15 Facts About Don Boudria

Don Boudria was born on August 30,1949 and is a former Canadian politician and current senior associate at Sandstone Group, an Ottawa-based executive advisory firm.

Don Boudria served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2006 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chretien.

Don Boudria defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Joseph Albert Belanger by 5,172 votes in Prescott and Russell, and served in the legislature for three years as a member the Ontario Liberal Party, which was then the official opposition to the Progressive Conservative government, led by William Davis.

Don Boudria left provincial politics to run for the House of Commons in the 1984 federal election.

Don Boudria was re-elected without difficulty in 1988,1993,1997 and 2000.

Don Boudria was appointed Chief Government Whip on September 15,1994.

Don Boudria held this position until October 4,1996, when he was named to Cabinet as Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for La Francophonie.

Don Boudria was named Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons after the 1997 election, managing a complex legislative agenda when, for the first time in Canadian history, five parties won enough seats to qualify for official party status.

Don Boudria retained this position until January 14,2002, when he was again given a full portfolio as Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Don Boudria was reappointed as Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons on May 26,2002, when Prime Minister Jean Chretien retired.

Don Boudria was known within the Liberal caucus as a leading Chretien loyalist.

Don Boudria was not reappointed to cabinet in December 2003 when Paul Martin replaced Chretien as Liberal leader and prime minister.

On May 6,2005, Don Boudria announced he would not run in the next election.

Don Boudria has been decorated on three separate occasions by the International Assembly of French-speaking Parliamentarians with the l'Ordre de la Pleiade award, where he served as the founding president of the Ontario section, for his advocacy of international cooperation and the rights of French-speaking peoples.

Don Boudria was a recipient of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians' Distinguished Service Award in 2018.