Bernard Patry

Born in Montreal, Patry was a general practitioner and one of the founders of the Pierrefonds Medical Clinic. He began his political career in 1968, at the age of 25, becoming a city councillor in L'Île-Bizard, Quebec and one year later, one of the youngest mayors in Quebec. He was re-elected mayor five times and led his city for 18 years.

Patry was first elected to Parliament in 1993 as a Liberal candidate in the riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard, a position he held until 2011, when he lost re-election to NDP candidate Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe. During his time in Parliament, he notably served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development from 1996 to 1998. He was also the Chair of Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade from 2002 to 2006.

Parliamentary committees

Shortly after his arrival on Parliament Hill in 1993, Patry was active on a number of committees, including, inter alia:

• The Sub-Committee on HIV-AIDS
• The Standing Committee on Industry
• The Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Northern Affairs
• The Standing Committee on Health
• The Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Other political activity

Patry further served as Vice-Chair of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Urban Affairs in 2001. Prior to this, he had chaired the Quebec Liberal Caucus of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1995 to 1996.

In March 1998, he was awarded the title of "Chevalier" and in March 2003, the title of "Commandeur" of the Ordre de la Pléiade, which seeks to promote dialogue between francophone cultures.

Patry is married to Françoise Haxaire. He has two sons and two granddaughters.

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.