Hélène Laverdière
Hélène Laverdière (French pronunciation: [elɛn lavɛʁdjɛʁ]; born April 13, 1955) is a Canadian politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Laurier—Sainte-Marie in the 2011 election as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), defeating Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe in his riding and retired at the 2019 election.
Hélène Laverdière | |
|---|---|
| Shadow Minister for International Development | |
| In office October 22, 2012 – November 19, 2015 | |
| Leader | Thomas Mulcair |
| Preceded by | Romeo Saganash |
| Succeeded by | Deepak Obhrai |
| In office May 26, 2011 – October 2, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Glen Pearson |
| Succeeded by | Jinny Sims |
| Member of Parliament for Laurier—Sainte-Marie | |
| In office May 2, 2011 – September 11, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Gilles Duceppe |
| Succeeded by | Steven Guilbeault |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 13, 1955 Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Germain Bélanger |
| Residence(s) | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Bath (PhD) |
| Occupation | Educator, diplomat, politician |
Laverdière obtained her Ph.D in sociology from the University of Bath, and briefly taught in the sociology department at the Université Laval. She subsequently entered Canada's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992, serving in Washington, D.C., Dakar, Senegal and Santiago.
On July 9, 2018, Laverdière announced she would not run for a third term in the 2019 federal election. She told Le Devoir that she was due to turn 64 in 2019, and felt she needed to "pause for a little" and give "new blood" a chance to run.