Serge Joyal

Serge Joyal PC OC OQ (born February 1, 1945) is a Canadian politician who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1974-1984 and subsequently in the Senate of Canada from 1997-2020.

The Honourable

Serge Joyal

PC OC OQ
Senator for Kennebec, Quebec
In office
November 26, 1997 – January 31, 2020
Nominated byJean Chrétien
Appointed byRoméo LeBlanc
Preceded byGuy Charbonneau
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve
In office
1979–1984
Preceded byDistrict was created in 1976
Succeeded byAllan Koury
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Maisonneuve—Rosemont
In office
1974–1979
Preceded byJ. Antonio Thomas
Succeeded byDistrict was abolished in 1976
Personal details
Born (1945-02-01) February 1, 1945
Montreal, Quebec
Political partyLiberal (until 2014)
Independent Liberal
(2014-2019)
Progressive Senate Group
(2019-2020)

Career

A lawyer by profession, Joyal served as vice-president of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1974 general election and remained a Liberal Member of Parliament for ten years.

In 1978, Joyal, along with a group of concerned Montreal citizens that included Nick Auf der Maur and Robert Keaton, co-founded the Municipal Action Group ("MAG"). Joyal was particularly well known at the time for having supported L’Association des gens de l’air, a group which was criticizing the lack of spoken French by airport controllers. Joyal led the newly formed MAG and ran for mayor against the incumbent, Jean Drapeau. MAG succeeded in electing one member to Montreal council (auf der Maur), but Drapeau's party won 52 seats. As Joyal had not resigned his federal seat, he returned to Ottawa.

Following the 1980 general election, Joyal served as co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Patriation of the Canadian Constitution. In 1982, he joined the Cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau as a Minister of State. He was appointed Secretary of State for Canada in 1982. When John Turner succeeded Trudeau in June 1984, Joyal remained in cabinet as Secretary of State. Joyal but lost his seat in the 1984 election that defeated the Turner government. On November 26, 1997, Joyal was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the recommendation of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and serves on a number of committees specialising in legal and constitutional affairs.

With the Senate Liberal Caucus facing losing official parliamentary caucus status in 2020 with a third of its caucus facing mandatory retirements on their turning age 75, Senator Joseph Day announced that the Senate Liberal Caucus had been dissolved and a new Progressive Senate Group formed in its wake,[1][2] with the entire membership joining the new group, including this senator.[1]

Joyal is an Officer of the Order of Canada, Officer of the National Order of Quebec and is also a Chevalier in France's Légion d’Honneur. He is an expert art collector and appraiser. In recent years, he has used his knowledge of the art world and his influence on the Senate and the government to get Parliament to assemble a collection of original portraits of the kings of France for the period during which Canada was first explored and colonized by France. In 2004, these paintings were placed on the walls of the Salon de la Francophonie, featured in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings, as companions to the portraits of the British and then Canadian monarchs who had been the sovereigns of the territories forming Canada since 1763.

He retired from the senate reaching the age of 75, after more than 22 years of representing Kennebec on 31 January 2020.

Electoral record
1984 Canadian federal election: Hochelaga—Maisonneuve
Party Candidate Votes
Progressive ConservativeÉdouard Desrosiers13,244
LiberalSerge Joyal12,201
New DemocraticMarie-Ange Gagnon-Sirois3,596
RhinocerosRichard A. Sirois1,847
Parti nationalisteRéal Ménard1,089
CommunistGaetan Trudel99
Commonwealth of CanadaDaniel Gonzales63
1980 Canadian federal election: Hochelaga—Maisonneuve
Party Candidate Votes
LiberalSerge Joyal21,138
New DemocraticMarie-Ange Gagnon-Sirois2,732
Progressive ConservativeYves Bourget1,977
RhinocerosDiane Gougeon1,412
Social CreditRoger Hébert873
Not affiliatedRobert Coté286
IndependentJacques Beaudoin200
Marxist–LeninistPierre Chenier98
Union populaireSylvain Morissette98
1979 Canadian federal election: Hochelaga—Maisonneuve
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalSerge Joyal21,05961.90
Social CreditAndré Aubry3,76911.08
Progressive ConservativeAndré Coutu3,60510.60
IndependentJacques Lavoie1,8375.40
New DemocraticMarie-Ange Gagnon-Sirois1,7465.13
RhinocerosDaniel Bouf Bouf Bouffard1,0973.22
Union populaireReggie Chartrand6441.89
Marxist–LeninistPierre Chénier1140.34
CommunistDanielle Ferland920.27
Revolutionary Workers LeagueMichel Dugré600.18
Total valid votes 34,023 100.00
Total rejected ballots 1,077
Turnout 35,100 68.78
Electors on the lists 51,034
Source: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Thirty-first General Election, 1979.
1978 Montreal mayoral election results
1974 Canadian federal election: Maisonneuve—Rosemont
Party Candidate Votes
LiberalSerge Joyal13,817
Progressive ConservativeLise Bourque6,053
Social CreditGilles Morissette2,783
New DemocraticLionel J. Desjardins2,186
CommunistBernadette Le Brun200
Marxist–LeninistMario Verrier156

References
  1. Tasker, John Paul (J.P.) (14 November 2019). "There's another new faction in the Senate: the Progressive Senate Group". CBC News Online. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. "One-time Liberal senators rename themselves as Progressive Senate Group". CTV News. The Canadian Press. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
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