Réal Ménard

Background

Ménard, Réal was born on May 13, 1962 in Montreal, Canada. Son of Claude Ménard and Thérèse Orlup.

Education

Bachelor in History, U. Montreal, 1986; Master of Arts in Political Science, U. Montreal, 1990.

Career

Ménard is a political scientist with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees and also holds his law degree from the University of Ottawa. He first stood for federal office in the 1984 federal election as candidate for the small Parti nationaliste du Québec in Hochelaga–Maisonneuve. Defeated in this first try, he contested the riding in the 1993 election for the new and larger Bloc Québécois.

He was elected, and re-elected in the riding in the 1997 and 2000 elections.

Following redistricting, he was re-elected in the new riding of Hochelaga in the 2004, 2006 and 2008 federal elections. Early in his parliamentary career, he served variously as Bloc critic for Health, for science, research and development, for Labour, for National Defence, and for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec.

From 1998 to June 29, 1999, he was critic for Citizenship and Immigration and for public housing. The next day, he again became critic for health, in which capacity he has served since.

During three sessions, Ménard has been vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Health.

On September 14, 2001, he took on additional critic responsibility for the Montreal region. In March 2006 he was shuffled from the health critic position to become the Bloc Québécois justice critic. In June 2009, Ménard announced that he was resigning from the House of Commons, effective September 16, in order to run as a Vision Montreal candidate for borough mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal"s 2009 municipal election.

Prior to his first election to the House of Commons, he was a political assistant to Louise Harel, Vision Montreal"s 2009 candidate for Mayor of Montreal, when she was a provincial MNA.

Municipal

Federal.

Achievements

• Réal Ménard has been listed as a notable Political scientist by Marquis Who's Who.

Membership

Vice president Svc. Habitation Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, 1992-1993, Comité National Young Parti Québécois, 1987-1988. Chairman, Board Of Directors Atelier d'histoire Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, 1984-1993. Board directors Humano Housing Superior vena cava syndrome, 1990.

Fundraising committee Jardin Charmant, 1988-1990.

Connections

Father:

Claude Ménard

Mother:

Thérèse Orlup