Guy Caron
Guy Caron (born May 13, 1968)[1] is a Canadian politician who served as the federal House leader of the New Democratic Party from 2017 to 2019, substituting for party leader Jagmeet Singh who during this time did not hold a seat.
Guy Caron | |
---|---|
Parliamentary Leader of the New Democratic Party | |
In office October 4, 2017 – February 25, 2019 | |
Appointed by | Jagmeet Singh |
Leader | Jagmeet Singh |
Preceded by | Murray Rankin |
Succeeded by | Jagmeet Singh |
Shadow Minister for Natural Resources | |
In office January 23, 2015 – November 19, 2015 | |
Leader | Thomas Mulcair |
Preceded by | Chris Charlton |
Succeeded by | Candice Bergen |
Shadow Minister for Industry | |
In office November 1, 2011 – April 18, 2012 | |
Leader | Nycole Turmel |
Preceded by | Peter Julian |
Succeeded by | Hélène LeBlanc |
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques | |
In office May 2, 2011 – October 21, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Claude Guimond |
Succeeded by | Maxime Blanchette-Joncas |
Personal details | |
Born | Rimouski, Quebec | May 13, 1968
Political party | New Democratic Party |
Spouse(s) | Valerie |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Gatineau |
Profession | Economist, journalist, public relations officer, researcher |
Caron was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election.[2] He represents the electoral district of Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP). He was the NDP's critic for Finance and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, but resigned from the NDP's shadow cabinet in February 2017 to pursue leadership of the New Democratic Party of Canada.[3]
On October 4, 2017 Jagmeet Singh, the newly elected NDP leader, appointed Guy Caron to serve as the NDP's parliamentary leader.[4] He relinquished this position on February 25, 2019 upon Singh's election to parliament from the riding of Burnaby South. Caron lost his seat in the 2019 Canadian federal election.
Early life and career
Caron was born in Rimouski, Quebec. He has a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Ottawa in 1992, and served two terms as president of their student federation in 1992-94. He was vice-president of the board of directors of Voyages Campus/Travel Cuts, 1994. He was national president of the Canadian Federation of Students for two terms in 1994-6.[5] He also has a master's degree in economics from Université du Québec à Montréal in 2001.[6]
Prior to being elected, Caron was a researcher and economist with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, most recently as Director of Special Projects.[7] He previously worked for the Council of Canadians where he was a media relations officer, then the Campaigner on Canada-U.S. Relations, and then the Healthcare Campaigner. He has also worked for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. He is also a former journalist: he worked with radio stations CKLE and CKMN-FM, and with the newspapers Progrès-Écho and Rimouskois while studying science at the Cégep de Rimouski.[8]
He is the author of Crossing the Line: A Citizens’ Inquiry on Canada-U.S. Relations.[9]
Political career
Caron ran in Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques as the NDP candidate in 2004, 2006 and 2008, each time finishing a distant fourth. In 2011, however, he defeated Bloc Québecois incumbent Claude Guimond as part of the large NDP wave that swept through Quebec. He was appointed chairperson of the NDP's Quebec caucus following the election.[10]
After the 2015 election, Caron was appointed the NDP critic for Finance, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, as well as deputy critic for Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard in the 42nd Canadian Parliament.[11]
Caron resigned from the NDP shadow cabinet in February 2017 in order to stand for the leadership of the New Democratic Party to succeed Tom Mulcair.[12] Caron stated that the two major challenges confronting Canadians are income inequality and climate change. His leadership platform includes a guaranteed basic income.[13] In the October 1, 2017 election, Caron placed fourth with 9.4% of the vote, with Jagmeet Singh winning on the first ballot.[14]
On October 4, 2017 Jagmeet Singh, the newly elected NDP leader, appointed Guy Caron to serve as the NDP's parliamentary leader[4]
Policies
Tax policy
Guy Caron released a tax plan called Making Taxes Work for Canadians as part of his ongoing NDP leadership bid. The plan proposes the creation of a Tax Crimes Division within the Department of Justice Canada, in order to provide a more robust method of preventing tax evasion. In addition, the tax plan proposes a Financial Activities Tax to tax the profits of financial institutions and the renumeration packages of banking executives. Caron's plan also proposes the elimination of the "CEO stock option loophole," a promise made by the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[15]
Basic income
Guy Caron's bid for the NDP leadership also includes a plan for basic income for individuals or families who spend at least 20% more of their income than the average on necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing (designated as the low-income cut-off line). The basic income program would be joined with the Canada Childcare Benefit and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, without affecting other programs.[16]
Trade
Guy Caron's NDP leadership website states that Caron will work for "trade deals that work for Canadians". The website also states that "trade is good, when the deals are done right".[17]
Electoral record
Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, 2013 Representation Order
There will be no territory changes for the 42nd Canadian federal election.
2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
New Democratic | Guy Caron | 19,374 | 43.11 | +0.13 | – | |||
Liberal | Pierre Cadieux | 12,594 | 28.02 | +18.42 | – | |||
Bloc Québécois | Johanne Carignan | 8,673 | 19.3 | -11.53 | – | |||
Conservative | Francis Fortin | 3,361 | 7.48 | -7.08 | – | |||
Green | Louise Boutin | 669 | 1.49 | -0.54 | – | |||
Rhinoceros | Sébastien CôRhino Côrriveau | 274 | 0.61 | – | – | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 44,837 | 100.0 | $210,378.44 | |||||
Total rejected ballots | – | – | – | |||||
Turnout | – | – | – | |||||
Eligible voters | 69,631 | |||||||
New Democratic hold | Swing | +9.28 | ||||||
Source: Elections Canada[18][19] |
Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, 2003 Representation Order
2011 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
New Democratic | Guy Caron | 18,360 | 42.98 | +32.65 | $1,454.82 | |||
Bloc Québécois | Claude Guimond | 13,170 | 30.83 | -13.85 | $37,084.15 | |||
Conservative | Bertin Denis | 6,218 | 14.56 | -3.70 | $48,523.44 | |||
Liberal | Pierre Cadieux | 4,101 | 9.60 | -10.49 | $12,947.19 | |||
Green | Clément Pelletier | 867 | 2.03 | +0.40 | none listed | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 42,716 | 100.0 | $86,716.92 | |||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 449 | 1.04 | -0.13 | |||||
Turnout | 43,165 | 62.90 | +4.17 | |||||
Eligible voters | 68,625 | |||||||
New Democratic gain from Bloc Québécois | Swing | +23.25 | ||||||
Sources:[20][21] |
2008 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
Bloc Québécois | Claude Guimond | 17,652 | 44.68 | -1.70 | $26,530.06 | |||
Liberal | Pierre Béland | 7,937 | 20.09 | +0.76 | $16,213.11 | |||
Conservative | Gaston Noël | 7,216 | 18.26 | -3.94 | $50,736.77 | |||
New Democratic | Guy Caron | 4,085 | 10.33 | +0.53 | $8,921.06 | |||
Independent | Louise Thibault | 1,966 | 4.97 | – | $10,441.59 | |||
Green | James D. Morrison | 645 | 1.63 | -0.65 | none listed | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 39,501 | 100.0 | $83,533 | |||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 468 | 1.17 | -0.05 | |||||
Turnout | 39,969 | 58.73 | -5.03 | |||||
Eligible voters | 68,055 | |||||||
Bloc Québécois hold | Swing | -1.23 | ||||||
Independent candidate Louise Thibault was previously elected as a member of the Bloc Québécois, and lost 41.41 percentage points from her results in the 2006 election. |
2006 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
Bloc Québécois | Louise Thibault | 19,804 | 46.38 | -11.25 | $37,738.52 | |||
Conservative | Roger Picard | 9,481 | 22.20 | +13.26 | $15,575.69 | |||
Liberal | Michel Tremblay | 8,254 | 19.33 | -4.44 | $54,457.05 | |||
New Democratic | Guy Caron | 4,186 | 9.80 | +2.75 | $15,288.40 | |||
Green | François Bédard | 973 | 2.28 | -0.34 | $30.76 | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 42,698 | 100.0 | $77,697 | |||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 529 | 1.22 | -0.68 | |||||
Turnout | 43,227 | 63.76 | +5.71 | |||||
Eligible voters | 67,793 | |||||||
Bloc Québécois hold | Swing | -12.26 |
2004 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
Bloc Québécois | Louise Thibault | 22,215 | 57.63 | -2.77 | $37,917.81 | |||
Liberal | Côme Roy | 9,161 | 23.77 | -5.96 | $52,950.93 | |||
Conservative | Denis Quimper | 3,445 | 8.94 | +2.10 | $14,150.40 | |||
New Democratic | Guy Caron | 2,717 | 7.05 | +5.10 | $6,486.64 | |||
Green | Marjolaine Delaunière | 1,008 | 2.62 | – | none listed | |||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 38,546 | 100.0 | $75,927 | |||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 747 | 1.90 | ||||||
Turnout | 39,293 | 58.05 | -0.46 | |||||
Eligible voters | 67,686 | |||||||
Bloc Québécois notional hold | Swing | +1.60 | ||||||
Changes from 2000 are based on redistributed results. Change for the Conservatives is based on the combined total of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance. |
References
- Guy Caron – Parliament of Canada biography
- "Election 2011: Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques". The Globe and Mail. May 2, 2011. Archived from the original on September 5, 2011.
- Politics, Canadian (2017-02-12). "NDP's Guy Caron gives up shadow cabinet role to consider leadership bid". National Post. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
- http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/singh-names-leadership-rival-guy-caron-to-lead-ndp-in-the-commons-1.3618785
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2011-08-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "About Guy". ndp.ca. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-08-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Statement by Guy Caron, NDP Quebec caucus chair, on the decision of the Charest government to hold a public inquiry on the construction industry". ndp.ca. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- Kirkup, Kristy (12 November 2015). "Tom Mulcair taps Nathan Cullen, Charlie Angus, Guy Caron for top critic roles". CBC News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- Smith, Marie-Danielle (27 February 2017). "Three's a crowd? Guy Caron joins federal NDP leadership race, citing economic prowess". National Post. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- https://montrealgazette.com/news/national/three+crowd+caron+joins+federal+leadership+race+citing+economic/13006401/story.html
- Ballingball, Alex (1 October 2017). "Jagmeet Singh wins the NDP leadership race". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- "Making Taxes Work for Canadians". Guy Caron for NDP Leader. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
- "Guy Caron for NDP Leader". Guy Caron for NDP Leader. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
- "About Guy Caron". Guy Caron for NDP Leader. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
- Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, 30 September 2015
- Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
- Elections Canada – Official voting results, Forty-first general election, 2011
- Elections Canada – Candidate's electoral campaign return, 41st general election