Suzanne Duplessis

Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis (born 30 June 1940) is a retired Canadian Senator and a former Progressive Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons. She was a teacher by profession.

Early life

She studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Quebec City followed by studies at Université Laval where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree for visual arts with an educational psychology certificate. Fortin-Duplessis became a teacher after this.

Member of Parliament

She was the first female elected municipal councillor in Sainte-Foy, Quebec in 1981.

Fortin-Duplessis represented the Quebec riding of Louis-Hébert where she was first elected in the 1984 federal election and re-elected in 1988, becoming part of Brian Mulroney's governing party during the 33rd and 34th Canadian Parliaments.

Fortin-Duplessis left federal politics after her defeat in the 1993 federal election by Philippe Paré of the Bloc Québécois.

Return to politics

Both Fortin-Duplessis and former colleague Pierre H. Vincent managed the Conservative campaign in Quebec in the federal election of 2008.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Fortin-Duplessis to the Senate on 22 December 2008. She retired on June 30, 2015 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.