Catherine Dorion is a Canadian politician from Quebec, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 provincial election.[1] She represented the electoral district of Taschereau as a member of Québec solidaire (QS) from 2018 to 2022. Dorion is aligned with Option nationale, a pro-independence faction, referred internally as a "collective", within QS.[2]

Catherine Dorion
Catherine Dorion, december 2018
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Taschereau
In office
October 1, 2018 – August 28, 2022
Preceded byAgnès Maltais
Succeeded byÉtienne Grandmont
Personal details
Born (1982-09-30) September 30, 1982 (age 42)
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Political partyQuébec solidaire (January 2018-present)
Other political
affiliations
Option nationale (2011 - 2017)
Residence(s)Limoilou, Quebec City
EducationKing's College London
Université du Québec à Montréal
Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec
ProfessionPolitician, actress, comedian, artist, writer

Biography

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Dorion was born in Quebec City in 1982.[3] Her father, Louis Dorion, who died in 1998, was a lawyer from Quebec City; her mother, Claudette Brasseur, was a court reporter. She grew up in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood of Quebec City and was the last of nine children.[4] Her mother raised her by herself; her father having left the family when Dorion was a year old. Her grandfather was Noël Dorion, a Progressive Conservative (PC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Bellechasse riding.[5] She has three daughters, one of which is from a father who wished to remain anonymous.[6][7]

Dorion is a graduate of the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec. She also received a bachelor's degree in International Relations and International Law from Université du Québec à Montréal, in 2009, and a master's degree in Political Science from King's College London, in 2010. She also studied in Chile, Russia and Spain and travelled in more than 30 countries.

She has been living in the Limoilou neighbourhood since 2014.

Career

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Acting

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As an actress, Dorion has performed in several television dramas and theatre productions, including L'Auberge du chien noir. Her performance in Amélie Nothomb's Fuels at the Théâtre du Trident, earned her the 2007 Prix Révélation of the Year Award at the Gala des Masques.

She also performs slam poetry, has won several competitions, and has been a regular guest artist at the Francofolies de Montréal.[citation needed]

Writing

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She was a columnist at the Carrefour de Québec (2012-2016) and at Update - Québec (2016). She also collaborated on a show for Radio-Canada (2015) and has written blogs for Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec (2016-2018).[8]

In 2013, Dorion produced a micro-documentary on immigrants and Quebec sovereignty.

She has published several written works including Même s'il fait noir comme dans le cul d'un ours (2014),[9] and two collections of poems, FUCK TOUTE (2016) and The NoShow (2015 and 2017).

In the essay Les luttes fécondes. Libérer le désir en amour et en politique, she defends polyamory, which she herself practices, and discusses the revolutionary potential of desire, which, left free, is for her a means of deconstructing institutions.[10]

She published the youth novel Ce qui se passe dehors, which tells the story of high school students in Quebec who engage in politics.

In an article for Le Journal de Québec, she advocates for nudity in the locker rooms of public swimming pools.[11]

Politics

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Dorion was elected as Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Taschereau, October 1, 2018, as the candidate for Québec Solidaire.[12]

On November 8, 2019, Dorion was barred from the Blue Room of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for dress code violations. Examples of her wardrobe included t-shirts and Doc Martens shoes and an orange hoodie that drew criticism previously. Speaker François Paradis notified Québec Solidaire leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois of complaints. Speaking to the media, Deputy speaker Chantal Soucy said, "we have a decorum to respect, we reminded her of it several times, it was time to draw a line".[13]

On April 1, 2022, she announced she wasn't running for re-election in the 2022 election.[14]

On November 13, 2023, she released a book about her experience as MP, criticizing Quebec's legislative apparatus as outdated and in need of a shake-up, describing MPs as inconsequential actors reduced to the role of zombie tribunes unable to make significant decisions,[15] while also criticizing the male spokesperson of her party and fellow MP, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, for his increasing influence and control on the party.

Books

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  • Dorion, Catherine (2017). Les luttes fécondes : libérer le désir en amour et en politique. Documents (Atelier 10 (Organisme)); 11 [49] (in French). Montréal (Québec): Atelier 10. p. 109. ISBN 9782897592684.
  • Dorion, Catherine (2018). Ce qui se passe dehors (in French). Montréal (Québec): Hurtubise. ISBN 9782897811235. OCLC 1033517068.
  • Dorion, Catherine (2023). Les Têtes brûlées : carnets d'espoir punk (in French). Montréal (Québec): Lux Editeur. ISBN 9782898330063.

Electoral record

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2018 Quebec general election: Taschereau
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Québec solidaire Catherine Dorion 15,373 42.52 +27.23
Coalition Avenir Québec Svetlana Solomykina 6,862 18.98 +2.58
Liberal Florent Tanlet 6,387 17.66 -12.74
Parti Québécois Diane Lavallée 6,379 17.64 -14.02
Green Élisabeth Grégoire 534 1.48
Parti nul Nicolas Pouliot 201 0.56 -0.51
New Democratic Roger Duguay 196 0.54
Citoyens au pouvoir Christian Lavoie 152 0.42
Équipe Autonomiste Guy Boivin 73 0.20 +0.06
Total valid votes 36,157 98.82
Total rejected ballots 431 1.18
Turnout 36,588 73.74
Eligible voters 49,619
Québec solidaire gain from Parti Québécois Swing +12.33
2014 Quebec general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Parti Québécois Agnès Maltais 11,376 31.66 -5.40
Liberal Florent Tanlet 10,925 30.40 +4.72
Coalition Avenir Québec Steve Brabant 5,865 16.32 -0.39
Québec solidaire Marie-Ève Duchesne 5,495 15.29 +3.60
Option nationale Catherine Dorion 1,513 4.21 -3.22
Parti nul Jean-Luc Savard 385 1.07 +0.12
Conservative Anne Deblois 198 0.55
Parti des sans Parti Sylvain Drolet 127 0.35
Équipe Autonomiste Guy Boivin 49 0.14 -0.05
Total valid votes 35,933 98.72
Total rejected ballots 466 1.28
Turnout 36,399 73.41 -3.96
Electors on the lists 49,582
2012 Quebec general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Parti Québécois Agnès Maltais 13,994 37.06 -7.16
Liberal Clément Gignac 9,697 25.68 -3.80
Coalition Avenir Québec Mario Asselin 6,311 16.71 +3.32*
Québec solidaire Serge Roy 4,416 11.69 +3.27
Option nationale Catherine Dorion 2,804 7.43
Parti nul Jean-Luc Savard 358 0.95
Coalition pour la constituante François Tremblay 110 0.29
Équipe Autonomiste Guy Boivin 72 0.19
Total valid votes 37,762 98.91
Total rejected ballots 418 1.09
Turnout 38,180 77.37 +20.41
Electors on the lists 49,350

* Result compared to Action démocratique du Québec.

Bibliography

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  • 2008: Quand le sage pointe la lune, le fou regarde le doigt, co-author of the company Soucide collective. Directed by Marc Doré at the Théâtre Périscope (Québec).
  • 2009: Viva Pinoshit, directed by Olivier Lépine at Théâtre Premier Acte (Québec).
  • 2010: Kounadia, story presented in the play We are made (like rats), by the company of pensive Biches. Directed by Alexia Burger at the Cinémathèque québécoise (Montreal).
  • 2011: Kukipik, a clown theater, co-author of the company Soucide collectif. Directed by Marc Doré at Théâtre Premier Acte (Québec).
  • 2011: Two texts in J'aurais voté oui mais j'étais trop petit, Editas.
  • 2011-function. : several articles in the journals Liberté, Relations, Quebec Journal of International Law, Public Ethics, National Action, Qui vive, as well as in major Quebec dailies.
  • 2012: "Le lieu collectif", in "Notre indépendance", Stanké.
  • 2012: NOUS?, monologue presented by the Moulin des lyres collective.
  • 2014: Même s'il fait noir comme dans le cul d'un ours, poetry, Cornac.
  • 2017: Les luttes fécondes. Libérer le désir en amour et en politique, Workshops 10, Canadian Essays category.
  • 2018: Ce qui se passe dehors, youth novel, Hurtubise.

References

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  1. ^ "Québec Solidaire triples number of seats, with wins in Quebec City, Rouyn-Noranda and Sherbrooke". CBC News Montreal, October 1, 2018.
  2. ^ Don Macpherson, "Former Péquistes turned instant Caquistes". Montreal Gazette, November 2, 2018.
  3. ^ « Élections : 20 questions inusitées à Catherine Dorion ». Le Carrefour de Québec, September 2018]
  4. ^ "L'artiste de l'Assemblée nationale". La Presse+ (in French). 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  5. ^ "Généalogie Louis Dorion". www.nosorigines.qc.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  6. ^ Nathalie Collard, « Catherine Dorion: en dehors du cadre ». La Presse, May 31, 2017.
  7. ^ Annie Mathieu, « L'heure est au bilan pour Option nationale, estime Catherine Dorion ». Le Soleil, April 9, 2014.
  8. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société- (29 August 2019). "Catherine Dorion relate son expérience de blogueuse au sein de Québecor et interpelle PKP". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  9. ^ Même s'il fait noir comme dans le cul d'un ours Archived 2016-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, sur le site de l'éditeur
  10. ^ Josée Blanchette, « Le sexe en grippe ». Le Devoir, June 2, 2017.
  11. ^ Catherine Dorion, « Nudité dans les vestiaires des piscines publiques : OUI ». Le Journal de Québec, November 14, 2017.
  12. ^ "Catherine DORION". Assemblée nationale du Québec. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  13. ^ "Female MNA barred from National Assembly after clothing deemed inappropriate". Montreal Gazette. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  14. ^ "La députée de Québec solidaire Catherine Dorion ne sera pas candidate à l'automne". Radio-Canada. 2 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Le livre de Catherine Dorion éveille des dissensions chez Québec solidaire". 13 November 2023.