Quebec lieutenant

This article is about the political advisor to a federal party leader on Quebec issues. For the representative of the monarch in Quebec, see Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.

In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant (/lɛfˈtɛnənt/) is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be the main advisor or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, though several francophone leaders have also had Quebec lieutenants. It is typically filled by a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament. The position is usually a well-known but often an unofficial assignment, and has no official legal status.

Notable Quebec lieutenants

Some past and current Quebec lieutenants include:

Liberal

Lieutenant		Riding	Took office	Left office	Leader
	Wilfrid Laurier	Drummond—Arthabaska (before 1877) Quebec East (after 1877)	1874	1887	Alexander Mackenzie Edward Blake
	Vacant		1887	1896	Wilfrid Laurier
	Joseph-Israël Tarte	St. Johns—Iberville (before 1900) Sainte-Marie (after 1900)	1896	1902	Wilfrid Laurier
	Vacant		1902	1921	Wilfrid Laurier Daniel Duncan McKenzie (interim) William Lyon Mackenzie King
	Ernest Lapointe	Quebec East	1921	1941	William Lyon Mackenzie King
	Louis Saint-Laurent	Quebec East	1941	1948	William Lyon Mackenzie King
	Vacant		1948	1963	Louis Saint-Laurent Lester B. Pearson
	Guy Favreau	Papineau	1963	1967	Lester B. Pearson
	Jean Marchand	Quebec West (before 1968) Langelier (after 1968)	1967	1976	Lester B. Pearson Pierre Trudeau
	Marc Lalonde	Outremont	1976	1984	Pierre Trudeau
	Raymond Garneau	Laval-des-Rapides	1984	1988	John Turner
	Vacant		1988	1993	John Turner Herb Gray (interim)
	Marcel Massé	Hull—Aylmer	1993	1999	Jean Chrétien
	Alfonso Gagliano	Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel	1999	2002	Jean Chrétien
	Martin Cauchon	Outremont	2002	2003	Jean Chrétien
	Jean Lapierre	Outremont	2003	2006	Paul Martin
	Vacant		2006	2007	Bill Graham (interim) Stéphane Dion
	Marcel Proulx	Hull—Aylmer	2007[1]	2007	Stéphane Dion
	Céline Hervieux-Payette	None[n 1]	2007[2]	2008	Stéphane Dion
	Denis Coderre	Bourassa	2009[3]	2009[4]	Michael Ignatieff
	Rémi Bujold (as Chief Provincial Organizer) Marc Garneau (as Leader's Representative)[n 2]	None (Bujold) Westmount—Ville-Marie (Garneau)	2009[6][5]	2011	Michael Ignatieff
	Vacant		2011	2019	Bob Rae (interim) Justin Trudeau
	Pablo Rodriguez	Honoré-Mercier	2019[7]	2024	Justin Trudeau
	Jean-Yves Duclos	Québec	2024[8]	2025	Justin Trudeau
	Steven Guilbeault	Laurier—Sainte-Marie	2025[9]	present	Mark Carney

Conservative (1867–1942)

Lieutenant		Riding	Took office	Left office	Leader
	George-Étienne Cartier	Montreal East	1867	1873	John A. Macdonald
	Hector Langevin	Dorchester (before 1876) Charlevoix (1876–1878) Trois-Rivières (after 1878)	1873	1891	John A. Macdonald
	Joseph-Aldric Ouimet	Laval	1891	1896	John Abbott John Sparrow David Thompson Mackenzie Bowell Charles Tupper
	Vacant		1896	1911	Charles Tupper Robert Borden
	Frederick Debartzch Monk	Jacques-Cartier	1911	1914	Robert Borden
	Pierre-Édouard Blondin	Champlain	1914	1921	Robert Borden
	Vacant		1921	1925	Arthur Meighen
	Esioff-Léon Patenaude	None[n 3]	1925	1926	Arthur Meighen
	Vacant		1926	1942	Hugh Guthrie (interim) R. B. Bennett Robert Manion Richard Hanson (interim) Arthur Meighen

Progressive Conservative

Lieutenant		District (Area)	Took office	Left office	Leader
	Vacant		1942	1949	John Bracken George A. Drew
	Georges-Henri Héon	Argenteuil	1949	1949	George A. Drew
	Vacant		1949	1957	George A. Drew William Earl Rowe John Diefenbaker
	Léon Balcer	Trois-Rivières	1957	1965	John Diefenbaker
	Vacant		1965	1967	John Diefenbaker
	Marcel Faribault	None[n 4]	1967	1968	Robert Stanfield
	Vacant		1968	1972	Robert Stanfield
	Claude Wagner	Saint-Hyacinthe	1972	1978	Robert Stanfield Joe Clark
	Vacant		1978	1988	Joe Clark Erik Nielsen (interim) Brian Mulroney
	Lucien Bouchard	Lac-Saint-Jean	1988	1990	Brian Mulroney
	Benoît Bouchard	Roberval	1990	1993	Brian Mulroney
	Monique Landry	Blainville—Deux-Montagnes	1993	1993	Kim Campbell
	Vacant		1993	1998	Jean Charest Elsie Wayne (interim)
	André Bachand	Richmond—Arthabaska	1998	2004	Joe Clark Peter MacKay

Reform

Lieutenant		Riding	Took office	Left office	Leader
	Gilles St-Laurent	None[n 5]	1996	1997	Preston Manning

Canadian Alliance

Lieutenant		Riding	Took office	Left office	Leader
	Gérard Latulippe	None[n 6]	2000	2000	Stockwell Day

Conservative (2004–present)

Lieutenant		Riding	Took office	Left office	Leader
	Josée Verner	None[n 7]	2004	2005	Stephen Harper
	Lawrence Cannon	Pontiac	2005	2008	Stephen Harper
	Christian Paradis	Mégantic—L'Érable	2008[10]	2013	Stephen Harper
	Denis Lebel	Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean (before 2015) Lac-Saint-Jean (after 2015)	2013[11]	2017	Stephen Harper Rona Ambrose (interim)
	Alain Rayes	Richmond—Arthabaska	2017[12]	2020	Andrew Scheer Erin O'Toole
	Richard Martel	Chicoutimi—Le Fjord	2020[13]	2021	Erin O'Toole
	Alain Rayes	Richmond—Arthabaska	2021[14]	2022	Erin O'Toole Candice Bergen (interim)
	Luc Berthold	Mégantic—L'Érable	2022[14]	2022	Candice Bergen (interim)
	Pierre Paul-Hus	Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles	2022[15]	Present	Pierre Poilievre

Social Credit

Lieutenant		Riding	Took office	Left office	Leader
	Réal Caouette	Villeneuve	1961[16]	1963[n 8]	Robert N. Thompson

New Democratic

Lieutenant		Riding	Took office	Left office	Leader
	Gérard Picard[17][18]	None[n 9]	1961	1963	Tommy Douglas
	Robert Cliche	None[n 10]	1964	1968	Tommy Douglas
	Vacant		1968	1989	Tommy Douglas David Lewis Ed Broadbent
	Claude Rompré	None[n 11]	1989	1990	Ed Broadbent Audrey McLaughlin
	Vacant		1990	2003	Audrey McLaughlin Alexa McDonough
	Pierre Ducasse	None[n 12]	2003	2007[n 13]	Jack Layton
	Tom Mulcair	Outremont	2007[19]	2012	Jack Layton Nycole Turmel (interim)
	Alexandre Boulerice	Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie	2012[20]	Present	Tom Mulcair Jagmeet Singh

Notes

1. Hervieux-Payette represented the senatorial division of Bedford.
2. Position split into two: leaders' representative/advisor and chief provincial organizer.^[5]
3. Patenaude ran in Jacques-Cartier in 1925 and 1926 and was defeated both times.
4. Faribault ran in Gamelin in 1968 and was defeated.
5. St-Laurent ran in Louis-Hébert in 1997 and was defeated.
6. Latulippe ran in Charlesbourg—Jacques Cartier in 2000 and was defeated.
7. Verner ran in Louis-Saint-Laurent in 2004 and was defeated. She would later be elected to represent the riding in 2006.
8. In 1963 the Quebec wing of the party split into the Ralliement des créditistes under Caouette's leadership.
9. Picard ran in Montreal—Mercier in 1963 and lost.
10. Cliche ran in Beauce in 1965 and Duvernay in 1968 and was defeated both times.
11. Rompré ran in Saint-Maurice in 1986 and 1988 and was defeated both times.
12. Ducasse ran in Manicouagan in 2004 and 2006 and Hull—Aylmer in 2008 and was defeated each time. He had also been associate president of the party since 2001 and ran in its 2003 leadership election, in which Layton was elected.
13. Ducasse continued to serve as Layton's Quebec special advisor following Mulcair's appointment.