François-Philippe Champagne PC MP (born June 25, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has been Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry since 2021. He was formerly the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He was elected to represent the riding of Saint-Maurice—Champlain in the House of Commons in the 2015 election for the Liberal Party.[3][4] He became Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry on January 12, 2021, after a cabinet reshuffle.[1]
François-Philippe Champagne | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Champagne in 2017 | |
| Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Registrar General of Canada | |
| Assumed office January 12, 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Navdeep Bains |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office November 20, 2019 – January 12, 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Chrystia Freeland |
| Succeeded by | Marc Garneau[1] |
| Minister of Infrastructure and Communities | |
| In office July 18, 2018 – November 20, 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Amarjeet Sohi |
| Succeeded by | Catherine McKenna |
| Minister of International Trade | |
| In office January 10, 2017 – July 18, 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Chrystia Freeland |
| Succeeded by | Jim Carr |
| Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice—Champlain | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Lise St-Denis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 25, 1970 Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence | Shawinigan[2] |
| Alma mater | Université de Montréal Case Western Reserve University School of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer Businessman |
Early life
Champagne was born in Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada on June 25, 1970, and raised in Shawinigan, Quebec.[5][6] He studied law at the Université de Montréal and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. After several years working as a senior attorney for Elsag Bailey Process Automation, he joined ABB Group in 1999, eventually rising to group vice president and senior counsel. In 2008, he joined Amec PLC as a strategic development director, and was designated a "young global leader" by the World Economic Forum. Following his return to Canada, he became involved in a variety of business and non-profit ventures.
Political career
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In an interview with The Globe and Mail in London, 2009, Champagne expressed his desire to eventually return to Canada and enter politics, citing fellow Shawinigan resident Jean Chrétien as an inspiration.[7] Ahead of the 2015 Canadian federal election, he was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Saint-Maurice—Champlain, a riding represented at the time by New Democratic-turned-Liberal MP Lise St-Denis, and was elected to Parliament on October 19, 2015.[8]
After his election in 2015, Champagne was appointed as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance until 2017, when he was appointed Minister of International Trade.[9]
Minister of Infrastructure and Communities (2018-2019)
In 2018, Champagne was named Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and oversaw the federal government’s ambitious $187 billion infrastructure investment plan.
Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019-2021)
In November 2019, Champagne became Minister of Foreign Affairs, taking the helm of Trudeau's foreign policy.
In June 2020, it was reported that Champagne had two more mortgages with the state-owned Bank of China, raising questions of potential vulnerability to foreign influence.[10]
Champagne welcomed Trump's peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as a positive and historic step toward a peaceful and secure Middle East, adding Canada was gladdened by suspension of Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.[11]
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (2021-present)
In the 2021 Canadian cabinet reshuffle, Champagne was moved out of the Foreign Affairs portfolio, and became Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.[12]
Language
Champagne is trilingual, speaking English, French and Italian.[7]
Electoral record
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Saint-Maurice—Champlain | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | François-Philippe Champagne | 23,104 | 39.55 | -1.97 | $101,231.55 | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Nicole Morin | 19,950 | 34.15 | +14.99 | $4,638.18 | |||
| Conservative | Bruno-Pier Courchesne | 9,542 | 16.33 | +0.06 | none listed | |||
| New Democratic | Barthélémy Boisguérin | 3,071 | 5.26 | -15.51 | none listed | |||
| Green | Stéphanie Dufresne | 1,809 | 3.10 | +1.16 | none listed | |||
| People's | Julie Déziel | 938 | 1.61 | – | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 58,414 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 1,307 | 2.19 | ||||||
| Turnout | 59,721 | 65.20 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 91,594 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -8.48 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13][14] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Saint-Maurice—Champlain | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | François-Philippe Champagne | 24,475 | 41.52 | +30.59 | $107,029.87 | |||
| New Democratic | Jean-Yves Tremblay | 12,245 | 20.77 | −20.51 | $29,855.51 | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Sacki Carignan Deschamps | 11,295 | 19.16 | −9.31 | $32,567.29 | |||
| Conservative | Jacques Grenier | 9,592 | 16.27 | −0.86 | $49,358.13 | |||
| Green | Martial Toupin | 1,144 | 1.94 | −0.09 | $3,832.69 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Jean-Paul Bédard | 196 | 0.33 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 58,947 | 100.0 | $269,923.91 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 1,175 | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | 60,122 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 92,086 | |||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[15][16] | ||||||||
References
External links
