- published: 06 May 2013
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Alexandre Boulerice (born June 18, 1973 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie as a member of the New Democratic Party.
Boulerice ran for public office on the provincial level in the 2003 Quebec general election in the riding of Saint-Jean. He finished a distant fourth out of seven candidates running under the Union des forces progressistes banner and was soundly defeated by Liberal candidate Jean-Pierre Paquin who defeated incumbent Roger Paquin in a tight race.
A member of the federal NDP since before 2003, Boulerice ran for a seat to the Canadian House of Commons for the first time in the 2008 Canadian federal election in the electoral district of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. He finished in a distant third place out of eight candidates, losing to Bloc Quebecois incumbent Bernard Bigras. He would challenge Bigras again for the second time in the 2011 Canadian federal election this time defeating him, taking 51% of the popular vote and defeating six other candidates.
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian social democratic politician and Leader of the Official Opposition. He was leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, occasionally holding the title of "Acting Mayor" or "Deputy Mayor" of Toronto during his tenure as city councillor. He was the Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth from 2004 until his death.
Son of a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, Layton was raised in Hudson, Quebec. He rose to prominence in Toronto municipal politics where he was one of the most prominent left-wing voices on city and Metropolitan Toronto councils, championing many progressive causes. In 1991, he ran for mayor, losing to June Rowlands. Returning to council he rose to become head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In 2003, he was elected leader of the federal NDP on the first ballot of the convention.
Under his leadership, support for the NDP increased in each election. The party's popular vote almost doubled in the 2004 election, which gave the NDP the balance of power in Paul Martin's minority government. In May 2005 the NDP supported the Liberal budget in exchange for major amendments, in what was promoted as Canada's "First NDP budget". In November of that year, Layton voted with other opposition parties to defeat the Liberal government over the findings of the Gomery Commission. The NDP saw further gains in the 2006 and 2008 elections, in which the party elected 29 and 37 MPs, respectively.