Bernard Trottier

Bernard Trottier (born March 13, 1965) is a former Canadian politician. He was a Conservative Party member House of Commons of Canada who served from 2011 to 2015 representing the Toronto riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore. Trottier was elected in the 2011 federal election when he defeated the Leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, who was also the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Bernard Trottier
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Etobicoke—Lakeshore
In office May 2, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded by	Michael Ignatieff
Succeeded by	James Maloney
Personal details
Born	(1965-03-13) March 13, 1965 St. Paul, Alberta
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Susan Schutta
Children	Alexandre, Zoë
Residence	Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Alberta University of Western Ontario
Profession	Management Consultant

In February 2015, Trottier was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for La Francophonie. Previously, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services in September 2013.[1]

Early years and education

Born and raised in St. Paul, Alberta,[2] he was born to Dr. Léon Trottier and artist Terry Trottier.[3] After graduating from St. Paul Regional High School in 1983,[3] Bernard Trottier went on to earn his B.Sc.Eng. from the University of Alberta in 1988 and his M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1992. He also attended l'École des Hautes Études Commerciales, l'Université de Montréal/École Polytechnique de Montréal, and the University of Ottawa.[4]

Business career and community activities

Since graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1992, Trottier has resided in Toronto. Trottier was a management consultant in the Toronto area before joining IBM Global Business Services as a senior consulting manager, a job he held at the time he was elected to Parliament.[3][4] He previously served as the President of the Etobicoke—Lakeshore Conservative Association and of the Sunnylea Co-operative Nursery School. He also volunteered as a coach in the Royal York Baseball League and the Islington Rangers Soccer League.[4]

Entrance to politics

In the 2011 federal election, Trottier won the Toronto riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore, defeating Leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, who was also the incumbent Leader of the Official Opposition.[5][6][7][8][9] The Liberal Party had held 20 of the 22 Toronto ridings prior to the election.[10]

Trottier was initially considered a sacrificial lamb candidate; even he initially didn't expect to win. However, he benefited from a collapse in Liberal support in Toronto which saw the Conservatives claim a total of eight seats in the city. He also benefited from the endorsement of Toronto Mayor and Etobicoke resident Rob Ford. Voters were reportedly also concerned that Ignatieff might resign in the event the Liberals didn't do well.[11] Reports suggested that Ignatieff had initially promised to move into a home inside his riding, but instead he resided in the Downtown Toronto neighbourhood of Yorkville, which rankled Etobicoke—Lakeshore residents and reinforced perceptions of Ignatieff's political opportunism.[12]

Trottier was defeated by Liberal James Maloney in the 2015 election, taking 32 percent of the vote amid the Liberal wave that swept through Toronto.

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election: Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	James Maloney	34,638	53.70	+18.60	$154,037.25
	Conservative	Bernard Trottier	20,932	32.45	-7.78	$114,083.23
	New Democratic	Phil Trotter	7,030	10.90	-9.40	$27,861.80
	Green	Angela Salewsky	1,507	2.34	-1.68	$2,045.10
	Animal Alliance	Liz White	233	0.36	–	$4,975.83
	Marxist–Leninist	Janice Murray	168	0.26	-0.10	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			64,508	100.00		$233,887.62
Total rejected ballots			307	0.47
Turnout			64,815	70.37
Eligible voters			92,100
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+13.19
Source: Elections Canada[13][14]

2011 Canadian federal election: Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Bernard Trottier	21,997	40.35	+5.48	$78,142.35
	Liberal	Michael Ignatieff	19,128	35.08	-11.05	$68,176.10
	New Democratic	Michael Erickson	11,046	20.26	+8.60	$19,716.93
	Green	David Corail	2,159	3.96	-3.02	$6,090.24
	Marxist–Leninist	Janice Murray	190	0.35	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			54,520	100.00	–	$91,715.45
Total rejected ballots			243	0.44	+0.02
Turnout			54,763	64.02
Eligible voters			85,547	–	–

Personal life

A Franco-Albertan, Trottier is fluently bilingual in French and English. He and his wife, Susan Schutta, live in Etobicoke with their two children: Alexandre and Zoë.[4]

References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403012647/http://pm.gc.ca/eng/parliamentary-secretaries/bernard-trottier. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "Meet Our Candidates: Etobicoke - Lakeshore". Conservative Party of Canada. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
3. Clare Gauvreau (April 26, 2011). "Former St. Paul man takes on Ignatieff". St. Paul Journal. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
4. "About Bernard". Bernard Trottier Campaign. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
5. "2011 General Election". Elections Canada. May 3, 2011.
6. Les Whittington & Susan Delacourt (May 3, 2011). "Ignatieff loses Etobicoke-Lakeshore seat as Liberals crushed". Toronto Star.
7. Antonella Artuso (May 3, 2011). "Liberals suffer historic defeat in Toronto". Toronto Sun.
8. Ian Munroe (May 3, 2011). "Liberal support collapses in face of NDP surge". CTV News. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
9. Campbell Clark (May 3, 2011). "Layton vows 'constructive' opposition to conservatives". The Globe and Mail.
10. "Ignatieff joins Toronto liberals in defeat". CBC News. May 3, 2011.
11. Church, Elizabeth. The sacrificial lamb who slew Ignatieff. The Globe and Mail, 2011-05-03.
12. "How Bernard Trottier upset Michael Ignatieff". Maclean's. May 16, 2011. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
13. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, 30 September 2015
14. Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits

External links

• Official Website
• Bernard Trottier – Parliament of Canada biography