Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie (Quebec)

The Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie (French: Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie) is a department in the Government of Quebec. Its primary task is to "promote and defend Québec’s interests internationally."^[1]

Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie

Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie
Agency overview
Minister responsible	Martine Biron

It was established by the government of Daniel Johnson in 1967 as the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs, replacing and expanding on an earlier Ministry of Federal-Provincial Relations.^[2]

As of 2010, one of the ministry's responsibilities is overseeing Quebec's relationship with the Francophonie.^[3] This responsibility was formerly held by a different member of cabinet.

The department is overseen by the Minister of International Relations, who is also styled as the minister responsible for the Francophonie. The current minister is Martine Biron.^[4]

Sylvain Simard, who served as minister from 1996 to 1998, was also styled as the minister responsible for international humanitarian action from 1997 to 1998.

History

List of ministers

Ministres titulaires

Since 1984

List of ministers of international relations of Quebec since 1984

Name Office Title		Party	In office		Cabinet
	Bernard Landry Minister of International Relations	Parti Québécois	March 5, 1984	October 6, 1985	Lévesque
	Louise Beaudoin Minister of International Relations	None	October 6, 1985	December 12, 1985	P.M. Johnson
	Gil Rémillard Minister of International Relations	Liberal	December 12, 1985	June 23, 1988	Bourassa II
	Paul Gobeil Minister of International Affairs		June 23, 1988	October 11, 1989
	John Ciaccia Minister of International Affairs		October 11, 1989	January 11, 1994
	John Ciaccia Minister of International Affairs, Immigration, and Cultural Communities		January 11, 1994	September 26, 1994	Johnson Jr.
	Bernard Landry Minister of International Affairs, Immigration, and Cultural Communities	Parti Québécois	September 26, 1994	January 29, 1996	Parizeau
	Sylvain Simard Minister of International Relations		January 29, 1996	December 15, 1998	Bouchard
	Louise Beaudoin Minister of International Relations		December 15, 1998	March 8, 2001
	Louise Beaudoin Minister of State for International Relations		March 8, 2001	April 29, 2003	Landry
	Monique Gagnon-Tremblay Minister of International Relations	Liberal	April 29, 2003	December 18, 2008	Charest
	Pierre Arcand Minister of International Relations		December 18, 2008	August 11, 2010
	Monique Gagnon-Tremblay Minister of International Relations		August 11, 2010	September 19, 2012
	Jean-François Lisée Minister of International Relations, La Francophonie and Trade	Parti Québécois	September 19, 2012	April 23, 2014	Marois
	Christine St-Pierre Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie	Liberal	April 23, 2014	October 18, 2018	Couillard
	Nadine Girault Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie	Coalition Avenir Québec	October 18, 2018	October 20, 2022	Legault
	Martine Biron Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie		October 20, 2022	Incumbent

Quebec Government Offices

The ministry operates the Quebec Government Offices, de facto embassies which serve as communication depots between the Government of Quebec and governments outside of Canada. None of the offices in 28 countries have official diplomatic accreditation, but they serve as venues for paradiplomacy.

Offices attached to the ministry

• Franco-Quebec Youth Office
• Quebec/Wallonia-Brussels Office for Youth
• Quebec-Americas Office for Youth
• Quebec-World Office for Youth

Partner organizations

• Franco-Quebec Council for University Cooperation
• Inter-American University Organization
• France-Quebec Federation / Francophonie
• International Association of Quebec Studies
• Conference of Heads of Government of Partner Regions

See also

• Alberta International and Intergovernmental Relations
• Ontario Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs
• Saskatchewan Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs