David Whissell

David Whissell, BEng (born September 1, 1967) is a Canadian politician, businessman, engineer and former Quebec cabinet minister.

David Whissell
MNA for Argenteuil
In office
November 30, 1998  December 16, 2011
Preceded byRegent Beaudet
Succeeded byAgnès Grondin
Personal details
Born (1967-09-01) September 1, 1967
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanada
Political partyQuebec Liberal Party
ResidenceLachute, Quebec
Alma materÉcole polytechnique de Montréal
ProfessionCivil engineer, businessman

Born in Montreal, Whissell 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 was later the member for Argenteuil in the National Assembly of Quebec as 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, 2009 following a conflict of interest related to a company in which he owned shares. According to a local newspaper, the company, ABC Rive-Nord, specialized in asphalt making and received multiple contracts without call for bids from the Ministry of Transportation.[1]

He resigned his seat in the National Assembly on December 16, 2011, citing family reasons and a desire to focus on his business career.[2]

He lives with Francine Vaillancourt and is the father of two children, Justine and Philippe.

Electoral record

2008 Quebec general election: Argenteuil
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalDavid Whissell10,84349.58+11.99
Parti QuébécoisJohn Saywell7,35333.62+7.78
Action démocratiqueMichael Perzow2,45711.24−18.41
GreenClaude Sabourin7603.48−1.19
Québec solidaireLoïc Kauffeisen4562.09−0.16
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 general election: Argenteuil
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalDavid Whissell10,02537.59−15.74
Action démocratiqueGeorges Lapointe7,90629.65+11.21
Parti QuébécoisJohn Saywell6,89125.84+0.93
GreenClaude Sabourin1,2444.67+2.58
Québec solidaireGuy Dufresne6002.25+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 general election: Argenteuil
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalDavid Whissell12,64553.33+10.86
Parti QuébécoisGeorges Lapointe5,90624.91−17.18
Action démocratiqueSylvain Demers4,37218.44+5.57
GreenClaude Sabourin4962.09-
Bloc PotYannick Charpentier2921.23+0.01
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

  • "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
Political offices
Preceded by
Laurent Lessard
Minister of Labour
2007–2009
Succeeded by
Lise Thériault
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