Pierre-Luc Dusseault
Pierre-Luc Dusseault (born May 31, 1991) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 federal election at the age of 19, becoming the youngest Member of Parliament in the country's history.[2] He was sworn into office two days after his 20th birthday. He was re-elected in 2015 but lost his seat in the 2019 Canadian federal election.
Pierre-Luc Dusseault | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Sherbrooke | |
| In office May 2, 2011 – September 11, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Serge Cardin |
| Succeeded by | Élisabeth Brière |
| Chairman of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics | |
| In office April 24, 2012 – August 2, 2015 | |
| Minister | Peter Penashue Denis Lebel |
| Preceded by | Jean Crowder |
| Succeeded by | Blaine Calkins |
| Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations & Estimates | |
| In office October 24, 2013 – February 4, 2015 | |
| Minister | Diane Finley |
| Preceded by | Pat Martin |
| Succeeded by | Pat Martin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 31, 1991 Granby, Quebec |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Joanie Boulet (m. 2013) |
| Residence | Sherbrooke, Quebec |
| Profession | Student |
Early life and education
Born in Granby, Quebec, and educated in Magog, Dusseault is the son of a daycare administrator and a customer service manager.[2] He received a DEC diploma in social studies from Cégep de Sherbrooke.[3][4]
Dusseault was a first-year student studying applied politics at the Université de Sherbrooke at the time of his election as an MP. He was the co-founder and president of the university's student NDP club, having joined the NDP in 2009. He has told the press he would like to finish the degree once his political career is over.[2]
2011 election
As a New Democratic Party candidate in the riding of Sherbrooke, Dusseault defeated the incumbent Bloc Québécois MP Serge Cardin (four decades Dusseault's elder), and was elected at the age of 19 years, 336 days, making him the youngest Canadian ever to be elected to the House of Commons, surpassing former Liberal Party MP Claude-André Lachance, who was aged 20 years, 94 days when elected in 1974.[2] Dusseault turned 20 two days before the 41st Parliament was sworn in.
He was elected in the same election as five McGill University students, fellow NDP MPs Charmaine Borg, Matthew Dubé, Mylène Freeman, Laurin Liu, and Jamie Nicholls, following the NDP's unexpected mid-campaign surge in Quebec.[5]
Dusseault voted for the first time in this election and had originally planned to work a summer job at a golf course but served in Parliament instead.[2] In parliament, he served as the chair of the access to information, privacy and ethics committee.[6]
2015 election
Dusseault retained his seat at the 2015 general election, one of 17 NDP candidates elected in Quebec. He remained the youngest MP at the start of the 42nd Parliament.[7]
Quebec sovereignty
Three days after the 2011 election, Toronto radio host John Oakley conducted an interview with Dusseault, who drew himself into the debate on the Quebec sovereignty movement by stating, "Sovereignty will be done in Quebec. And Quebecers will decide if they want to be a country." He later clarified his remarks, saying that he was a federalist who respects sovereignty.[8][9]
Personal
Dusseault, a francophone, stated that he would like to improve his English language skills while in Parliament.[8]
Electoral record
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Pierre-Luc Dusseault | 21,374 | 37.33 | -5.64 | – | |||
| Liberal | Tom Allen | 17,071 | 29.81 | +20.32 | – | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Caroline Bouchard | 11,713 | 20.46 | -15.51 | – | |||
| Conservative | Marc Dauphin | 5,391 | 9.42 | +0.06 | – | |||
| Green | Sophie Malouin | 1,143 | 1.20 | -0.51 | – | |||
| Independent | Benoit Huberdeau | 303 | 0.53 | – | – | |||
| Rhinoceros | Hubert Richard | 262 | 0.46 | +0.03 | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 57,257 | 100.0 | $226,355.78 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | – | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | – | – | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 86,809 | |||||||
| New Democratic hold | Swing | -12.98 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[10][11] | ||||||||
| 2011 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Pierre-Luc Dusseault | 22,344 | 42.97 | +29.9 | ||||
| Bloc Québécois | Serge Cardin | 18,703 | 35.97 | −14.1 | ||||
| Liberal | Éric Deslauriers-Joannette | 4,953 | 9.49 | −10.0 | ||||
| Conservative | Pierre Harvey | 4,865 | 9.36 | −5.0 | ||||
| Green | Jacques Laberge | 890 | 1.71 | N/A | ||||
| Rhinoceros | Crédible Berlingot Landry | 224 | 0.43 | −0.5 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 51.999 | 100.0% | ||||||
| New Democratic gain from Bloc Québécois | Swing | +22.0 | ||||||
See also
- Baby of the House, an unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house
- Mhairi Black, the youngest British member of parliament since the Great Reform Act of 1832
- Alengot Oromait, Africa's youngest ever member of parliament
- Wyatt Roy, the youngest ever Australian member of parliament
References
- Sarazin-Côté, Josée-Anne (28 July 2013). "Le député Pierre-Luc Dusseault se marie". La Tribune. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- Sidhartha Banerjee (May 3, 2011). "19-year-old sets record as youngest MP; NDPer planned summer job at golf course". The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011.
- "About Pierre-Luc". New Democratic Party. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- "NDP BIOS: Students and a political giant-killer". The Gazette. May 7, 2011.
- Scott, Marian (May 4, 2011). "Five McGill students elected as NDP MPs". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011.
- Cohen, Tobi (23 December 2013). "22-year-old MP scores $11K salary bump after getting married". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on 31 January 2014.
- Tasker, John Paul (22 October 2015). "Meet the Class of 2015". CBC News. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- Montpetit, Jonathan (May 5, 2011). "NDP's separatism conundrum: developing policy for new MPs who say, 'Oui'". The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on May 9, 2011.
- "New wave could shift national dialogue". Telegraph-Journal. May 7, 2011. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012.
- Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Sherbrooke, 30 September 2015
- "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on 2015-08-15. Retrieved 2018-11-14.