View source for Marc Bellemare

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{update|date=November 2010}}
'''Marc Bellemare''' (born 3 May 1956) is a lawyer and politician from Canada.

==Background==

He was born in [[Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec]], studied [[Law]] at the [[Université de Montréal]] and was admitted to the [[Bar of Quebec]] in 1979.

==Provincial politics==
Bellemare ran as a [[star candidate]] with the [[Quebec Liberal Party|Liberal Party]] in the [[2003 Quebec general election|Quebec election of 2003]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=General election results |url=https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/en/results-and-statistics/general-election-results/?e=2003-04-14&circ=638 |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=Élections Québec | date=3 December 2021 |language=en-CA}}</ref> He was elected to the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] and represented the [[Quebec City]] electoral district of [[Vanier (provincial electoral district)|Vanier]].

He was appointed to [[Premier of Quebec|Premier]] [[Jean Charest]]'s [[Executive Council of Quebec|Cabinet]] on April 29, 2003 and served as [[Minister of Justice (Quebec)|Minister of Justice]] and [[Attorney General]]. Bellemare pushed for harsher sentences for [[organized crime]]. He was criticized several times by Justice Fraser Martin for the way he handled a juvenile prostitution case which took place in Quebec City and involved talk show host Robert Gillet.<ref>Le juge Martin critique à nouveau le procureur général Marc Bellemare, ''[[Le Journal de Montréal]]'', February 6, 2004</ref>

For several years, Bellemare has been a strong advocate of abolishing Quebec's car insurance law.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/2008/03/01/178475.html |title=Droit de poursuite: un débat sans fin |first=François |last=Desjardins |work=Le Devoir |date=March 1, 2008}}</ref> He tried to convince his colleagues to abolish the provincial [[No fault insurance|no fault car insurance plan]] that had been established in 1978. The Liberals, who had made the proposed change part of their platform, soon abandoned the idea.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/2004/01/29/46080.html |title=No fault: Québec imposera une limite |first=Tommy |last=Chouinard |work=Le Devoir |date=January 24, 2004}}</ref> Disappointed, Bellemare resigned from his cabinet post on April 27, 2004 and relinquished his seat the next day, lasting less than a year in office.

==Mayoral candidate==
After months of rumors, Bellemare announced that he would be candidate for Mayor of [[Quebec City]]. His announcement was made on March 11, 2004. He also founded a political party, ''Vision Quebec'', which was registered on February 22, 2005. Bellemare ended up finishing a distant third. (See [[2005 Quebec municipal elections]]) Originally leading the 2004 polls with over 80% support in the City of Quebec his support disappeared because when asked about his party finances he stated “ I do not know where the funds are coming from I don't concern myself with questions of money.” This gave citizens concern and he was resoundingly rejected in the election. He also put forward proposals to save the Agora, an outdoor concert venue in the old port of Quebec city.

An early mayoral election was called in 2007, after the death of incumbent Mayor [[Andrée Boucher]]. Bellemare ran and finished a distant third again.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Quebec/2007/11/07/007-Bellemare_candidat.shtml |title=Marc Bellemare revient à la charge |work=Radio-Canada |date=November 7, 2007}}</ref> He resigned as party leader on December 26, 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.quebecurbain.qc.ca/2007/12/31/fin-de-lepisode-municipal-pour-marc-bellemare/ |title=Fin de l'épisode municipal pour Marc Bellemare |first=Martin |last=Otis  |work=Québec urbain |date=December 31, 2007}}</ref> In 2008, Bellemare unsuccessfully petitioned the [[Apostolic Nunciature in Ottawa|Papal Nuncio to Canada]] for an eventual visit of [[Pope]] [[Benedict XVI]] in Quebec City.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.quebechebdo.com/article-177718-Le-pape-ferme-la-derniere-porte.html |title=Le pape ferme la dernière porte |first=Nicolas |last=Bégin |work=Québec Hebdo |date=January 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120907173451/http://www.quebechebdo.com/article-177718-Le-pape-ferme-la-derniere-porte.html |archivedate=September 7, 2012 }}</ref> Nonetheless, Bellemare was still listed as party leader on the Quebec Chief Election Officer's web site as of June 2008.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Quebec MNA biography|bellemare-marc-5799}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050321114513/http://www.caaquebec.com/fr/automobile/no_fault.asp CAA Quebec information  about the No Fault and the former modification plans]

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{{succession box | title=[[National Assembly of Quebec|MNA]], District of [[Vanier (provincial electoral district)|Vanier]]| before=[[Diane Barbeau|Diane Barbeau (PQ)]]| after=[[Sylvain Légaré|Sylvain Légaré (ADQ)]] | years=[[2003 Quebec general election|2003]]&ndash;2004}}
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{{succession box | title=Leader of Vision Quebec| before=None| after=Jean-Paul Gravel<br />(Interim Leader)| years=2005&ndash;2007}}
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{{Quebec City}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellemare, Marc}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec]]
[[Category:Bellemare family|Marc]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Quebec Liberal Party MNAs]]
[[Category:Ministers of justice of Quebec]]
[[Category:Lawyers in Quebec]]
[[Category:People from Saint-Hyacinthe]]
[[Category:Politicians from Montérégie]]
[[Category:Politicians from Quebec City]]