View source for Denis Paradis

{{Short description|Canadian politician (born 1949)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Update|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| name                = Denis Paradis
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| image               = Denis Paradis.jpg
| caption             = Paradis in 2011
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age |df=yes|1949|4|1}}
| birth_place         = [[Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu]], [[Quebec]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| profession          = lawyer
| party               = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| residence           = 
| office              = Member of the [[Parliament of Canada|Canadian Parliament]]<br />for [[Brome—Missisquoi (federal electoral district)|Brome—Missisquoi]]
| predecessor         = [[Pierre Jacob]]
| successor           = [[Lyne Bessette]]
| term_start          = 19 October 2015
| term_end            = 21 October 2019
| term_start1         = 13 February 1995
| term_end1           = 23 January 2006
| predecessor1        = [[Gaston Péloquin]]
| successor1          = [[Christian Ouellet]]
| office2             = Chairman of the [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages|Standing Committee on Official Languages]]
| term_start2         = 17 February 2016
| term_end2           = 11 September 2019
| predecessor2        = [[Michael Chong]]
| successor3          = ''Office discontinued''
| office3             = [[Minister of State (Canada)|Minister of State for Financial Institutions]]
| term_start3         = 12 December 2003
| term_end3           = 19 June 2004
| office4             = [[Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa (Canada)|Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa]]
| term_start4         = 15 January 2002
| term_end4           = 11 December 2003
| predecessor4        = [[David Kilgour]]
| successor4          = ''Office discontinued''
| predecessor3        = ''Office established''
| office5             = [[Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)|Secretary of State for La Francophonie]]
| predecessor5        = [[Ron Duhamel]]
| successor5          = [[Denis Coderre]]<ref>Coderre was styled as Minister responsible for the Francophonie.</ref>
| term_start5         = 15 January 2002
| term_end5           = 11 December 2003
| office6             = [[List of Parliamentary Secretaries of Canada|Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| predecessor6        = [[Julian Reed]]
| successor6          = [[Aileen Carroll]]
| term_start6         = 1 September 1999
| term_end6           = 12 September 2001<ref>Technically, this position was vacant during the 2000 Canadian federal election. For reasons of convenience, Paradis's time in office is here listed as one continuous term.</ref>
| office7             = [[List of Parliamentary Secretaries of Canada|Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Minister for International Cooperation (Canada)|Minister for International Cooperation]]
| predecessor7        = [[Claudette Bradshaw]]
| successor7          = [[Eugène Bellemare]]
| term_start7         = 26 January 1999
| term_end7           = 31 August 1999
| footnotes           = 
| spouse              = 
| religion            = 
| nationality         = [[Canadians|Canadian]]|
| successor2          = [[Emmanuel Dubourg]]
}}

'''Denis Paradis''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}} (born 1 April 1949) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Brome—Missisquoi (federal electoral district)|Brome—Missisquoi]] from 2015 until 2019 and previously  from 1995 to 2006. A member of the [[Liberal Party of Canada]], Paradis was Minister of State for Financial Institutions from 2003 to 2004.

His brother, [[Pierre Paradis]], is a member of the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] and a provincial cabinet minister. The Paradis brothers are political allies.<ref>This point is not as self-evident as it may seem. Some prominent Quebec siblings, most notably [[Daniel Johnson, Jr.]] and [[Pierre-Marc Johnson]], have been political rivals.</ref>

==Early life and private career==

Paradis was born in [[Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu]], [[Quebec]]. He has a [[Bachelor of Commerce]] degree (1970) and a [[Bachelor of Civil Law]] degree (1975) from the [[University of Ottawa]] and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1976.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2004/riding/042/ Canada Votes 2004: Brome-Missisquoi], [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], accessed 2 December 2010.</ref> In 1985, he co-authored the book ''Régles de procédure devant les tribunaux administratifs''.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/riding/044/candidate.html Canada Votes 2008: Brome-Missisquoi, Candidate Profiles], accessed 2 December 2010.</ref>

After working as a partner in the firm Paradis-Poulin, he became the president of the [[Quebec Bar Association]] in 1993.<ref>Anne McIlroy, "A kind of early referendum," ''Hamilton Spectator'', 11 February 1995, A12.</ref> In June 1993, he criticized the overcrowded state of some provincial courthouses.<ref>"Courthouses raise concerns," ''Globe and Mail'', 22 June 1993, A9.</ref> He owns a [[winery]] in [[Saint-Armand, Quebec]].<ref>Barb Bellingham, "It's a proper stomp; First grape harvest," ''Sherbrooke Record'', 26 September 2007, p. 8.</ref>

==First political offices (1995–2002)==

Paradis was first elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] in a 1995 [[by-election]], called after [[Gaston Péloquin]], the sitting [[Bloc Québécois]] member for [[Brome—Missisquoi (federal electoral district)|Brome—Missisquoi]], was killed in an automobile accident.<ref>Paradis is from Brome—Missisquoi; he defeated Daniel Mignault and [[Heather Keith-Ryan]] for the Liberal Party nomination. See "Byelections Quebec is key issue in vote: Byelections to target sovereignty Conway Daly," ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 December 1994. Mignault was a former industrial commissioner for [[Sherbrooke]] and [[Bromont, Quebec|Bromont]] and a director of industrial development of [[Gaz Metropolitain]]. See "Gaz Metropolitain Appointment," ''Globe and Mail'', 18 October 1984, B11; Hubert Bauch, "Townships fever," ''Montreal Gazette'', 10 April 1988, M26; Aaron Derfel, "Robillard promises hard fight," ''Montreal Gazette'', 29 December 1994, A1.</ref> Paradis championed the [[Canadian federalism|Canadian federalist]] cause in the campaign and said that his election would confirm Brome-Missisquoi's place within a united Canada.<ref>Tu Thanh Ha, "Paradis wins nod in Quebec riding," ''Globe and Mail'', 9 January 1995, A4. It was noted that several members of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]] joined the Brome—Missisquoi Liberal riding association in this by-election, due to the weakened status of their own party. See Fred Langan, "A two-way fight in the riding would in many ways mirror the referendum," ''Financial Post'', 14 January 1995, p. 17.</ref> The election was initially considered too close to call, but Paradis won by a significant margin. His victory was seen as helping the federalist cause in the buildup to the [[1995 Quebec referendum|1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty]].<ref>Derek Ferguson, "Chrétien's low profile irks Manning," ''Toronto Star'', 10 February 1995, A11.</ref>

Paradis entered parliament as a [[backbench]] supporter of [[Jean Chrétien]]'s government. In late 1995, he helped launch a Summer Work/Student Exchange project that encouraged students to develop their second-language skills.<ref>"Minister Don Boudria Launches the 3rd Edition of the Summer Work/Summer Exchange Project" [press release], ''Canada NewsWire'', 19 June 1998, 11:28.</ref> He was elected chair of the Liberal Party's Quebec caucus in February 1997.

Paradis was returned to a second parliamentary mandate in the [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997 federal election]], and in late 1997 he co-chaired a special committee that recommended Quebec's schools be divided on linguistic rather than denominational lines.<ref>Graham Fraser, "Committee endorses linguistic school boards in Quebec," ''Globe and Mail'', 8 November 1997, B12.</ref> He was named as [[parliamentary secretary]] to the [[Minister for International Cooperation (Canada)|minister for International Cooperation]] in January 1999, and in September of the same year he was promoted to parliamentary secretary to the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|minister of Foreign Affairs]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120716162506/http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=56174&SubSubject=1004&Language=E Member of Parliament Profile: Denis Paradis], [[Parliament of Canada]], accessed 30 November 2010.</ref> He was again returned to parliament in the [[2000 Canadian federal election|2000 federal election]].

==Minister (2002–2004)==

===Chrétien government===

Paradis was appointed as [[Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)|Secretary of State for La Francophonie]] and [[Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa (Canada)|Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa]] in Chrétien's government on 15 January 2002. These were ministerial positions but not full cabinet portfolios.<ref>[http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/mgm/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=26&mbtpid=7 Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation: Secretaries of State] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315134939/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/mgm/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=26&mbtpid=7 |date=15 March 2012 }}, [[Parliament of Canada]], accessed  13 January 2011.</ref>

;Africa
Shortly after his appointment, Paradis met with [[Nigeria]]n [[Minister of Information and National Orientation (Nigeria)|Information Minister]] [[Jerry Gana]] in an effort to prevent the execution of [[Safiya Hussaini]].<ref>Isabelle Ducas, "Nigerian minister says Safiya Husaini will not be stoned to death," ''Canadian Press'', 22 February 2002, 20:13.</ref> He later supported the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]'s decision to suspend [[Zimbabwe]] for one year in the aftermath of that country's disputed [[2002 Zimbabwean presidential election|2002 presidential election]].<ref>David Ljunggren, "Canada applauds as Commonwealth suspends Zimbabwe," ''Reuters News'', 19 March 2002, 17:56. Some opposition parliamentarians, including [[Keith Martin (politician)|Keith Martin]], called for stronger sanctions. Chrétien later defended the Commonwealth's decision in his autobiography, writing that a harsher response would have been counter-productive.</ref>

Paradis accompanied Chrétien on a 2002 delegation to Africa that included stops in [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Nigeria]], [[Senegal]], [[Ethiopia]] and [[South Africa]].<ref>Daniel Leblanc, "MPs chosen for diversity," ''Globe and Mail'', 11 April 2002, A7; [[Gwynne Dyer]], "The Enigma of Thabo Mbeki," ''Guelph Mercury'', 11 April 2002, A9.</ref> He supported the [[New Partnership for Africa's Development]] (NEPAD), and in October 2002 he pledged more than two million dollars to promote security and good governance in francophone Africa.<ref>Denis Paradis, "Canada meeting the Africa challenge: the new partnership," ''Canadian Speeches'', 1 July 2002, p. 17; "Chrétien says he's ready to talk human rights at Beirut francophone meeting," ''Canadian Press'', 18 October 2002, 02:10.</ref>

In March 2003, Paradis announced that Canada would provide one hundred million dollars to Ethiopia, Senegal, [[Ghana]], [[Mali]], [[Mozambique]], and [[Tanzania]] under the [[Canada Fund for Africa]]. The stated intent of this funding was to recognize improved commitments to human rights and democracy.<ref>Elizabeth Thompson, "Aid earmarked for six African countries," ''Calgary Herald'', 3 March 2003, A4.</ref> Later in the same year, Paradis represented Canada at [[Olusegun Obasanjo]]'s inauguration for a second term as [[President of Nigeria]].<ref>Glenn McKenzie, "Obasanjo starts new term with pledge to act against poverty and corruption," ''Canadian Press'', 29 May 2003, 17:17.</ref>

Paradis nominated former [[United Nations]] [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]] [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]] to be named to the [[Order of Canada]] in 2002. Boutros-Ghali received the honour in 2004.<ref>Drew Fagan, "Honour for Boutros-Ghali sparks debate," ''Globe and Mail'', 6 May 2004, A6.</ref>

;Latin America
Paradis led a Canadian trade delegation to [[Cuba]] in November 2002. This visit marked an improvement in relations between the countries, which had been strained for three years due to Canadian concerns about Cuba's [[human rights]] practices.<ref>Jeff Sallot, "Canada's trade mission to Cuba signals thaw," ''Globe and Mail'', 2 November 2002, A6; "Canada re-establishes normal ties with Cuba," ''Toronto Star'', 2 November 2002, A06.</ref>

In January 2003, Paradis hosted a diplomatic event called the [[Ottawa Initiative|Ottawa Initiative on Haiti]]. At this meeting, representatives from Canada, [[France]], the [[United States of America]], and the [[Organization of American States]] discussed [[Haiti]]'s political future. No representatives of the Haitian government were present. A few months later, journalist [[Michel Vastel]] leaked information about the meeting that he said was given to him by Paradis. Writing in ''[[L'Actualité]]'', Vastel claimed that the delegates decided that [[President of Haiti|Haitian President]] [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] should be replaced by a [[United Nations]] trusteeship within a year. Paradis has denied Vastel's claim.<ref>{{Cite book
  | last1 = Engler | first1 = Yves
  | last2 = Fenton   | first2 = Anthony
  | title = Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority
  | publisher = Co-published: RED Publishing, [[Fernwood Publishing]]
  | date = August 2005
  | isbn = 1-55266-168-7}}
, page 43. Neither Vastel or ''L'Actualité'' retracted the story. Journalist [[Anthony Fenton]] later accused Paradis and other Canadian officials of being implicated in the [[2004 Haitian coup d'état]] that overthrew Aristide. See Anthony Fenton, "Canadian crimes in Haiti: beyond complicity," ''Canadian Dimension'', 1 September 2004, p. 6.</ref>

;The Francophonie
In December 2002, Paradis called for the creation of a watchdog organization to target human rights violations in [[Francophonie]] nations.<ref>David Ljunggren, "Canada wants Francophonie human rights watchdog," ''Reuters News'', 10 December 2002, 13:23.</ref>

===Martin government===
Paradis was not, during [[Jean Chrétien]]'s tenure as Prime Minister, among the group of Liberal [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|parliamentarians]] (MPs) who supported [[Paul Martin]]'s leadership ambitions. He nevertheless supported Martin at the [[2003 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|2003 Liberal Party leadership convention]], which was held to elect Chrétien's successor.<ref>"Secretary of State Denis Paradis gives his support to Paul Martin in the Liberal Party leadership race," ''Canada NewsWire'', 4 May 2003.</ref> Martin won a landslide victory and became prime minister on 12 December 2003. When he formed his first ministry, he appointed Paradis as [[Minister of State for Financial Institutions (Canada)|minister of state for Financial Institutions]].<ref>"List of the new Canadian cabinet," ''Reuters News'', 12 December 2003, 10:37.</ref>

Paradis led several roundtable discussions with business, academic, and social groups in months that followed, during the buildup to the Martin government's 2004 budget.<ref>See for instance "Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale takes his pre-budget roundtable discussions to P-E-I and New Brunswick today," ''Broadcast News'', 23 January 2004, 04:38; "Canada NewsWire Daybook for Thursday, January 29, 2004," ''Canada Newswire'', 29 January 2004, 07:01; "CP News Agenda for Friday, Feb. 13," ''Canadian Press'', 13 February 2004, 03:10.</ref> Shortly before budget day, he said that the government would return to a practice of setting aside four billion dollars per year to cover emergency spending or the possibility of an economic downturn.<ref>Heather Scoffield, "‘Prudence' in budget will curb spending," ''Globe and Mail'', 8 March 2004, B1.</ref>

==Return to the backbenches and time out of office (2004–2015)==
Paradis was narrowly re-elected in the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004 federal election]] over Bloc challenger [[Christian Ouellet]]. He was not re-appointed to the ministry and returned to the government backbenches.<ref>Susan Delacourt and Les Whittington, "New-look cabinet," ''Toronto Star'', 20 July 2004, A01.</ref> He lost his seat to Ouellet in the [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006 election]], amid losses for the Liberal Party across [[Quebec]].{{fact|date=January 2023}}

Paradis supported [[Stéphane Dion]] in the Liberal Party's [[2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|2006 leadership election]].<ref>Philip Authier, "Former Quebec minister snubs Dion," ''National Post'', 28 September 2006, A6. The article title refers to [[Liza Frulla]], not Paradis.</ref> Dion won an upset victory in this contest, defeating [[Michael Ignatieff]] on the fourth ballot. Paradis attempted to reclaim his seat in the [[2008 Canadian federal election|2008 federal election]] but was narrowly defeated by Ouellet in a rematch from 2006.{{fact|date=January 2023}}

Paradis ran for re-election in the [[2011 Canadian federal election|2011 federal election]] but lost to [[Pierre Jacob]] of the [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]] amid a strong provincial swing to the NDP.<ref>[http://farnham.enregion.ca/index.asp?s=detail_actualite&ID=5717 "Brome-Missisquoi – Le Parti libéral va élire son exécutif"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206210851/http://farnham.enregion.ca/index.asp?s=detail_actualite&ID=5717 |date=2010-12-06 }}, ''farnham.enregion.ca'', 12 November 2010, accessed 8 December 2010.</ref>

==Return to Parliament (2015–2019)==
Paradis again ran as the Liberal Party's candidate in Brome—Missisquoi during the [[2015 Canadian federal election|2015 federal election]], and this time was victorious, beating New Democrat Catherine Lusson. He ran for the office of [[Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]], [[2015 Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons election|losing]] to fellow Liberal MP [[Geoff Regan]].  Subsequently, he was elected to chair the [[House of Commons of Canada Standing Committee on Official Languages|Standing Committee on Official Languages]]. He did not run for re-election in the [[2019 Canadian federal election]].

==Electoral record==
{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2015|percent=yes|change=yes|expenditures=yes}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Denis Paradis|25,744|43.88|+21.82|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Catherine Lusson|14,383|24.51|-18.13|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|BQ|Patrick Melchior|10,252|17.47|-3.79|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Charles Poulin|6,724|11.46|-0.45|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|Green|Cindy Moynan|1,377|2.35|+0.22|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|FD|Patrick Paine|195|0.33|&ndash;|&ndash;}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes/Expense limit|58,675|100.0 &nbsp;|&nbsp;|$222,301.16}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Total rejected ballots|716|&ndash;|&ndash;}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Turnout|59,391|&ndash;|&ndash;}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Eligible voters|85,201}}
{{CANelec/source|Source: [[Elections Canada]]<ref>[http://www.elections.ca/Scripts/vis/candidates?L=e&ED=24016&EV=41&EV_TYPE=1&PC=&PROV=QC&PROVID=24&MAPID=&QID=8&PAGEID=17&TPAGEID=&PD=&STAT_CODE_ID=-1 Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Brome—Missisquoi, 30 September 2015]</ref><ref>[http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand/canlim&document=index&lang=e Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815061116/http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=can&dir=cand%2Fcanlim&document=index&lang=e |date=15 August 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://enr.elections.ca/ElectoralDistricts.aspx?lang=f|title = Résultats du soir d'élection - Circonscriptions}}</ref>}}
{{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2011|percent=yes|change=yes|expenditures=yes}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP| [[Pierre Jacob]]|22,407|42.64|+33.59| }}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Denis Paradis|11,589|22.06|-10.73| }}
{{CANelec|CA|BQ|Christelle Bogosta|11,173|21.26|-13.95| }}
{{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Nolan LeBlanc-Bauerle|6,256|11.91|-6.75| }}
{{CANelec|CA|Green|Benoit Lambert|1,120|2.13|-1.45| }}
{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes/Expense limit|52,545|100.00| }}
{{Canadian election result/total|Total rejected ballots|588|1.05|&ndash;| }}
{{Canadian election result/total|Turnout|53,133|66.30|&ndash;| }}
{{CANelec/total|Eligible voters| 80,137|&ndash;|&ndash;| }}
{{end}}

{{2008 Canadian federal election/Brome—Missisquoi}}

{{2006 Canadian federal election/Brome—Missisquoi}}

{{2004 Canadian federal election/Brome—Missisquoi}}

{{2000 Canadian federal election/Brome—Missisquoi}}

{{1997 Canadian federal election/Brome—Missisquoi}}

{{1995 Canadian federal by-elections/Brome—Missisquoi}}

==References==
<references/>

{{Authority control}}

{{Martin Ministry}}
{{Chrétien Ministry}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paradis, Denis}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Lawyers in Quebec]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:People from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu]]
[[Category:Politicians from Montérégie]]
[[Category:University of Ottawa alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]