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Benoît Sauvageau

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Benoît Sauvageau
Member of Parliament
for Terrebonne
In office
October 25, 1993 – June 2, 1997
Preceded byJean-Marc Robitaille
Succeeded bylast member
Member of Parliament
for Repentigny
In office
June 2, 1997 – August 28, 2006
Preceded byfirst member
Succeeded byRaymond Gravel
Personal details
Born(1963-11-22)November 22, 1963
Charlemagne, Quebec
DiedAugust 28, 2006(2006-08-28) (aged 42)
Repentigny, Quebec
Political partyBloc Québécois
SpouseJacinthe Amireault
Residence(s)Repentigny, Quebec
Occupationteacher

Benoît Sauvageau (November 22, 1963 – August 28, 2006) was a Canadian politician, who served as a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 until his death in 2006.

Born in Charlemagne, Quebec, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and was a professor before entering politics. In 1993, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the Quebec riding of Terrebonne. He was subsequently re-elected in the 1997, 2000, and 2004 elections in the redistricted riding of Repentigny. From 2003 to 2004, he was the Deputy Whip of the Bloc Québécois. In the federal election that fell on January 23, 2006, Sauvageau garnered over 62% of the vote in his riding for a landslide victory over the Conservatives and the Liberals, who were still reeling from their political fallout from the sponsorship scandal.

Admired for his warmth and good nature by friend and adversary alike, Sauvageau championed fiscal responsibility on the Public Accounts committee and the language rights of francophones on the Official Languages committee.

Death

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Sauvageau died in a car accident in his riding of Repentigny on August 28, 2006, while on the way to a constituency event.[1]

LCN initially reported that just a few minutes before the accident, his wife Jacinthe had called 9-1-1 because Sauvageau had allegedly threatened to commit suicide shortly before leaving their home.[2] However, a coroner's report concluded in August 2007 that Sauvageau did not intentionally crash his vehicle, and confirmed that he was distracted by his cellphone.[3]

Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe described him "as a hard working and determined MP who knew everyone in his riding". Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement that: "Mr. Sauvageau was proud of his francophone roots, and was a dedicated MP who served his constituents well. He was appreciated by his colleagues for his integrity and human values and he will be missed."[1] Long-time colleague, and then interim Liberal leader, Bill Graham stated that Sauvageau "brought to his job a great dedication and a willingness to work for the common good that made him an admired colleague for all."[4]

Electoral record (partial)

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1993 Canadian federal election: Terrebonne—Blainville
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Bloc Québécois Benoît Sauvageau 58,030 68.87 $59,840
Liberal Claire Brouillet 15,102 17.92 $52,695
Progressive Conservative Jean-Marc Robitaille 9,825 11.66 $69,098
New Democratic Renée-Claude Lorimier 900 1.07 $0
Commonwealth of Canada Christian Chouery 403 0.48 $0
Total valid votes/expense limit 84,260 100.00 $76,905
Total rejected ballots 3,973
Turnout 88,233 79.12
Electors on the lists 111,511
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from the official contributions and expenses submitted by the candidates, provided by Elections Canada.

References

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