Jean-François Roberge
Jean-François Roberge | |
|---|---|
 Roberge in 2024 | |
| Minister of Education and Higher Education | |
| In office October 18, 2018 – October 20, 2022 | |
| Premier | François Legault |
| Preceded by | Sébastien Proulx and Hélène David |
| Succeeded by | Bernard Drainville |
| Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Chambly | |
| Assumed office April 7, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Bertrand St-Arnaud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 June 1974 |
| Party | Coalition Avenir Québec |
Jean-François Roberge MNA is a Canadian politician who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2014 election.[1] He represents the electoral district of Chambly as a member of the Coalition Avenir Québec and is the former Education Minister. He was replaced by Bernard Drainville in October 2022.
He was also the party's candidate in Vachon in the 2012 election.
Prior to his election to the legislature, Roberge was an elementary school teacher, as well as a regular commentator on education issues for TVA's morning talk show Deux filles le matin. He published a young adult novel, Francis perdu dans les méandres, in 2010.
Political career
Minister of Education (2018–2022)
Under Roberge's term as Minister of Education, the government showed plans to replace the Ethics and religious culture,[2][3] with a new curriculum which would shift the focus from religion toward culture and citizenship.[4]
Also, as Minister Roberge saw, the CAQ government passed Bill 40, which saw the French and English school boards being replaced with School service centres.[5][6] The abolishing of school boards is said to save the government more than $10 million.[6][7] Their reason for this is to try to improve the quality of education in Quebec.[7]
The English school boards of Quebec invoked Article 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, which is the official language minority education rights.[5] They took legal action to get exempted from Bill 40.[5]
Roberge was replaced by Bernard Drainville in October 2022.
Later career
Roberge was later appointed as the Minister for Immigration,[8] Minister for the French Language,[9] and Minister of Secularism[10] in the government of François Legault.
On December 6, 2022, Minister Roberge tabled a bill that would make the Oath of Allegiance to the King optional for members of the National Assembly (MNAs).[11][12][13] That bill passed on December 9, 2022.
In August 2025, Roberge introduced a bill to ban prayer in public, citing "a proliferation of street prayer".
In September 2025, Roberge announced that the provincial government and municipal governments would be directed to stop using gender-inclusive suffixes, alternatives, and doublets in official communications.[9]
On November 27, 2025, Roberge tabled Bill 9 that would strengthen secularism Bill 21.[14][15] The bill passed on April 2, 2026. It bans the wearing of religious symbols for daycare workers and prayer spaces in public institutions.[16][17]
Electoral record
| 2022 Quebec general election: Chambly | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Coalition Avenir Québec | Jean-François Roberge | |||||||
| Parti Québécois | Marie-Laurence Desgagné | |||||||
| Québec solidaire | Vincent Michaux-St-Louis | |||||||
| Conservative | Daniel Desnoyers | |||||||
| Liberal | Lina Yunes | |||||||
| Climat Québec | Sanae Chahad | – | ||||||
| Démocratie directe | Caroline Boisvert | – | ||||||
| Total valid votes | – | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | – | |||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Electors on the lists | – | – | ||||||
| 2018 Quebec general election: Chambly | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Coalition Avenir Québec | Jean-François Roberge | 18,940 | 50.26 | +16.02 | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Christian Picard | 6,564 | 17.42 | -15.67 | ||||
| Québec solidaire | Francis Vigeant | 6,177 | 16.39 | +9 | ||||
| Liberal | François Villeneuve | 4,599 | 12.2 | -10.01 | ||||
| Green | Camille B. Jannard | 683 | 1.81 | +0.7 | ||||
| Conservative | Guy L'Heureux | 309 | 0.82 | +0.42 | ||||
| New Democratic | Gilles Létourneau | 180 | 0.48 | |||||
| Bloc Pot | Benjamin Vachon | 167 | 0.44 | |||||
| CINQ | Gilles Guindon | 66 | 0.18 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 37,685 | 98.64 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 518 | 1.36 | ||||||
| Turnout | 38,203 | 75.35 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 50,699 | |||||||
| Coalition Avenir Québec hold | Swing | +15.85 | ||||||
| 2014 Quebec general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Coalition Avenir Québec | Jean-François Roberge | 12,130 | 34.24 | +0.08 | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Bertrand St-Arnaud | 11,722 | 33.09 | -7.04 | ||||
| Liberal | Magdala Ferdinand | 7,869 | 22.21 | +5.73 | ||||
| Québec solidaire | Francis Vigeant | 2,618 | 7.39 | +2.40 | ||||
| Green | Mary Harper | 392 | 1.11 | -0.58 | ||||
| Parti nul | Vincent Dessureault | 353 | 1.00 | |||||
| Option nationale | Martin Laramée | 200 | 0.56 | -1.47 | ||||
| Conservative | Michael Maher | 140 | 0.40 | -0.13 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 35,424 | 98.65 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 483 | 1.35 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 35,907 | 76.62 | ||||||
| Electors on the lists | 46,866 | – | – | |||||
| Coalition Avenir Québec gain from Parti Québécois | Swing | +3.56 | ||||||
| 2012 Quebec general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Parti Québécois | Bertrand St-Arnaud | 15,104 | 40.13 | -3.45 | ||||
| Coalition Avenir Québec | Martin Trudeau | 12,857 | 34.16 | +17.32 | ||||
| Liberal | Julie Tremblay | 6,203 | 16.48 | -15.14 | ||||
| Québec solidaire | Anne Poussard | 1,878 | 4.99 | +2.38 | ||||
| Option nationale | Martin Laramée | 765 | 2.03 | |||||
| Green | Nicolas Lescarbeau | 633 | 1.68 | -1.26 | ||||
| Conservative | Daniel Nicol | 199 | 0.53 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 37,639 | 98.95 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 400 | 1.05 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 38,039 | 83.50 | ||||||
| Electors on the lists | 45,554 | – | – | |||||
| Parti Québécois hold | Swing | -10.39 | ||||||
References
- ↑ "François Legault indique qu'il restera à l'Assemblée nationale pour quatre ans". La Presse, April 8, 2014.
- ↑ "Quebec axes high school course on culture and ethics". March 8, 2020.
- ↑ Valiante, Giuseppe (March 8, 2020). "End of Quebec course on religion and ethics seen as win for nationalists". National Post.
- ↑ "Quebec's ethics and religious culture course has 'aged poorly,' education minister says".
- 1 2 3 Bourhis, Richard. "Québec's Bill 40 further undermines the province's English-language school system". The Conversation. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- 1 2 "Quebec passes education reforms abolishing school boards". CBC News. February 8, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- 1 2 Montpetit, Jonathan (February 10, 2020). "Quebec just killed its school boards after 175 years, but will students benefit?". CBC News. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- ↑ Laberge, Thomas (October 8, 2025). "Immigration: Québec solidaire accuse Roberge d'avoir déjà décidé de baisser les seuils à 25 000". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved October 11, 2025.
- 1 2 Ould-Hammou, Hénia (September 24, 2025). "Quebec to ban gender-inclusive French writing in government communication". CBS News. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
- ↑ Bergeron, Patrice (October 1, 2025). "« Assaut de l'islamisme radical »: Le ministre Roberge appelle à se « réveiller »". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved October 11, 2025.
- ↑ "CAQ tables bill to get rid of mandatory oath to King in Quebec". CBC. December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ↑ "CAQ bill would make oath to King optional for Quebec MNAs".
- ↑ "Quebec tables bill eliminating the requirement to swear oath to King". December 6, 2022.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "Quebec passes expanded secularism law targeting daycare workers, public prayer". April 2, 2026.
- ↑ "Quebec passes law banning street prayers, prayer rooms in universities, CEGEPs". April 2, 2026.