David Whissell

David Whissell
MNA for Argenteuil
In office
June 1, 1998  December 16, 2011
Preceded by Regent Beaudet
Personal details
Born (1967-09-01) September 1, 1967
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Political party Quebec Liberal Party
Spouse(s) Francine Vaillancourt
Residence Lachute, Quebec
Alma mater École polytechnique de Montréal
Profession Civil Engineer, Businessman

David Whissell, B.Eng. (born September 1, 1967) is a Canadian politician, businessman, engineer and former Quebec cabinet minister.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Whissell received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the École polytechnique de Montréal in 1990. He worked as an engineer at Whissell Inc., in Lachute, and became the president and owner of Beton 344 Inc. in Saint-André-d'Argenteuil near Lachute, and the president and vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce of Lachute.

Prior to his entry into provincial politics, he was the president of the Liberal Party of Canada association in the Argenteuil region. He was later the member for Argenteuil in the National Assembly of Quebec as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party. He was first elected in a by-election on June 1, 1998, and was re-elected in the general elections held on November 30, 1998 and April 14, 2003. When the Liberals regained power he was named the Parliamentary secretary to Jean Charest. In 2005, after a Cabinet shuffle, he would become the Chair of the Government Caucus and member responsible for the Laurentians.

Whissell was the only Liberal member to be re-elected in the Laurentides region in the 2007 elections. He was named Minister of Labour and the Minister responsible for the Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Laurentides and Lanaudière regions.

He resigned from the Cabinet on September 9, 2009 following a conflict of interest related to a company in which he owned shares. According to a local newspaper, the company, ABC Rive-Nord, specialized in asphalt making and received multiple contracts without call for bids from the Ministry of Transportation.[1]

He resigned his seat in the National Assembly on December 16, 2011, citing family reasons and a desire to focus on his business career.[2]

He lives with Francine Vaillancourt and is the father of two children, Justine and Philippe.

Electoral record

Quebec general election, 2008: Argenteuil
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalDavid Whissell 10,843 49.58 +11.99
Parti QuébécoisJohn Saywell 7,353 33.62 +7.78
Action démocratiqueMichael Perzow 2,457 11.24 −18.41
GreenClaude Sabourin 760 3.48 −1.19
Québec solidaireLoïc Kauffeisen 456 2.09 −0.16
Total valid votes 21,869 100.00
Rejected and declined votes 346
Turnout 22,215 54.17
Electors on the lists 41,006
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Quebec general election, 2007: Argenteuil
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalDavid Whissell 10,025 37.59 −15.74
Action démocratiqueGeorges Lapointe 7,906 29.65 +11.21
Parti QuébécoisJohn Saywell 6,891 25.84 +0.93
GreenClaude Sabourin 1,244 4.67 +2.58
Québec solidaireGuy Dufresne 600 2.25 +1.02
Total valid votes 26,666 100.00
Rejected and declined votes 248
Turnout 26,914 68.52 +2.06
Electors on the lists 39,278
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.
Quebec general election, 2003: Argenteuil
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalDavid Whissell 12,645 53.33 +10.86
Parti QuébécoisGeorges Lapointe 5,906 24.91 −17.18
Action démocratiqueSylvain Demers 4,372 18.44 +5.57
GreenClaude Sabourin 496 2.09 -
Bloc PotYannick Charpentier 292 1.23 +0.01
Total valid votes 23,711 100.00
Rejected and declined votes 280
Turnout 23,991 66.46
Electors on the lists 36,101
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.

References

Political offices
Preceded by
Laurent Lessard
Minister of Labour
20072009
Succeeded by
Lise Thériault
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