View source for Daniel Boucher (politician)

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
'''Daniel Boucher''' is a politician in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], Canada. He served on the [[Montreal city council]] from 1994 to 1998, originally as a member of [[Vision Montreal]] and later as an independent. Boucher has also sought election to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] and the [[National Assembly of Quebec]].

==Early life and career==
Boucher was a bus driver for a seniors' residence in the early 1990s.<ref>"NDP selects candidate for Anjou," ''Montreal Gazette'', 18 December 1991, p. 3; Harvey Shepherd, "Voters go to the polls in Anjou by-election," ''Montreal Gazette'', 20 January 1992, p. 3.</ref> A [[Quebec sovereigntist]], he was an early supporter of the [[Bloc Québécois]] in Canadian federal politics.<ref>"Candidate picked," ''Globe and Mail'', 18 December 1991, p. 7.</ref>

==Early bids for public office==
While supporting the Bloc Québécois at the federal level, Boucher ran as a [[New Democratic Party of Quebec]] (NDP) candidate for a 1992 provincial [[by-election]] in the Montreal division of [[Anjou (provincial electoral district)|Anjou]]. (Former [[Front de libération du Québec]] militant [[Paul Rose (political figure)|Paul Rose]] had planned to seek the party's nomination for this contest, but could not do so as he was on parole from a life sentence for the murder of Quebec politician [[Pierre Laporte]].) The Quebec NDP was not affiliated with the [[New Democratic Party of Canada]] in this period, and the federal party openly dissociated itself from the Quebec NDP during the by-election.<ref>"Ex-FLQ terrorist Rose won't run in byelection," ''Waterloo Region Record'', 18 December 1991, p. 3.</ref> Boucher finished a distant third against [[Parti Québécois]] candidate [[Pierre Bélanger]].

Boucher later ran as a Bloc Québécois candidate in the [[1993 Canadian federal election]] for the Montreal division of [[Papineau—Saint-Michel]]. Some pundits believed he had a reasonable chance of winning, though on election day he finished second against [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] incumbent [[André Ouellet]]. Boucher was thirty-six years old during this election and identified as a social worker.<ref>"The 50 tight races," ''Toronto Star'', 23 October 1993, p. 1; [[Paul Wells]], "Ouellet chalks up eighth-straight win in St. Michel," ''Montreal Gazette'', 26 October 1993, p. 9.</ref>

==Municipal politician==
Boucher was elected to the Montreal city council in the [[1994 Montreal municipal election|1994 municipal election]] as a candidate of [[Pierre Bourque (politician)|Pierre Bourque]]'s Vision Montreal party, defeating [[Montreal Citizens' Movement]] incumbent [[Micheline Daigle]] in the Jean-Rivard division.<ref>"Voting results: the final count," ''Montreal Gazette'', 8 November 1994, p. 4.</ref> He served for the next two years as a backbench supporter of Bourque's administration and chaired the city's finance and economic development committee. In 1996, he shelved a proposal to charge full taxes on churches and religious institutions, arguing that he would wait for the provincial government's direction on the issue.<ref>"City shelves plan to collect taxes on religious properties," ''Montreal Gazette'', 10 May 1996, p. 3.</ref>

In an interview published by the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' on June 15, 1996, Boucher said that several members of Vision Montreal had concerns about the party's internal management and believed too much power was invested in the mayor and the [[Montreal executive committee]]. He added that he was not planning to resign from the party and that Bourque had been receptive to his criticism.<ref>Michelle Lalonde, "Bourque's wilting Vision," ''Montreal Gazette'', 15 June 1996, p. 1.</ref> Only ten days later, however, he and fellow councillor [[Hubert Deraspe]] left the party to sit as independents. In making this decision, Boucher remarked that "all the qualified people [had] left Vision Montreal" and that it was "a party in name only."<ref>Aaron Derfel, "Bourque loses 2 councillors: Mayor's party is finished, Vision defector says," ''Montreal Gazette'', 26 June 1996, p. 1.</ref>

Boucher and Deraspe later accused Bourque of trying to buy the support of disgruntled councillors by introducing a council pay increase,<ref>Aaron Derfel, "Bourque defends $6,000-a-year raise for six city councillors Montreal," ''Montreal Gazette'', 11 September 1996, p. 3.</ref> and, when allegations surfaced about illegal fundraising by Vision Montreal, they sought to persuade Vision councillors to defect to the opposition.<ref>Aaron Derfel, "Bourque expected back at work today: Mayor has kept low profile since fundraising allegations surfaced," ''Montreal Gazette'', 26 November 1996, p. 3; Aaron Derfel, "No charges against mayor: Party faces 7 new counts of misusing funds," ''Montreal Gazette'', 21 January 1997, p. 1.</ref> In January 1998, Boucher introduced a motion of censure against Bourque and executive committee chair [[Noushig Eloyan]].<ref>"Bad day for councillor who sought reprimand," ''Montreal Gazette'', 21 January 1998, p. 5. The title refers to Boucher suffering minor injuries after slipping on a patch of ice.</ref>

Also in January 1998, Boucher joined an informal opposition alliance called the [[Coalition for Montreal's Future]], led by fellow ex-Vision councillor [[Sammy Forcillo]].<ref>"Daviau courts Jedwab as running mate," ''Montreal Gazette'', 28 January 1998, p. 7.</ref> Boucher served as the group's critic for municipal services, with a focus on sports and leisure.<ref>"6 councillors form `shadow cabinet'," ''Montreal Gazette'', 2 February 1998, p. 4.</ref>

Boucher ran as an independent candidate in the [[1998 Montreal municipal election|1998 municipal election]] and lost to Vision Montreal's [[Nicole Roy-Arcelin]].<ref>Linda Gyulai, "Independents' day?: Unaffiliated candidates could wield power," ''Montreal Gazette'', 6 October 1998, p. 1; Linda Gyulai, "Council veterans clean out desks," ''Montreal Gazette'', 3 November 1998, p. 8.</ref> He attempted to return to council in the [[2001 Montreal municipal election|2001 election]] as a candidate of [[Gérald Tremblay]]'s [[Montreal Island Citizens' Union]], but lost to Vision candidate [[Frank Venneri]].

==Electoral record==
{{2001 Montreal municipal election/Councillor, Jean-Rivard}}
{{1998 Montreal municipal election/Councillor, Jean-Rivard division}}
{{1994 Montreal municipal election/Councillor, Jean-Rivard}}
{{1993 Canadian federal election/Papineau—Saint-Michel}}
{{1992 Quebec provincial by-elections/Anjou}}

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher, Daniel}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Montreal city councillors]]
[[Category:Bloc Québécois candidates for the Canadian House of Commons]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]