- David Whissell
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David Whissell MNA for Argenteuil Incumbent Assumed office
June 1, 1998Preceded by Regent Beaudet Personal details Born September 1, 1967
Montreal, QuebecPolitical party Quebec Liberal Party Spouse(s) Francine Vaillancourt Residence Lachute, Quebec Profession Civil Engineer, Businessman David Whissell, B.Eng. (born September 1, 1967 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian politician, businessman, engineer and, until September 9, Quebec's Minister of Labour.
He received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the École polytechnique de Montréal in 1990. He worked as an engineer at Whissell Inc., in Lachute, and became the president and owner of Beton 344 Inc. in Saint-André-d'Argenteuil near Lachute, and the president and vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce of Lachute.
Prior to his entry into provincial politics, he was the president of the Liberal Party of Canada association in the Argenteuil region. He is the member for Argenteuil in the National Assembly of Quebec and a member of the Quebec Liberal Party. He was first elected in a by-election on June 1, 1998, and was re-elected in the general elections held on November 30, 1998 and April 14, 2003. When the Liberals regained power he was named the Parliamentary secretary to Jean Charest. In 2005, after a Cabinet shuffle, he would become the Chair of the Government Caucus and member responsible for the Laurentians.
Whissell was the only Liberal member to be re-elected in the Laurentides region in the 2007 elections. He was named Minister of Labour and the Minister responsible for the Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Laurentides and Lanaudière regions.
He resigned from the Cabinet on September 9 following a conflict of interest related to a company in which he detained shares. According to a local newspaper, the company, ABC Rive-Nord, specialized in asphalt making, received multiple contracts without call for bids from the Ministry of Transportaion. [1]
He lives together with Francine Vaillancourt and is the father of two children, Justine and Philippe.
Electoral record
2008 Quebec provincial election : Argenteuil edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Liberal (x)David Whissell 10,843 49.58 +11.99 Parti Québécois John Saywell 7,353 33.62 +7.78 Action démocratique Michael Perzow 2,457 11.24 -18.41 Green Claude Sabourin 760 3.48 -1.19 Québec Solidaire Loïc Kauffeisen 456 2.09 -0.16 Total valid votes 21,869 100.00 Rejected and declined votes 346 Turnout 22,215 54.17 Electors on the lists 41,006 Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
2007 Quebec provincial election : Argenteuil edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Liberal (x)David Whissell 10,025 37.59 -15.74 Action démocratique Georges Lapointe 7,906 29.65 +11.21 Parti Québécois John Saywell 6,891 25.84 +0.93 Green Claude Sabourin 1,244 4.67 +2.58 Québec Solidaire Guy Dufresne 600 2.25 +1.02 Total valid votes 26,666 100.00 Rejected and declined votes 248 Turnout 26,914 68.52 +2.06 Electors on the lists 39,278 Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
2003 Quebec provincial election : Argenteuil edit Party Candidate Votes % +/- Liberal (x)David Whissell 12,645 53.33 Parti Québécois Georges Lapointe 5,906 24.91 Action démocratique Sylvain Demers 4,372 18.44 Green Claude Sabourin 496 2.09 Bloc pot Yannick Charpentier 292 1.23 Total valid votes 23,711 100.00 Rejected and declined votes 280 Turnout 23,991 66.46 Electors on the lists 36,101 Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
References
Political offices Preceded by
Laurent LessardMinister of Labour
2007–2009Succeeded by
incumbentCategories:- 1967 births
- Anglophone Quebec people
- Canadian engineers
- Living people
- People from Lachute
- People from Montreal
- Quebec Liberal Party MNAs
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