Sébastien Proulx

Sébastien Proulx (born March 28, 1975) is a Canadian politician. He was an Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the electoral district of Trois-Rivières from 2007 to 2008. He is a lawyer and was the main political consultant to ADQ leader Mario Dumont until his election.

Sébastien Proulx
Sébastien Proulx in 2018
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Jean-Talon
In office June 8, 2015 – August 30, 2019
Preceded by	Yves Bolduc
Succeeded by	Joëlle Boutin
Quebec Minister of Education
In office February 22, 2016 – October 18, 2018
Premier	Philippe Couillard
Preceded by	Pierre Moreau
Succeeded by	Jean-François Roberge
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Trois-Rivières
In office March 26, 2007 – December 8, 2008
Preceded by	André Gabias
Succeeded by	Danielle St-Amand
Personal details
Born	(1975-03-28) March 28, 1975 (age 50) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Quebec Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	Action démocratique du Québec (before 2008)
Spouse	Guylaine Roy

Background

Proulx has a bachelor's degree in law from the Université du Québec à Montréal and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1999. He practised law for four years. He also worked in a consultation committee of Directeur général des élections du Québec.^{[citation needed]}

Proulx first ran in the 2003 election in Laviolette, but finished third with 14 per cent of the vote behind Liberal incumbent Julie Boulet.^{[citation needed]}

Member of the Provincial Legislature

In the 2007 election, Proulx ran again and was elected with 37% of the vote. Liberal incumbent André Gabias, finished second with 28% of the vote. During the campaign, Proulx was one of the ADQ's main spokespersons. He was previously the director of the party in 2004.^{[citation needed]}

On March 29, 2007, Proulx was appointed Official Opposition House Leader and the critic for electoral reform and parliamentary reform.^[1][2] On April 19, 2007, he was selected to be the Official Opposition's Shadow Minister for Access to Information.^[3]

Even though he was considered one of the ADQ's most effective parliamentarians and benefited from a high approval rating from his constituents, Proulx lost his seat as a result of the 2008 election. He finished third with 19% of the vote. Proulx subsequently rejoined the Quebec Liberal Party, and was the party's candidate in a 2015 by-election in Jean-Talon.^[4] On June 8, he was elected deputy of Jean-Talon.^[5]

In 2016, he was appointed Minister of Education, with Hélène David being responsible for Higher Education. He served until the Liberal government was defeated in 2018.^{[citation needed]}

He resigned his seat in August 2019 citing family reasons.^[6]

Federal politics

Proulx campaigned on behalf of local Conservative candidate Claude Durand during the federal election of 2008.^[7] Durand finished a distant second against Bloc Québécois incumbent Paule Brunelle in the district of Trois-Rivières.

Electoral record

v t e 2007 Quebec general election: Trois-Rivières
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Action démocratique	Sébastien Proulx	10,247	37.20
	Liberal	André Gabias	7,862	28.54
	Parti Québécois	Jean-Pierre Adam	7,672	27.85
	Québec solidaire	André Lemay	907	3.29
	Green	Louis Lacroix	739	2.68	–
	Independent	Stéphan Vincent	121	0.44
Total valid votes			27,548	100.00
Rejected and declined votes			295
Turnout			27,843	73.49
Electors on the lists			37,887

2008 Quebec general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Danielle St-Amand	9,129	40.10	+11.56
	Parti Québécois	Yves St-Pierre	8,169	35.88	+8.03
	Action démocratique	Sébastien Proulx	4,241	18.63	-18.57
	Québec solidaire	Alex Noel	714	3.14	-0.15
	Green	Louis Lacroix	515	2.26	-0.42
Total valid votes			22,768	98.56	–
Total rejected ballots			333	1.44	–
Turnout			23,101	60.46	–
Electors on the lists			38,209	–	–

Quebec provincial by-election, June 8, 2015 On the resignation of Yves Bolduc
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sébastien Proulx	8,214	41.76	-2.74
	Parti Québécois	Clément Laberge	5,894	29.97	+7.49
	Coalition Avenir Québec	Alain Fecteau	2,717	13.81	-6.75
	Québec solidaire	Amélie Boisvert	1,503	7.64	-1.41
	Option nationale	Sol Zanetti	474	2.41	+0.90
	Green	Elodie Boisjoly-Dubreuil	472	2.4	–
	Conservative	Sylvain Rancourt	237	1.20	+0.61
	Parti des sans Parti	Sylvain Drolet	76	0.39	–
	Équipe Autonomiste	Stéphane Pouleur	55	0.28	+0.09
	Parti indépendantiste	Grégoire Bonneau-Fortier	27	0.14	–
Total valid votes			19,668	99.18
Total rejected ballots			162	0.82
Turnout			19,830	43.61	-34.39
Electors on the lists			45,475	–
	Liberal hold		Swing		-5.12