Madeleine Bélanger

Madeleine Bélanger (née Audet, born April 7, 1932) is a Quebec politician, she previously served as the member for Mégantic-Compton in the Quebec National Assembly as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1983 until 2003. Following the death of her second husband Fabien Bélanger on October 2, 1983, she was elected as his replacement on December 5, 1983 and took her oath of office shortly thereafter. Her daughter Johanne Gonthier,[1] also served Mégantic-Compton as a Liberal Member of the National Assembly of Quebec. Her nephew Gérard Gosselin served as a Parti Québécois member for Sherbrooke.[2]

Madeleine Bélanger
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Mégantic-Compton
In office December 5, 1983 – April 14, 2003
Preceded by	Fabien Bélanger
Succeeded by	Daniel Bouchard
Personal details
Born	(1932-04-07) April 7, 1932 Saint-Sébastien, Quebec
Political party	Quebec Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Jules Gonthier Fabien Bélanger (1973-1983)
Children	Johanne Gonthier
Profession	Educator

Biography

Bélanger was born in Saint-Sébastien, the daughter of a farmer. She was an elementary school teacher at Saint-Samuel-Station for three years. She owned two hairdressing salons and was also and administrator and manager of a home electrical installation company for three years, then a director of two residential development companies.

Political career

Bélanger's husband Fabien Bélanger[3] died suddenly on October 2, 1983. She secured the Liberal nomination for Mégantic-Compton and won the ensuing by-election and was re-elected in 1985, 1989, 1994 and 1998, never once facing a serious challenge and winning by at least ten percent each time, except for her last run for office. Bélanger served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs during the very brief government of Daniel Johnson Jr. and later became Chair of the Committee on Planning and the Public Domain as well as the Chairperson of the Committee on Education during her time in office.

She did not seek re-election in 2003.[4]

Electoral record

Provincial

1998 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Bélanger	12,675	50.49	-3.46
	Parti Québécois	Suzanne Durivage	10,339	41.18	-1.18
	Action démocratique	Olivier Chalifoux	1,835	7.31	–
	Socialist Democracy	Yves Couturier	174	0.69	–
	Equality	Frank Moller	81	0.32	-1.50
Total valid votes			25,104	99.01
Rejected and declined votes			250	0.99	-1.07
Turnout			25,354	79.89	-1.14
Electors on the lists			31,736
Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec
	Liberal hold		Swing		-2.32

1994 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Bélanger	12,799	53.95	-6.44
	Parti Québécois	Jacques Blais	10,051	42.36	+12.44
	Natural Law	Christian Simard	444	1.87	–
	Equality	Matthew Begbie	432	1.82	-3.16
Total valid votes			23,725	97.94
Rejected and declined votes			500	2.06	+0.55
Turnout			24,225	81.03	+4.32
Electors on the lists			29,896
Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec
	Liberal hold		Swing		-9.44

1989 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Bélanger	12,608	60.39	+0.91
	Parti Québécois	Léon Ducharme	6,246	29.92	-7.43
	Equality	Frank Moller	1,039	4.98	–
	Green	Pierre Gilbert	740	3.54	–
	Parti 51	Edmond Trudeau	245	1.17	–
Total valid votes			20,878	98.49
Rejected and declined votes			320	1.51	+0.41
Turnout			21,198	76.71	-0.68
Electors on the lists			27,634
Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec
	Liberal hold		Swing		+4.17

1985 Quebec general election: Mégantic-Compton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Bélanger	12,865	59.48	-8.12
	Parti Québécois	Maurice Bernier	8,708	37.35	+6.87
	New Democratic	Joseph Lemoine	594	2.75	–
	Christian Socialist	Steeve Stratford	91	0.42	–
Total valid votes			21,628	98.90
Rejected and declined votes			241	1.10	+0.15
Turnout			21,869	77.39	+4.96
Electors on the lists			28,257
Source: Official Results, Government of Quebec
	Liberal hold		Swing		-7.50

Quebec provincial by-election, December 5, 1983: Mégantic-Compton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Madeleine Bélanger	13,711	67.60	+15.87
	Parti Québécois	Noël Landry	6,182	30.48	-11.04
	Independent	Jean-Luc Perron	233	1.15	–
	No Affiliation	Patricia Métivier	156	0.77	–
Total valid votes			20,282	99.05
Total rejected ballots			194	0.95	+0.23
Turnout			20,476	72.43	-9.61
Electors on the lists			28,270
	Liberal hold		Swing		+13.50
By-election due to the death of Fabien Bélanger
Source(s) "December 5, 1983 By-election". Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec. December 5, 1983. Retrieved February 24, 2017.

References

1. Johanne Gonthier Quebec National Assembly Biography
2. Gérard Gosselin Quebec National Assembly Biography
3. Fabien Bélanger Quebec National Assembly Biography
4. Madeleine Bélanger Quebec National Assembly Biography