See also: Andre Bachand

André Bachand (born the December 8th 1961 with Quebec) is a Canadian Politician , which represented the district of Richmond-Arthabaska under the banner of the Parti progressist-conservative Canada of 1997 with 2003.

When Party PC amalgamates with the Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative party of Canada in December 2003, Bachand leaves the party and sits as " progressist-conservative indépendant" until the elections of 2004; it takes then its retirement of the House of Commons.

Bachand was administrator and tallies in businesses. He was mayor of Asbestos (Quebec) of 1986 with 1997.

Young Turkish

Bachand is initially elected Député progressist-conservative in 1997, one among five deputies elected progressist-conservatives this year in Quebec in the vagueness of the deputy of Sherbrooke, Jean Charest. Bachand belongs to a handle new " young people turcs" (with Scott Brison, John Herron and Peter MacKay) which is regarded as future candidates possible with the leadership who would badly bring back the tories in point to their glory of antan. In 1998, Jean Charest resigns of his post of head progressist-conservative to make the jump in Québécois provincial policy, becoming chief of the Liberal party of Quebec (without affiliation with the Liberal party of Canada). Bachand is among those which in vain try to convince Charest to remain in federal policy for at least another election. Joe Clark succeeds Charest the direction of the Party progressist-conservative and Bachand supports the candidature of Clark.

Difficult times

The Québécois wing of the parliamentary caucus of the Party federal progressist-conservative fought with several questions of policy interns at the end of the Années 1990 after the departure of Charest, including the policies of bilingualism of the party and the autonomy of the provinces opposite the federal capacities. Shortly after the election of Joe Clark at the post of head of the federal party tory, the federal government promulgates the Loi on clearness chief clerk. The Law on clearness is a law sponsored by the Liberal party of Canada and inspired by a private bill of the deputy reformist Stephen Harper on the methods of a possible secession of Quebec. The Law on clearness enumerates in detail how the province of Quebec could separate and under which conditions a secession would be considered legal. Clark chooses to support the deputies of sound Québécois caucus and affirms that it is against the Law on clearness, while fifteen other anglophone deputies in the caucus parliamentary progressist-conservative vote in favor of the bill, in spite of the position of Clark.

Québécois lieutenant

In 1999, Bachand had become the Québécois lieutenant of the progressist-conservatives, attending the sides of Clark to the majority of the events of the party in the province and acting as spokesperson of the party on the files relating to Quebec. Bachand is also the guarantor as a chief with the multiple defections of the Québécois leaders of the party tory, the deputies and senators towards the liberal and the alliancists during this period. In September 2000, three deputies Québécois progressist-conservatives, fearing for their prospects for re-election under the leadership of Clark, make defection little before the federal election to sit as liberal deputies, making of Bachand the only deputy remaining progressist-conservative in Quebec. He is subsequently re-elected with the elections of 2000, just as the three deputies who had made defection. Tories emergent of the elections having preserved their statute of official party.

Assistant chief

In January 2003, Bachand announces its candidature for the direction of the Party progressist-conservative. However, one month before the congress of May, Bachand withdraws race, mentioning problems of financing. According to certain estimates, the fallen through candidature of Bachand personally cost him, with him and its family, beyond 600.000 $. When it realizes that it was assured only the support of approximately a hundred delegates, the majority of Quebec, it announce its withdrawal. Once out of the race, Bachand is joined the deputy Nova Scotian Peter MacKay. Certain political analysts suggested that in exchange of the support of Bachand, MacKay had agreed to assume its debts of countryside. After the victory of MacKay, Bachand briefly serves as assistant Chef of the Party progressist-conservative until December 2003. Before being appointed associated chief, Bachand is used as assistant Leader of the Party progressist-conservative for the House of Commons, like criticism of the intergovernmental Businesses, Industry, the Scientific research and the Development, as well as the portefueilles of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Independent deputy

When the party amalgamates with Canadian Alliance at the end of 2003, Bachand announces that it is withdrawn from the policy. Bachand does not sit with new the caucus of the Conservative party of Canada, and becomes a deputy independent until the elections of June 2004. During these elections, Bachand expresses its support with the liberal candidate in Richmond-Arthabaska against the candidates conservative and bloquist. The district is finally gained by the Québécois Bloc in their electoral sweeping of the province.

The departure of Bachand of the policy was deplored by several Québécois tories. In a article published in Maclean' S on the congress founder of the Conservative party of Canada in March 2005, the senator Pierre Claude Nolin opine that if Bachand were remained elected and had taken part in the new party, it would have probably replaced Peter MacKay at the associated post of head, and would have been useful as a Québécois lieutenant of the new Conservative party, in an effort Stephen Harper to allure the Québécois voters. With the elections of 2006, the new Conservative party gains 10 seats in Quebec, and some think that Bachand missed its chance to be Deputy Prime Minister.

External bond

• federal political Experiment