View source for Isabelle Charest

{{Short description|Canadian short-track speed skater}}
{{Expand French|date=May 2024|topic=bio}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder 
| name = Isabelle Charest
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|MNA|size=100%}}
| image = Isabelle Charest, bureau de circonscription (cropped).jpg
| caption = Charest in 2023
| birth_date={{birth date and age|1971|1|3}}
| birth_place=[[Rimouski]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| death_date=
| death_place=
| profession=Athlete
| party= [[Coalition Avenir Québec]]
| office1 = Member of the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] for [[Brome-Missisquoi (provincial electoral district)|Brome-Missisquoi]]
| term_start1= October 1, 2018
| term_end1=  
| predecessor1= [[Pierre Paradis]] 
| successor1=
| residence=
| spouse=
| module              = {{Infobox sportsperson|embed=yes
|medaltemplates={{MedalSport | Women's [[short track speed skating]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{CAN}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1994 Winter Olympics|1994 Lillehammer]] | [[Short track speed skating at the 1994 Winter Olympics|3000 m relay]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1998 Winter Olympics|1998 Nagano]] | [[Short track speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics|3000 m relay]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[2002 Winter Olympics|2002 Salt Lake City]] | [[Short track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics|3000 m relay]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1996 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|1996 The Hague]] | 500&nbsp;m}}
{{MedalGold | 1997 Nagano | 500&nbsp;m}}
{{MedalGold | 1997 Nagano | 3000&nbsp;m relay}}
{{MedalSilver | 1996 The Hague | 1000&nbsp;m}}
{{MedalBronze | 1996 The Hague | Overall}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships|World Team Championships]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1999 World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships|1999 St Louis]] | Team}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1998 World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships|1998 Bormio]] | Team}}
}}
}}

'''Isabelle Charest''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|MNA}} (born January 3, 1971) is a Canadian athlete and politician.<ref name=jdm>[https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/06/18/isabelle-charest-candidate-pour-la-caq-dans-brome-missisquoi "Isabelle Charest candidate pour la CAQ dans Brome-Missisquoi"]. ''[[Le Journal de Montréal]]'', June 18, 2018.</ref> A [[Short track speed skating|short track speed skater]] who competed in the [[1994 Winter Olympics]], the [[1998 Winter Olympics]], and the [[2002 Winter Olympics]], she was elected to the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] in the [[2018 Quebec general election|2018 provincial election]] as a member of the [[Coalition Avenir Québec]].<ref>[https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/quebec-election-caq-rocks-liberal-stronghold-in-townships "Quebec election: CAQ rocks Liberal stronghold in Townships"]. ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'', October 1, 2018.</ref>

In 1994 she was a member of the Canadian relay team which won the silver medal in the 3000 metre relay competition. In the [[Short track speed skating at the 1994 Winter Olympics - Women's 1000 metres|1000 m event]] she finished sixth and in the [[Short track speed skating at the 1994 Winter Olympics - Women's 500 metres|500 m contest]] she finished seventh.

Four years later she won the bronze medal with the Canadian team in the 3000 metre relay competition. In the [[Short track speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics - Women's 500 metres|500 m event]] as well as in the [[Short track speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's 1000 metres|1000 m contest]] she finished seventh.

At the 2002 Games she won her second bronze medal with the Canadian relay team in the 3000 metre relay competition. In the [[Short track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics - Women's 500 metres|500 m event]] she finished fourth.

Charest was the Chef de Mission for Team Canada at the [[2018 Winter Olympics]].<ref name=jdm/>

== Controversies == 
In February 2019, Charest was criticized by members of the [[Quebec Liberal Party]] over comments she made calling hijabs a symbol of oppression. She said that wearing a hijab does not correspond to Quebec values and keeps women from flourishing. "For me, the hijab is not something women should be wearing because it does have, at some point, significance of oppression of women and the fact they have to cover themselves," she said.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/opponents-condemn-caq-minister-s-hijab-comments-as-clumsy-divisive-1.4284881|title = Opponents condemn CAQ minister's hijab comments as 'clumsy, divisive'|date = 6 February 2019}}</ref>

==Electoral record==
{{2022 Quebec general election/Brome-Missisquoi}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ch/isabelle-charest-1.html |title=Isabelle Charest |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100221183233/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ch/isabelle-charest-1.html |archive-date=2010-02-21 |url-status=dead}}

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{{Canadian cabinet member navigational box header |ministry=François_Legault}}
{{ministry box cabinet posts
| post1preceded = Position Created
| post1         = Minister for Education
| post1years    = October 18, 2018&ndash;present
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| post1followed = [[Incumbent]]
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{{Quebec MNAs}}
{{Legault Ministry}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charest, Isabelle}}
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian female short-track speed skaters]]
[[Category:Olympic short-track speed skaters for Canada]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Canada]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Canada]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in short-track speed skating]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of Quebec]]
[[Category:Short-track speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Short-track speed skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Short-track speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:People from Rimouski]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Bas-Saint-Laurent]]
[[Category:Skating people from Quebec]]
[[Category:Coalition Avenir Québec MNAs]]
[[Category:Women government ministers of Canada]]
[[Category:Women MNAs in Quebec]]
[[Category:Canadian sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian sportswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian sportswomen]]