Yolande James was the first black female MNA, the youngest, and the first black cabinet minister in Quebec history.
15 Facts About Yolande James
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Yolande James grew up in Montreal's West Island area and went to a francophone primary school.
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Yolande James says she first got involved in politics and with the Quebec Liberal Party during the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum campaign.
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Yolande James received a Bachelor's degree in civil law in 2000 from Universite de Montreal and a Bachelor's degree in common law from Queen's University in 2003.
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Yolande James was called to the Bar of Quebec in 2004.
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Yolande James was a political adviser at the Ministry of Health and Social Services and was the political aid of a former MNA for the Nelligan riding.
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Yolande James collaborated in a local program which helped youths with learning difficulties.
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Yolande James was first elected to the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Nelligan in a by-election held on September 20,2004.
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Yolande James was re-elected in the 2007,2008, and 2012 general elections.
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Yolande James was appointed Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities in the minority government cabinet of Quebec Premier Jean Charest in 2007 following the initiative of Jean Charest to represent Anglophones and Cultural Communities in his Cabinet.
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When Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois demanded that the province of Quebec have full control over its immigration, Yolande James replied that under a bilateral agreement with the national government, Quebec already has all the power it needs to select the economic immigrants it wants.
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Yolande James publicly entered the controversy over reasonable accommodation by stating that she stood by her decree to bar students from covering their faces with niqabs or burqas in French-language classes.
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However, after Yolande James left provincial politics, she stated that her thinking on the niqab had evolved.
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On February 24,2014, Yolande James announced she was leaving politics and would not seek re-election in the 2014 election.
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On February 12,2017, Yolande James confirmed on Twitter that she would seek the Liberal Party of Canada's nomination for the Saint-Laurent federal electoral district.