Adrien D. Pouliot (born February 27, 1957, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec) is a Quebec lawyer, businessman and politician.

Adrien D. Pouliot
Pouliot in 2013.
Leader of Conservative Party of Quebec
In office
February 23, 2013 – April 17, 2021
Preceded byLuc Harvey
Succeeded byÉric Duhaime
Personal details
Born (1957-02-27) February 27, 1957 (age 67)
Sainte-Foy, Quebec
CitizenshipCanadian
Political partyConservative Party of Quebec
Parent
RelativesAdrien Pouliot (grandfather)
Residence(s)Mont-Royal, Québec
EducationUniversité de Sherbrooke

He is the son of Jean Pouliot, a pioneer of Canadian broadcasting, and the grandson of the mathematician and Université Laval Dean of Science Adrien Pouliot.

He served as the Leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec from 2013 to 2021. Under his leadership, the party gained notoriety and was positioned on the right of the Quebec political spectrum.

Early life and education

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Adrien Denys Pouliot was raised in Sainte-Foy (Québec), where his family moved when he was 3 months old.

Educated at the Petit Séminaire de Québec, Pouliot studied law and received the Bar Award from the Université de Sherbrooke in 1978.[1] He successfully completed the Bar of Quebec exam in 1979 at Quebec City and was entered on the Roll of the Order the same year.[1]

Early career

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  • From 1980 to 1984, he practised corporate and commercial law, in particular the law relating to companies mergers and acquisitions as well as to public–private partnerships, within the firm Ogilvy Renault, Montreal.
  • In 1984, he joined CFCF, the family business broadcasting and cable television firm, as the Assistant to the President. In 1986, the company was listed and secured a licence to open Télévision Quatre Saisons. In 1987, he became President of CFCF-12 station and then President of CFCF Inc. in 1991.[2] Under his direction, the company evolved to become the fourth largest cable distributor in Canada with more than 425,000 subscribers and nearly 1,200 employees before being sold to Vidéotron in 1996 for $687 million. He remained at the helm until the transition of the company was complete in 1997.
  • In October 1999, he acquired 75% of Entourage Solutions technologiques, a technical services company specializing in the installation and maintenance of telecommunication and computer networks and equipment. During the six years he was the majority shareholder, the company doubled its revenues and its profitability increased by a factor of 20. In 2005, Bell Canada repurchased its shares in the company.[3]
  • In 2005, he became co-owner and the first Chairman of the First National AlarmCap Income Trust,[4] a Toronto-listed company that would become the third largest residential and commercial security company in Canada in 2014.
  • He currently owns the investment firm Capital Draco Inc..[5]

Pouliot has been a board member of the Montreal Children's Hospital, as well as the Montreal Heart Institute Research Foundation.[citation needed] For nearly 10 years, he served as a governor of McGill University. He also contributed to this institution as the Chair of the Audit Committee, a member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Pension Administration Committee, and a member of the endowment fund. He is now a Governor Emeritus of this institution.[6] He has been a member of the Ville-Marie Economic Development Corporation, a government agency promoting Montreal's economic development.[citation needed] He was also Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Montreal.[citation needed] He has supported the training and education of young business people by actively participating in the Young Presidents' Organization and its sister organization, World Presidents' Organization, which combined bring together nearly 25,000 business executives in 130 countries,[7] and by serving on its International Board of Directors and its Audit Committee.

Political and social career

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In 1999, Pouliot participated in the launch of the Montreal Economic Institute. He was chairman for 8 years and was a member of the Board of Directors for 12 years.[8] He was President of the Ligue des contribuables, an organization founded in 2006 that is designed to inform taxpayers about how their tax dollars are spent by governments.[9] Pouliet also appears as a regular columnist on the Jeff Fillion show at the radio station CHOI Radio X.

Action démocratique du Québec

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In 2011, the Action démocratique du Québec recruited him as Vice-Chair of the Policy Commission.[10]

During the campaign for the merger of the ADQ in the Coalition Avenir Québec, Adrien Pouliot spoke out against the merger publicly and participated in a tour of Quebec in order to convince the members of the ADQ to reject the merger with the president of the political commission of the ADQ, Claude Garcia.[11]

Disappointed with the merger, Adrien Pouliot did not join the Coalition Avenir Québec and declared himself publicly as "political orphan".[12]

2013 Conservative Party of Quebec leadership election

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Following the Quebec general election of 2012, where the party obtained 0.18% of the votes cast, Luc Harvey resigned as leader[13] and a leadership race was organized.

After the merger of the Action démocratique du Québec in the Coalition Avenir Québec, after several months of reflection, and after considering running for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party in the purpose of pushing this party to the right on economic issues, Pouliot decided in January 2013 to run for the Conservative Party of Quebec.[14]

After the withdrawal of the candidacy of the other candidate, Daniel Brisson,[15] February 23, 2013, at the General Council of the party, Pouliot was sworn in as leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec.[16][17]

Redesign of the party platform

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At the October 2013 National Congress, members adopted a new official platform for the party[18] under the verbatim of the "Ideological Compass":[19][20]

Resignation as CPQ Leader

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On October 16, 2020, Pouliot announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party to focus on his business ventures.[21][22] He was succeeded by radio columnist Éric Duhaime.[23]

Electoral record

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2018 Quebec general election: Chauveau
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Coalition Avenir Québec Sylvain Lévesque 18,424 47.06 +13.37
Liberal Véronyque Tremblay 8,797 22.47 -18.9
Québec solidaire Francis Lajoie 4,052 10.35 +6.95
Parti Québécois Jonathan Gagnon 3,603 9.2 -6.22
Conservative Adrien D. Pouliot 3,371 8.61 +3.69
Green Sabir Isufi 613 1.57
New Democratic Mona Belleau 286 0.73
Total valid votes 39,146 98.03
Total rejected ballots 787 1.97
Turnout 39,933 70.8 +27.51
Electors on the lists 56,405
Quebec provincial by-election, June 8, 2015: Chauveau
Resignation of Gérard Deltell
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Véronyque Tremblay 10,330 41.32 +11.48
Coalition Avenir Québec Jocelyne Cazin 8,392 33.57 -18.73
Parti Québécois Sébastien Couture 3,844 15.38 +3.20
Conservative Adrien D. Pouliot 1,239 4.96 +3.91
Québec solidaire Marjolaine Bouchard 863 3.45 -0.51
Parti des sans Parti Frank Malenfant 171 0.68
Option nationale Stéphanie Grimard 125 0.50 -0.17
Équipe Autonomiste Manuel Mathieu 34 0.14
Total valid votes 24,998 99.13
Total rejected ballots 219 0.87
Turnout 25,217 43.11
Electors on the lists 58,501
Liberal gain from Coalition Avenir Québec Swing +15.11
Quebec provincial by-election, October 20, 2014: Lévis
Resignation of Christian Dubé
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Coalition Avenir Québec François Paradis 10,110 46.79 +6.30
Liberal Janet Jones 7,014 32.46 -2.46
Parti Québécois Alexandre Bégin 1,788 8.28 -8.34
Québec solidaire Yv Bonnier Viger 1,654 7.66 +1.50
Conservative Adrien D. Pouliot 503 2.33 +1.54
Green Alex Tyrrell 238 1.10
Option nationale François Thériault 168 0.78 +0.06
Independent Maxime Lapointe 60 0.28
Unité Nationale Daniel Lachance 30 0.14 -0.17
Parti indépendantiste Grégoire Bonneau-Fortier 27 0.12
Équipe Autonomiste Guy Boivin 13 0.06
Total valid votes 21,605 99.24
Total rejected ballots 165 0.76
Turnout 21,770 46.31 -29.12
Electors on the lists 47,006
Coalition Avenir Québec hold Swing +4.38
2014 Quebec general election: Montmorency
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Raymond Bernier 17,113 40.42
Coalition Avenir Québec Michelyne St-Laurent 14,323 33.83
Parti Québécois Michel Guimond 7,242 17.11
Québec solidaire Jean-Pierre Duchesneau 1,981 4.68
Conservative Adrien D. Pouliot 1,015 2.40
Green Marielle Parent 407 0.96
Option nationale Jean Bouchard 255 1.51
Total valid votes 42,336 98.89
Total rejected ballots 476 1.11
Turnout 42,812 77.00
Electors on the lists 55,950

Publications

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  • Des idées pour débloquer le Québec, Éditions Accent grave, 223 p. (ISBN 9782924151150).[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Yearbook of the Université de Sherbrooke 1979-1980, page 24" (PDF). Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. ^ "History of Canadian Broadcasting, CFCF-DT". Archived from the original on 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  3. ^ "Bell entend récupérer ses techniciens | Le Devoir". 23 February 2005.
  4. ^ "Home Page - AlarmCap.ca". Archived from the original on 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  5. ^ "CAPITAL DRACO INC".
  6. ^ "Governors Emeriti | Board of Governors - McGill University".
  7. ^ "YPO | Who Is YPO? | The Global Leadership Community of Extraordinary CEOs".
  8. ^ "Adrien D. Pouliot – IEDM/MEI".
  9. ^ "Qui nous sommes | Ligue des contribuables". Archived from the original on 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  10. ^ "Adrien Pouliot recruté par l'ADQ | LesAffaires.com".
  11. ^ Lessard, Denis (15 November 2011). "Fusion avec la CAQ: l'ADQ divisée | La Presse". La Presse.
  12. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  13. ^ "Le Parti conservateur du Québec n'a plus de chef | Ian Bussières | Politique". Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  14. ^ "Adrien Pouliot souhaite diriger le Parti conservateur du Québec | La Presse". La Presse. 14 January 2013.
  15. ^ "Parti Conservateur du Québec | Retrait de la candidature de M. Daniel Brisson". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  16. ^ "Adrien Pouliot devient chef du Parti conservateur du Québec | TVA Nouvelles".
  17. ^ "Adrien Pouliot devient chef: premier congrès à Trois-Rivières | JDM".
  18. ^ "Les conservateurs québécois mobilisés à Québec | Radio-Canada.ca".
  19. ^ "Congrès du Parti conservateur du Québec" (PDF). Parti conservateur du Québec (in French). October 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Adrien Pouliot! | By Parti conservateur du Québec". Facebook. Retrieved 7 April 2023. [user-generated source]
  21. ^ "Adrien Pouliot quitte la chefferie du Parti conservateur du Québec" (in Canadian French). October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  22. ^ "En route pour 2022!" (in Canadian French). October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Columnist, radio host Eric Duhaime elected leader of Conservative Party of Quebec". April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  24. ^ "Des idées pour débloquer le Québec | Distribution Prologue".