Fernand Robichaud

Fernand Robichaud PC (born December 2, 1939) is a Canadian politician.

The Honourable
Fernand Robichaud
PC
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
In office
January 26, 2001 – January 14, 2004
Prime MinisterJean Chrétien
Paul Martin
LeaderSharon Carstairs
Jack Austin
Preceded byDan Hays
Succeeded byBill Rompkey
Secretary of State (Agriculture and Agri-Food, Fisheries and Oceans)
In office
September 15, 1994 – June 10, 1997
Prime MinisterJean Chrétien
MinisterRalph Goodale
Brian Tobin
David Dingwall (acting)
Fred Mifflin
Preceded byGilbert Normand
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Secretary of State (Parliamentary Affairs)
In office
November 4, 1993 – September 14, 1994
Prime MinisterJean Chrétien
MinisterHerb Gray
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAlfonso Gagliano
Parliamentary constituencies
Canadian Senator
from New Brunswick
(Saint-Louis-de-Kent; 1997–2010)
In office
September 22, 1997 – December 2, 2014
Nominated byJean Chrétien
Appointed byRoméo LeBlanc
Preceded byJoseph P. Landry
Succeeded byMulti-member district
Member of Parliament
for Beauséjour
(Westmorland—Kent; 1984–1988)
In office
October 25, 1993 – June 2, 1997
Preceded byJean Chrétien
Succeeded byAngela Vautour (Beauséjour—Petitcodiac)
In office
November 21, 1988 – September 24, 1990
Preceded byRoméo LeBlanc
Succeeded byJean Chrétien
Personal details
Born (1939-12-02) December 2, 1939
Shippagan, New Brunswick, Canada
Political partyIndependent Liberal (since 2014)
Other political
affiliations		Liberal (until 2014)

He was born in Shippagan, New Brunswick and received a teaching certificate from the Moncton Technical Institute. Before entering politics, Robichaud was a teacher and businessman. He served on the municipal council for Saint-Louis-de-Kent from 1971 to 1974.

Robichaud was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1984 election representing the riding of Westmorland—Kent, New Brunswick.

In the 1988 election, he was re-elected representing Beauséjour.

In 1990, he resigned his seat in order to allow newly elected Liberal leader Jean Chrétien to enter the House of Commons through a by-election.

Robichaud served as Special Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition until returning to the House in the 1993 election. With the election of Chrétien as Prime Minister, Robichaud became Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs. In 1994, he was appointed Secretary of State for Agriculture and Agri-Food, Fisheries, and Oceans.

Robichaud did not run in the 1997 election and was appointed on Chrétien's recommendation to the Senate of Canada on September 23, 1997.

From 2001 to 2004, he was deputy government leader in the Senate. He later served as vice-chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.

On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Robichaud, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents.[1] The Senators referred to themselves as the Senate Liberal Caucus even though they were no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus.[2]

He retired from the Senate on December 2, 2014 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.

References
  1. "Justin Trudeau removes senators from Liberal caucus". CBC. January 29, 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  2. "Trudeau's expulsion catches Liberal senators by surprise". Globe and Mail. January 29, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
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