Dominic LeBlanc
Encyclopedia
Dominic A. LeBlanc, PC
, MP
(born December 14, 1967), is a Canadian lawyer and politician from New Brunswick
, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament
for the riding of Beauséjour
and sits in the Canadian House of Commons
as the Liberal Party's
Foreign Affairs Critic
. He was first elected in the 2000 federal election
and has been re-elected in the last four elections. LeBlanc is the son of former Member of Parliament, Senator and Governor General of Canada
, Roméo LeBlanc
.
LeBlanc ran for leadership of Liberal Party in 2008 but dropped out of the race to endorse Michael Ignatieff
, who was later acclaimed leader. With the resignation of Ignatieff after the 2011 federal election LeBlanc is considered a likely candidate in the race to succeed him as party leader.
, Ontario
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in political science from the University of Toronto
(Trinity College
), a Bachelor of Laws
degree from the University of New Brunswick
, and then attended Harvard Law School
, where he obtained his Master of Laws
degree.
Prior to being elected to the House of Commons, LeBlanc was a Barrister and Solicitor with Clark Drummie in Shediac and Moncton. From 1993-1996, LeBlanc was a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
. He is the son of the former Governor General of Canada, The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, who had previously been the Member of Parliament for Westmorland-Kent from 1972 to 1984, and then a Senator from 1984 to 1994.
LeBlanc is an Acadian
. In 2003, he married Jolène Richard, a Provincial Court judge and daughter of Guy A. Richard who served as Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick. They have one son, Selby.
in the Canadian House of Commons
, representing the riding of Beauséjour
in New Brunswick
. He first ran in that riding in 1997, losing to New Democratic Party
candidate, Angela Vautour
. In 2000 he once again ran against Vautour, who had crossed the floor and was a Progressive Conservative
, and was easily elected. LeBlanc has been re-elected in the 2004
, 2006
, 2008
and 2011 federal elections.
to the Minister of National Defence
, from January 13, 2003, to December 11, 2003, and was the chair of the Atlantic Caucus. On July 10, 2004, he was sworn-in as a Member of the Privy Council for Canada and appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
and Deputy Chief Government Whip. He has served on the Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs, and the Standing Committees on Fisheries and Oceans, Transport and Government Operations, National Defence and Veterans Affairs, and Public Accounts, Procedures and House Affairs, and International Trade.
. In January 2007, he was named by the Honourable Stéphane Dion
, Vice Chair - Liberal Party of Canada Policy and Platform Committee and In October of that year, he was named Official Opposition critic for intergovernmental affairs. In January 2009, he was named by the Honourable Michael Ignatieff
as the critic for justice and attorny general. Before the return of Parliament in September 2010, Ignatieff shuffled his Shadow Cabinet and appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal critic for national defence. Following LeBlanc's re-election in the 2011 federal election, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae
appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal Party's Foreign Affairs Critic.
His supporters included top staffers in the prime minister's office under Jean Chrétien
, such as his former chief of staff Percy Downe
, and Tim Murphy
, chief of staff under Paul Martin
. Some senior organizers in Gerard Kennedy
's 2006 leadership bid were also with LeBlanc.
On December 8, 2008, LeBlanc announced he was dropping out of the leadership race because he felt a leader needed to be put in place as soon as possible and that he was throwing his support behind Ignatieff. The next day Rae dropped out of the race and Ignatieff was acclaimed leader when Dion stepped down.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(born December 14, 1967), is a Canadian lawyer and politician from New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the riding of Beauséjour
Beauséjour (electoral district)
Beauséjour riding is a federal electoral district in eastern New Brunswick, Canada, which has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
and sits in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as the Liberal Party's
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Foreign Affairs Critic
Liberal Party Shadow Cabinet of the 41st Parliament of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada's Shadow Cabinet was announced on June 1, 2011.-See also:*Cabinet of Canada*Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 41st Parliament of Canada...
. He was first elected in the 2000 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
and has been re-elected in the last four elections. LeBlanc is the son of former Member of Parliament, Senator and Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc was a Canadian journalist, politician, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since Canadian Confederation....
.
LeBlanc ran for leadership of Liberal Party in 2008 but dropped out of the race to endorse Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
, who was later acclaimed leader. With the resignation of Ignatieff after the 2011 federal election LeBlanc is considered a likely candidate in the race to succeed him as party leader.
Early life and education
LeBlanc was born in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in political science from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(Trinity College
University of Trinity College
The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...
), a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree from the University of New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...
, and then attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, where he obtained his Master of Laws
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
degree.
Prior to being elected to the House of Commons, LeBlanc was a Barrister and Solicitor with Clark Drummie in Shediac and Moncton. From 1993-1996, LeBlanc was a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
. He is the son of the former Governor General of Canada, The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, who had previously been the Member of Parliament for Westmorland-Kent from 1972 to 1984, and then a Senator from 1984 to 1994.
LeBlanc is an Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
. In 2003, he married Jolène Richard, a Provincial Court judge and daughter of Guy A. Richard who served as Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick. They have one son, Selby.
Political career
LeBlanc is member of the Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
, representing the riding of Beauséjour
Beauséjour (electoral district)
Beauséjour riding is a federal electoral district in eastern New Brunswick, Canada, which has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. He first ran in that riding in 1997, losing to New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
candidate, Angela Vautour
Angela Vautour
Angela Vautour is a former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Beauséjour—Petitcodiac in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2000....
. In 2000 he once again ran against Vautour, who had crossed the floor and was a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
, and was easily elected. LeBlanc has been re-elected in the 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, 2006
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, 2008
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
and 2011 federal elections.
Government MP
During the Liberal Party's time in power LeBlanc served as Parliamentary SecretaryParliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
to the Minister of National Defence
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....
, from January 13, 2003, to December 11, 2003, and was the chair of the Atlantic Caucus. On July 10, 2004, he was sworn-in as a Member of the Privy Council for Canada and appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)
The Leader of the government in the House of Commons , more commonly known as the Government House Leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Canadian House of Commons...
and Deputy Chief Government Whip. He has served on the Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs, and the Standing Committees on Fisheries and Oceans, Transport and Government Operations, National Defence and Veterans Affairs, and Public Accounts, Procedures and House Affairs, and International Trade.
Opposition MP
In January 2006, he was named Official Opposition critic for international trade and later that year he was co-chair of the 2006 Liberal Party leadership convention in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. In January 2007, he was named by the Honourable Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
, Vice Chair - Liberal Party of Canada Policy and Platform Committee and In October of that year, he was named Official Opposition critic for intergovernmental affairs. In January 2009, he was named by the Honourable Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
as the critic for justice and attorny general. Before the return of Parliament in September 2010, Ignatieff shuffled his Shadow Cabinet and appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal critic for national defence. Following LeBlanc's re-election in the 2011 federal election, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal Party's Foreign Affairs Critic.
2008 leadership bid
On October 27, 2008, LeBlanc was the first candidate to officially announce his intention to seek the leadership of the Liberal party to replace Stéphane Dion. Former leadership candidates Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae came forward shortly after LeBlanc's announcement.His supporters included top staffers in the prime minister's office under Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
, such as his former chief of staff Percy Downe
Percy Downe
Percy E. Downe is a Canadian Senator and former political aide.Since graduating from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1977, Downe has had the opportunity to serve at the provincial and federal levels of Canadian Government. From 1986 to 1993, Downe was executive assistant to the Premier...
, and Tim Murphy
Tim Murphy
Timothy John Murphy is a former politician and was the chief of staff of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office under Paul Martin's government.-Background:...
, chief of staff under Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
. Some senior organizers in Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada...
's 2006 leadership bid were also with LeBlanc.
On December 8, 2008, LeBlanc announced he was dropping out of the leadership race because he felt a leader needed to be put in place as soon as possible and that he was throwing his support behind Ignatieff. The next day Rae dropped out of the race and Ignatieff was acclaimed leader when Dion stepped down.