | 99.01 | ||||||
| Rejected and declined votes | 250 | 0.99 | -1.07 | |||||
| Turnout | 25,354 | 79.89 | -1.14 | |||||
| Electors on the lists | 31,736 | |||||||
| Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec | ||||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -2.32 | ||||||
| 1994 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Madeleine Bélanger | 12,799 | 53.95 | -6.44 | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Jacques Blais | 10,051 | 42.36 | +12.44 | ||||
| Natural Law | Christian Simard | 444 | 1.87 | – | ||||
| Equality | Matthew Begbie | 432 | 1.82 | -3.16 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 23,725 | 97.94 | ||||||
| Rejected and declined votes | 500 | 2.06 | +0.55 | |||||
| Turnout | 24,225 | 81.03 | +4.32 | |||||
| Electors on the lists | 29,896 | |||||||
| Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec | ||||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -9.44 | ||||||
| 1989 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Madeleine Bélanger | 12,608 | 60.39 | +0.91 | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Léon Ducharme | 6,246 | 29.92 | -7.43 | ||||
| Equality | Frank Moller | 1,039 | 4.98 | – | ||||
| Green | Pierre Gilbert | 740 | 3.54 | – | ||||
| Parti 51 | Edmond Trudeau | 245 | 1.17 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 20,878 | 98.49 | ||||||
| Rejected and declined votes | 320 | 1.51 | +0.41 | |||||
| Turnout | 21,198 | 76.71 | -0.68 | |||||
| Electors on the lists | 27,634 | |||||||
| Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec | ||||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +4.17 | ||||||
| 1985 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Madeleine Bélanger | 12,865 | 59.48 | -8.12 | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Maurice Bernier | 8,708 | 37.35 | +6.87 | ||||
| New Democratic | Joseph Lemoine | 594 | 2.75 | – | ||||
| Christian Socialist | Steeve Stratford | 91 | 0.42 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 21,628 | 98.90 | ||||||
| Rejected and declined votes | 241 | 1.10 | +0.15 | |||||
| Turnout | 21,869 | 77.39 | +4.96 | |||||
| Electors on the lists | 28,257 | |||||||
| Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec | ||||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -7.50 | ||||||
| Quebec provincial by-election, December 5, 1983: Mégantic-Compton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Madeleine Bélanger | 13,711 | 67.60 | +15.87 | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Noël Landry | 6,182 | 30.48 | -11.04 | ||||
| Independent | Jean-Luc Perron | 233 | 1.15 | – | ||||
| No Affiliation | Patricia Métivier | 156 | 0.77 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 20,282 | 99.05 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 194 | 0.95 | +0.23 | |||||
| Turnout | 20,476 | 72.43 | -9.61 | |||||
| Electors on the lists | 28,270 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +13.50 | ||||||
| By-election due to the death of Fabien Bélanger | ||||||||
Source(s)
"December 5, 1983 By-election". Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec. December 5, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2017. | ||||||||
References
Authority control  |
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