32 Facts About Denis Paradis

Denis Paradis's brother, Pierre Paradis, is a member of the National Assembly of Quebec and a provincial cabinet minister.

Denis Paradis has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of Ottawa and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1976.

Denis Paradis championed the Canadian federalist cause in the campaign and said that his election would confirm Brome-Missisquoi's place within a united Canada.

The election was initially considered too close to call, but Denis Paradis won by a significant margin.

Denis Paradis's victory was seen as helping the federalist cause in the buildup to the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.

Denis Paradis entered parliament as a backbench supporter of Jean Chretien's government.

Denis Paradis was elected chair of the Liberal Party's Quebec caucus in February 1997.

Denis Paradis was returned to a second parliamentary mandate in the 1997 federal election, and in late 1997 he co-chaired a special committee that recommended Quebec's schools be divided on linguistic rather than denominational lines.

Denis Paradis was named as parliamentary secretary to the minister for International Cooperation in January 1999, and in September of the same year he was promoted to parliamentary secretary to the minister of Foreign Affairs.

Denis Paradis was again returned to parliament in the 2000 federal election.

Denis Paradis was appointed as Secretary of State for La Francophonie and Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa in Chretien's government on 15 January 2002.

Shortly after his appointment, Denis Paradis met with Nigerian Information Minister Jerry Gana in an effort to prevent the execution of Safiya Hussaini.

Denis Paradis later supported the Commonwealth's decision to suspend Zimbabwe for one year in the aftermath of that country's disputed 2002 presidential election.

Denis Paradis accompanied Chretien on a 2002 delegation to Africa that included stops in Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Denis Paradis supported the New Partnership for Africa's Development, and in October 2002 he pledged more than two million dollars to promote security and good governance in francophone Africa.

In March 2003, Denis Paradis announced that Canada would provide one hundred million dollars to Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania under the Canada Fund for Africa.

Later in the same year, Denis Paradis represented Canada at Olusegun Obasanjo's inauguration for a second term as President of Nigeria.

Denis Paradis nominated former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to be named to the Order of Canada in 2002.

Denis Paradis led a Canadian trade delegation to Cuba in November 2002.

In January 2003, Denis Paradis hosted a diplomatic event called the Ottawa Initiative on Haiti.

In December 2002, Denis Paradis called for the creation of a watchdog organization to target human rights violations in Francophonie nations.

Denis Paradis was not, during Jean Chretien's tenure as Prime Minister, among the group of Liberal parliamentarians who supported Paul Martin's leadership ambitions.

Denis Paradis nevertheless supported Martin at the 2003 Liberal Party leadership convention, which was held to elect Chretien's successor.

Denis Paradis led several roundtable discussions with business, academic, and social groups in months that followed, during the buildup to the Martin government's 2004 budget.

Denis Paradis was narrowly re-elected in the 2004 federal election over Bloc challenger Christian Ouellet.

Denis Paradis was not re-appointed to the ministry and returned to the government backbenches.

Denis Paradis lost his seat to Ouellet in the 2006 election, amid losses for the Liberal Party across Quebec.

Denis Paradis supported Stephane Dion in the Liberal Party's 2006 leadership election.

Denis Paradis attempted to reclaim his seat in the 2008 federal election but was narrowly defeated by Ouellet in a rematch from 2006.

Denis Paradis ran for re-election in the 2011 federal election but lost to Pierre Jacob of the New Democratic Party amid a strong provincial swing to the NDP.

Denis Paradis ran for the office of Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, losing to fellow Liberal MP Geoff Regan.

Denis Paradis did not run for re-election in the 2019 Canadian federal election.