View source for Mario Dumont

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    =
| name                = Mario Dumont
| honorific-suffix    = [[National Assembly of Quebec|MNA]]
| image               = MarioDumont.JPG
| caption             = Dumont in 2007
| order               = [[List of leaders of the Official Opposition of Quebec|Leader of the Opposition of Quebec]]
| term_start          = March 26, 2007
| term_end            = November 5, 2008
| predecessor         = [[André Boisclair]]
| successor           = [[Pauline Marois]]
| order2              = [[Action démocratique du Québec|Leader of the ADQ]]
| term_start2         = May 11, 1994
| term_end2           = March 6, 2009
| predecessor2        = [[Jean Allaire]]
| successor2          = [[Sylvie Roy]] (interim)
| order3              =
| office3             = [[Rivière-du-Loup (electoral district)|MNA for Rivière-du-Loup]]
| term_start3         = September 12, 1994
| term_end3           = March 6, 2009
| predecessor3        = [[Albert Côté]]
| successor3          = [[Jean D'Amour]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1970|05|19}}
| birth_place         = [[Cacouna]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| party               = [[Action démocratique du Québec]]
| spouse              = Marie-Claude Barrette
| children            = {{flatlist|
*Angela
*Charles
*Juliette}}
| residence           =
| alma_mater          = {{plainlist|
*[[Concordia University (Montreal)|Concordia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|A.B.]])
*[[University of Montreal]]}}
| occupation          =
| profession          = [[Television presenter]]
| religion            =
| signature           =
| website             = 
| footnotes           =
}}
'''Mario Dumont''' (born May 19, 1970) is a Canadian [[Television presenter|television personality]] and former politician in [[Quebec]], Canada. He was a Member of the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] (MNA), and the leader of the [[Action démocratique du Québec]] (ADQ), from 1994 to 2009. After the [[2007 Quebec general election|2007 Quebec election]], Dumont obtained the post of [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Quebec)|Leader of the Opposition]] in the National Assembly.

Following his party's poor showing in the [[2008 Quebec general election|2008 Quebec election]], he announced his resignation as ADQ leader, and subsequently joined the television network [[V (TV network)|V]] to host a daily news and talk show, ''[[Dumont (TV series)|Dumont]]'', which began in 2009. He left that network in 2012 to join the all-news channel [[Le Canal Nouvelles|LCN]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/arts-et-spectacles/television-et-radio/201205/18/01-4526576-mario-dumont-quitte-v-pour-lcn.php |title=Mario Dumont quitte V pour LCN |lang=fr |newspaper=[[La Presse (Canadian newspaper)|La Presse]] |date=May 18, 2012}}</ref>

==Biography==
Dumont was born in [[Saint-Georges-de-Cacouna, Quebec]]. Dumont and his wife, Marie-Claude Barrette, have three children: Angela, Charles, and Juliette. Dumont obtained a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in [[Economics]] from [[Concordia University]] in 1993, and completed some graduate work at the [[Université de Montréal]].

==Political career==

===Quebec Liberal Party===
Dumont bought his first membership card in the [[Liberal Party of Quebec]] at age 15. He stated to his school friends that in the future he would be Quebec's premier.<ref name="Nerd">{{Cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=78f2c37c-0f41-41ec-94a5-722f7b93caf2&p=2%5C |title=How the 'Nerd from Cacouna' fought back |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]] |access-date=2020-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324104150/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=78f2c37c-0f41-41ec-94a5-722f7b93caf2&p=2%5C |archive-date=2016-03-24 |url-status=dead |via=Canada.com}}</ref>
Dumont was a former President of the Liberal Party's Youth Commission, but had a falling out with the party following the rejection of the [[Allaire Report]] proposing maximalist powers for Quebec after the collapse of the [[Meech Lake Accord]].

Dumont called himself and [[Michel Bissonnet]], who preceded Dumont as leader of the Liberal youth wing, ''the first Liberal sovereigntists''. This was the group that led the Liberal sovereigntist faction while Liberal premier [[Robert Bourassa]] remained unopposed.<ref name="Nerd"/>

Dumont organized the "Liberals for the No side," in the 1992 referendum on the [[Charlottetown Accord]].

===Action démocratique du Québec===
Dumont and Liberal party insider [[Jean Allaire]] played a central role in the creation and development of the [[Action démocratique du Québec]] (ADQ) in 1994. He succeeded Allaire as leader after the latter resigned for health reasons.

Dumont was elected as an ADQ member of the National Assembly for [[Rivière-du-Loup (electoral district)|Rivière du Loup]] in the [[1994 Quebec general election|1994]], [[1998 Quebec general election|1998]], [[2003 Quebec general election|2003]], [[2007 Quebec general election|2007]] and [[2008 Quebec general election|2008]] elections.

In the [[1995 Quebec referendum]], Dumont joined with [[Parti Québécois]] [[Premier of Quebec|Premier]] [[Jacques Parizeau]] and [[Bloc Québécois]] leader [[Lucien Bouchard]], who wooed him and with whom he remains close, in support of the sovereigntist campaign.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/from-the-archives-parizeau-promises-to-exact-revenge-for-sovereigntist-loss/article27048066/|title=From the archives: Parizeau promises to 'exact revenge' for sovereigntist loss|last=Picard|first=André|author-link=André Picard (journalist)|date=October 30, 2015|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|access-date=2020-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112035603/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/from-the-archives-parizeau-promises-to-exact-revenge-for-sovereigntist-loss/article27048066/ |archive-date=2020-11-12}}</ref> Dumont revealed to Journalist [[Chantal Hébert]] and [[Jean Lapierre]] that they planned to use the [[1995 Quebec referendum]] as a way to advocate for a new partnership between Quebec and Canada. However, Parizeau advocated for separation; so both Bouchard and Dumont followed his direction.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day that Almost Was |last=Hebert|first=Chantal|publisher=Vintage Canada |location=Toronto|year=2015|isbn=9780345807632|others=with Jean Lapierre}}</ref> In subsequent years, however he changed positions on the issue, arguing that the sovereignty question had been decided and that Quebecers had no desire to revisit it.

In the years that followed, the constitutional position of the ADQ changed to favour [[Quebec autonomism]], supporting increased powers and responsibilities for Quebec while remaining within Canada. In practical terms, Dumont has supported the creation of a Quebec constitution, the change of the province's name to that of the "autonomous state of Québec", and the collection of all taxes by the provincial government, with the funds necessary for the federal government to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities being transferred to it by the province.

Since the 1998 provincial election, Dumont has distinguished himself primarily for his stances on economic issues, which are generally considered to be right of centre in the context of the predominantly social-democratic Quebec political scene. He advocates the payment of a cash allowance to parents who do not wish to make use of the province's $7 a day daycare program, changes to the provincial health system that would allow private for profit health care and private health insurance alongside the public system, the abolition of school boards, the encouragement of private education, a tougher criminal justice system, reductions in the size of the provincial bureaucracy, and the repayment of the province's [[Canadian dollar|$]]127 billion government debt.

Dumont was personally very popular, and for most of his career was far more popular than the ADQ as a whole. In fact, for many years, the ADQ tried to capitalize on Dumont's personal popularity by using the official name {{lang|fr|Action démocratique du Québec-Équipe Mario Dumont}} (Action démocratique du Québec-Team Mario Dumont}. However, this didn't translate to support for his party; it never won much support in Montreal or the [[Outaouais]].

====2007 Quebec election====
In the [[2007 Quebec general election|2007 Quebec election]], the ADQ won 41 seats with 31% of the popular vote, and formed the [[Official Opposition]] in the National Assembly. Prior to the dissolution of the National Assembly, the ADQ had held only five seats, and as a result did not have official party status. Despite becoming the Official Opposition, the ADQ was almost nonexistent in several of the province's major cities. It won almost no seats in Montreal, [[Gatineau]], [[Saguenay, Quebec|Saguenay]], [[Longueuil]], [[Laval, Quebec|Laval]] and [[Sherbrooke]]. [[Tasha Kheiriddin]] argued that his result would have given right-of-centre currents swirling in Quebec politics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/magazines/realignment-in-quebec/the-right-place-at-the-right-time-the-rise-of-mario-dumont-and-the-adq/|title=The right place at the right time: the rise of Mario Dumont and the ADQ|website=Policy Options|access-date=2019-11-10}}</ref>

====2008 Quebec election====
On October 23, 2008, two ADQ MNAs, [[André Riedl]] and [[Pierre-Michel Auger]], [[Crossing the floor|crossed the floor]] to the governing Liberal Party, embarrassing Dumont. Quebec premier Jean Charest subsequently called a [[snap election]] for December 8, 2008. A [[Léger Marketing]] poll conducted between Friday, November 14 and Monday, November 17, showed the Liberals with 44% support, the PQ with 33%, and the ADQ with 15%.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andy |last=Riga |url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=5963a5ff-3604-4751-b339-0dfad65d4d4e |title=Premier Widens Lead to Possible Majority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105125447/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=5963a5ff-3604-4751-b339-0dfad65d4d4e |archive-date=2012-11-05  |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]] |date=November 20, 2008 |via=Canada.com}}</ref>

The ADQ won a meagre seven seats (17% of the vote) in the election. Following this poor showing, Dumont retired from politics on election night.<ref name="CBC Dumont resigns">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/dumont-to-step-down-after-adq-defeat-1.704316|title=Dumont to step down after ADQ defeat|author=Lianne Elliott|date=2008-12-09|publisher=[[CBC News]]|access-date=2008-12-09}}</ref>

==Television career==
[[File:Mario Dumont 360.jpg|thumb|Mario Dumont at the launch party of his show ''[[Dumont (TV program)|Dumont 360]]'' on [[V (TV network)|V]].]]
At [[V (TV network)|TQS]]'<!-- It was still called TQS at the time that the announcement was made. --> 2009 [[upfronts]] presentation, it was announced that Dumont would join the network in the fall as host of a daily news and information series, ''[[Dumont (TV program)|Dumont 360]]''.<ref>{{cite news |lang=fr |url=http://www.cyberpresse.ca/le-soleil/arts-et-spectacles/television-et-radio/200906/02/01-862395-tqs-changera-de-nom.php |title=TQS changera de nom |trans-title=TQS will change its name |newspaper=[[Le Soleil (Quebec)|Le Soleil]] |date=June 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106115152/http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/arts-et-spectacles/television-et-radio/200906/02/01-862395-tqs-changera-de-nom.php |archive-date=2016-01-06}}</ref> The series launched in September 2009, shortly after the network was rebranded as [[V (TV network)|V]].

In 2012, Dumont moved to [[Le Canal Nouvelles|LCN]] and began a new show called {{lang|fr|Mario Dumont}}.<ref>{{Citation |title=Mario Dumont |date=2012-09-04 |type=News |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8841474/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |others=Mario Dumont, Marie-Anne Alepin, Germain Belzile |publisher=Groupe TVA}}</ref>

Since 2018, he has also hosted his own radio show, {{lang|fr|Le retour de Mario Dumont}}, on QUB Radio.

==Votes of confidence==

{| class="wikitable"
! Date
! Location
! Result
|-
| April 2000
| [[Saint-Hyacinthe]]
| 96.9%
|-
| September 2004
| [[Drummondville]]
| 95.7%<ref>{{cite news |url=http://agonist.org/story/2004/9/26/42522/2826 |title=ADQ's Dumont pushes Quebec's autonomy within Canada, Rheal Seguin |work=The Agonist |date=September 24, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026064226/http://agonist.org/story/2004/9/26/42522/2826 |archive-date=October 26, 2010 }}</ref>
|-
| March 2008
| [[Laval, Quebec|Laval]]
| 94.8%<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080316/CPSOLEIL/80315112/6584/CPSOLEIL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320052621/http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080316/CPSOLEIL/80315112/6584/CPSOLEIL |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 March 2008 |title=Congrès de l'ADQ: le salaire du chef a été décidé à deux |first=Michel |last=Corbeil |newspaper=Le Soleil |date=March 16, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/180888/mario-dumont-obtient-un-vote-de-confiance-massif-malgre-l-affaire-du-salaire |title=Mario Dumont obtient un vote de confiance massif malgré l'affaire du salaire |first=Kathleen |last=Lévesque |work=Le Devoir |date=March 17, 2008}}</ref>
|}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |title=L'Instinct Dumont |lang=fr |first=Denis |last=Lessard |location=Quebec |publisher=Voix Paralleles |year=2007}}

==Electoral record==
{{Canadian election result/top|QC|2008|percent=yes|change=yes}}
{{CANelec|QC|ADQ|Mario Dumont |11,115|51.77|-6.70}}
{{CANelec|QC|Liberal |Jean-Pierre Rioux |5,795|26.99|-1.29}}
{{CANelec|QC|PQ|Stephan Shields |3,048|14.20|+3.40}}
{{CANelec|XX|Independent|Victor-Lévy Beaulieu |597|2.78|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|QC|Green |Alain Gagnon |513|2.39|-0.06}}
{{CANelec|QC|Québec solidaire|Stacy Larouche |400|1.86|&ndash;}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Total valid votes|21,468|98.74|&ndash;}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Total rejected ballots|273|1.26|&ndash;}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Turnout|21,741|63.98|-14.29}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Electors on the lists|33,981|&ndash;|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec/hold|QC|ADQ|-2.70}}{{end}}

{{2007 Quebec general election/Rivière-du-Loup}}

{{Canadian election result/top|QC|2003|percent=yes|change=yes}}
{{CANelec|QC|ADQ|Mario Dumont |13,452|57.23|+10.89}}
|-
{{CANelec|QC|Liberal|Jacque Morin|5,585|23.76|-1.55}}
|-
{{CANelec|QC|PQ|Carol Gilbert|4,155|17.68|-9.15}}
|-
{{CANelec |QC |Green |Julie Morin |312 |1.33 |&ndash;}}
|-
|}

{{Canadian election result/top|QC|1998|percent=yes|change=yes}}
{{CANelec|QC|ADQ|Mario Dumont |10,897|46.34|-8.43}}
|-
{{CANelec|QC|PQ|Lise Chouinard|6,308|26.83|-0.37}}
|-
{{CANelec|QC|Liberal|Jean Morin|5,952|25.31|+7.92}}
|-
{{CANelec|QC|Bloc Pot|Léo Legault|197|0.84|&ndash;}}
|-
{{CANelec|QC|Independent|Daniel Morin|98|0.42|&ndash;}}
|-
{{CANelec|QC|PDS|Louis Leroux|61|0.26|&ndash;}}
|-
|}

{{1994 Quebec general election/Rivière-du-Loup}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{QuebecMNAbio|dumont-mario-3041}}
*[http://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/GenealogieQuebec.aspx?genealogie=Mario_Dumont&pid=1735&lng=en Genealogy : Mario Dumont]
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box | title=President of the Youth Commission of the [[Quebec Liberal Party]]| before=[[Michel Bissonnet]]| after=[[Claude-Éric Gagné]] | years=1991–1992}}
{{succession box | title=President of [[Action démocratique du Québec]]| before=''None''| after=[[Moncef Guitouni]] | years=1994}}
{{s-bef| before=[[Jean Allaire]]}}
{{s-ttl| title=Leader of the [[Action démocratique du Québec]]| years=1994–2009}}
{{s-aft| after=[[Sylvie Roy]] ''(Interim)''}}
{{s-par|ca-qc}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumont, Mario}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Action démocratique du Québec MNAs]]
[[Category:Concordia University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Rivière-du-Loup]]
[[Category:Politicians from Bas-Saint-Laurent]]
[[Category:Quebec political party leaders]]
[[Category:Canadian television hosts]]
[[Category:Quebecor people]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec]]