Claude Carignan

Claude Carignan, PC, (born December 4, 1964) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Canada.

Claude Carignan was appointed to the Senate on August 27, 2009, by the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper.

A native of Champlain, in Mauricie, Claude Carignan is married to lawyer Brigitte Binette and has three children, Jérémie, Jean-Francis and Anne-Charlotte. He holds a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke and a graduate degree in administrative law from the Université de Montréal. Carignan has worked as a lawyer since his admission to the Quebec Bar in 1988, specializing in civil litigation, labour relations, and health and social services law. He is coauthor of Loi sur les décrets de convention collective annotée, published by Wilson & Lafleur in 1990.

While practicing, Mr. Carignan also taught labour law administration at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law and at the Université du Québec à Montréal. He also taught at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP).

In March 1994, Claude Carignan has been a founding member of the Action démocratique du Québec and active supporter until 2003. He acted as legislative counsel for the ADQ a number of times.

Mr. Carignan was elected mayor of Saint-Eustache in November 2000 a position he held until August 29, 2009, when he was called to the Senate of Canada.

After serving as chair of its justice and public safety commission, Claude Carignan was second vice-president of the Union des municipalités du Québec . In April 2008, he was appointed president of the Conseil sur les services policiers du Québec , an advisory body created to advise the Quebec Minister of Public Security on all policing matters. With his public safety expertise, Mr. Carignan went on to moderate and chair several seminars and workshops at a number of national conferences and symposia. From 2007 to 2009, he was president of the Centre for Expertise and Research on Infrastructures in Urban Areas (CERIU).

Claude Carignan also played an active role in several committees and commissions in the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) and served as vice-warden of the Deux-Montagnes MRC and on the Conférence régionale des élus executive council. From 2005 to 2009, he was vice-president of both the Conseil intermunicipal de transport des Laurentides and the Association des Conseils intermunicipaux de transport du Québec.

Claude Carignan has helped promote numerous charitable causes, sat on the boards of several social agencies in his region and created the Fondation Élite Saint-Eustache, which helps talented young people in his community.

He ran for the Conservatives in the 2008 federal election in Rivière-des-Mille-Îles

Since his appointment to the Senate in 2009, Mr. Carignan has been hard at work on the following committees:

– Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

– Steering Committee of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

– Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration

– Standing Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament

In May 2011, the Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate, appointed him Deputy Leader of the Government. In this role, Senator Carignan supports the Leader of the Government in managing the government’s priorities in the Upper House. He also plays a key role in ensuring that parliamentary rules are followed during Senate debates, as well as assisting his Senate colleagues with any questions on parliamentary issues.

In September 2013, after two years to serve as deputy Leader of the Government, Claude Carignan is appointed by the Right Honourable Stephen Harper to the position of Leader of the Government in the Senate. He is also a member of the Privy Council. From September 2013 to November 2015, he was a member a member of the cabinet committee on operations. This Committee provides the day-to-day coordination of the government's agenda, including issues management, legislation and house planning, and communications.

Finally, on November 4, 2015, Senator Carignan becomes the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

Electoral record

Senate record

Carignan was created Government Leader in the Senate on 30 August 2013 by virtue of his caucus leadership, upon the resignation of his predecessor as Leader, Senator Marjory LeBreton.^[1] He is not a member of the Privy Council and thus not invited to Cabinet meetings.

References

External links

• Claude Carignan – Parliament of Canada biography

Leaders and Representatives of the Government in the Senate
Campbell Letellier de Saint-Just Scott Campbell Abbott Bowell Mowat Mills Scott Cartwright Lougheed Dandurand Ross Dandurand Willoughby Meighen Dandurand King Robertson Macdonald Haig Aseltine Brooks Macdonald Connolly Martin Perrault Flynn Perrault Olson MacEachen Roblin Murray Fairbairn Graham Boudreau Carstairs Austin LeBreton Carignan Harder
Government leaders listed in italics were not cabinet ministers.

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